Wine with Sushi
Sushi bars have blossomed in Australia in the
last 20 years. My father, Doctor Barry Killerby, went to Japan in
1972 to train in the use of gastroscopes and he came back with a
liking for sushi. Not so my mother, Elizabeth Killerby. Sushi was
virtually unknown in Australia then, and I remember her saying that
she refused to eat raw fish. She made the sushi chef cook it
first!
These days, sushi is almost de rigueur. The
classic match in Japan is green tea. Recent trends in Japan match
sushi with …. well, beer. In Australia, however, we more often
than not match sushi with wine. But are we making the most of the
possible flavour combinations?
In America, numerous wine and food critics have
recommended champagne and other sparking white wines with sushi.
The combination makes some sense when you look closely at the range
of flavours on the plate. Champagne is served cold and the bubbles
stimulate the palate in the same way that beer does. The yeasty
characters of champagne or other sparkling whites seem to complement
the sweet rice vinegar in the sushi rice.
There is remarkably little advice around on
matching wine with sushi. Therefore, in this article, we will look
at the various components of the sushi plate and make some
recommendations on wine selection.
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Maguro (Tuna) Sushi
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In “From Russia With Love”, James Bond
dines with a Russian agent posing as an English gentleman. The
agent orders red wine with fish, and then later has Bond on his
knees with a gun to his head. Bond has obviously figured out
his attacker is not a “gentleman” by his attack… and by what the
wine he ordered. “Red wine with fish?” says Bond,
“That should have told me something.” |
Well, in my view, maguro sushi is the ideal
opportunity to indulge in “red wine with fish” and get away
with it. The raw fish tastes more like red meat – clean, fresh and
rich, yet without any obvious “fishiness.” When you dip maguro in
soy sauce mixed with wasabi, it becomes a combination of food
flavours that match low tannin reds such as pinot noir. The
softness of the pinot grape flavours match the richness of the
fish. Australian pinots particularly have bright fruit (rather than
the gaminess of the French burgundies) and this fruit is enough of a
match for the soy and wasabi.
For a white wine match, a lightly wooded chardonnay is the best.
The oiliness of the fish seems to resonate with the glycerol
smoothness of a good barrel fermented chardonnay.
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Hamachi (Yellowtail) Sushi
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Hamachi has a richer flavour that is somewhat creamy in colour
and texture. It is not, however, as rich in fats as the tuna
maguro. The flavour profile is moderate, a little fatty and
creamy. Therefore, a barrel-fermented chardonnay with some
malolactic fermentation characters is the ideal match.
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A semillon is also a good match – probably more
a Margaret River semillon than a Hunter Valley one. The Hunter
Valley does not have the same herbaceous ness, but it is a fine
point and really, either will do very well. The lighter weight of
the semillon in comparison to a chardonnay is an attractive match
for hamachi.
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Sake (Salmon) Sushi
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The trick to remember with salmon sushi is
that it is not raw. It has been smoked and cured in salt and
sugar. This means that there are more complex flavours going
on. There is the oily taste of the salmon itself, but also the
smoked, sweet and salty flavours from the smoking and curing.
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This is a happy match for a rich chardonnay.
The smokiness of the barrels is retained in the wine and matches the
smoke in the salmon. The sugar curing also picks up the fruit
sweetness in the chardonnay.
For a real wine and food matching experience,
however, try a light pinot noir from Burgundy. Not one with too
many of the gamey, earthy notes, but one with some smokiness and
spice. Cotes de Beaune or Borgogne come to mind. A Victorian pinot
made in the clean Australian style would do well. Also gamay based
wines such as the Beaujolais grand crus of Fleurie or Chirobles.
If white wine is more your style, try a Mount
Barker reisling with high acid that cuts through the oiliness of the
fish like a knife.
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Ikura (Salmon Roe) Sushi
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This dish is a powerful combination of
salty caviar and the tang of the seaweed wrapping. A sweet
white, or even a dry white showing fruit sweetness, does not
really do this dish justice. Nor do pinot noirs. What works
well is a dry reisling with high acid and good fruit. The
acidity seems to wash the palate in between bites of ikura
whilst the fruit has a nice contrast with the roe.
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Some critics suggest a rose that can provide a
background of broad grapey flavours that contrast nicely with this
dish.
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Unagi (Eel) Sushi
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Again, not all sushi fish is raw. This is
another dish that is cooked. It is dipped in teriyaki sauce and
hibachi and grilled lightly. The resulting smoky flavours,
combined with the fattiness of the fish and the sweetness of the
glaze make it an interesting dish to match with wine.
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A complex champagne is a good match because the
acidity and refreshing bubbles are enough to hold up to the sweet
oiliness of the fish. A rose would also do well.
A bone dry riesling with high acid can also
balance the flavours of the unagi. Don’t use a riesling with any
residual sugar as the combination of the sweetness of the glaze and
residual sugar in the wine can be cloying.
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Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi
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So sometimes, it is best not to ask exactly what is in a dish.
This is one of those times. Uni is actually made from the
ovaries of sea urchins. It has a vaguely gamey taste that you
will either love or hate (especially after finding out what it
is made of).
Anyway, matching wine with this dish
demands a wine with slightly gamey, earthy characters, and that
is usually pinot noir. The issue in pinot is that the stronger
the tannins in the wine, the less it goes with this dish. |
So as an alternative, dry whites with high acid
and minerally notes do a good job in matching this dish. They
somehow amplify the sea taste of the food without losing the
attractive fruit characters of the wine in the mix. A dry
Australian chenin blanc would be good – if you can find one!
Otherwise, try something from the Loire.
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Nori (Seaweed) Rolls
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The issue with nori rolls is that there are
endless variations of what goes inside them. They can be unagi,
sake, salmon, prawn, crab, or vegetarian rolls such as cucumber
or avocado. The one thing that they all have in common,
however, is the savoury, smoky crisp seaweed around the
outside. Oh, and the wasabi on the inside!
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Here, pinot noir comes into its own again. The
earthy, gamey flavours of a good pinot pick up the flavour profile
of the seaweed in a positive way.
You might also be happy with sauvignon blanc as
a match. The power of the fruit in the wine is a nice contrast to
the seaweed – and can help with high doses of wasabi as well! The
herbaceous or grassy characters in the sauvignon blanc go well with
vegetarian fillings such as cucumber or avocado.
The Final Word
A sushi plate is a complex combination of
flavours and contrary to popular belief, not all the fish is raw.
Next time you are enjoying sushi, order a couple of glasses of
different wines and change glasses each time you eat a different
sushi. It might look a little decadent, but it adds a completely
new dimension to your enjoyment of the dish as a whole. |
