Food & Wine Pairings
Kobe Beef with Bandol
Testing out Japanese Kobe beef with mature and young Bandol reds.
Beef Tataki with Chambolle Musigny!
A great match between this 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Burgundy by Michel Gros and the nearly raw beef tataki -gyu no tataki-.
Abalone Sashimi (Awabi)
While Abalone is not so common in the West, it is considered one of the very finest shellfish in most Asian countries, including Japan where it is called awabi.
Swiss Chasselas & Sashimi
As the Swiss often like to say, the reason you can’t find Swiss wine outside of Switzerland is that they drink it all themselves. Well, I had the chance to swing by Lucerne for work, and so I filled my small suitcase with a few bottles.
Ask American Sommeliers
See what ten American sommeliers say are their best sushi wines on the Serious Eats website.
Hinamatsuri – Girl’s Day
March 3rd is hinamatsuri in Japan, a day for celebrating girls, coming just two days before children’s day, which is reserved for the boys. On girl’s day, households exhibit traditional dolls and prepare specific dishes. We went with chirashizushi (a large sushi rice platter with various toppings mixed in), hamaguri no osuimono (clam in broth) and threw […]
Japanese Salmon Dishes
I invited some colleagues over from work for a casual wine tasting at my place. Everyone brought one bottle, which would be served blind, and the theme was Salmon pairing. Mizuki prepared a variety of Japanese salmon dishes to try with the different wines, including salmon sashimi, nigiri sushi, shiozake (grilled salted salmon) and misozuke […]
Salmon Sashimi and Marsannay Rosé
I’ve found that raw salmon can be somewhat difficult when pairing sushi or sashimi with wine. Many wines will accentuate the fishy flavors, leaving a very unpleasant aftertaste. Finding the right match is extremely important, especially considering that salmon is a key component in mixed sushi and sashimi sets.
Beaujolais Nouveau 2012
It’s that time of the year again, when the first Beaujolais wines of the vintage are released under the “nouveau” appellation. While some consider it a marketing gimmick, my take is that any excuse to celebrate wine, even young wine, is a good one. The Japanese seem to agree with me, as Beaujolais Nouveau is […]
Tequila meets Tempura!
Food pairings with Tequila and other spirits can be quite surprising, and this original celery tempura works just beautifully with this blanco tequila by Ocho.
Osechi – japanese new year’s dishes
Osechi is a traditional Japanese set of dishes which is prepared for the new year festivities. Usually presented in bento-type boxes which are stacked on top of each other, typical osechi are foods which are pre-cooked and eaten cold over the first three days of the year, a period during which the women of the house are busy entertaining family members and guests, leaving little time for preparing meals.
Wasabi overdose… w/ wine
If you like “Shushi”, watch these guys perform a wasabi overdose and wash it down with wines from Austra, the UK, and Spain!
