In the world of culinary pairings, few combinations offer as much intrigue and delight as wine and sushi. While sake has traditionally been the beverage of choice to accompany these delicate Japanese morsels, the right wine can elevate your sushi experience to new heights, creating harmonious flavour profiles that dance across your palate.
Pairing Wine & Sushi
Much like other food and wine pairings, choosing the right wine for sushi can be challenging. The subtle flavours of raw fish, the umami from seaweed, the tanginess of vinegared rice, and the spiciness of wasabi create a complex flavour profile that demands careful wine selection. The aim is to identify wines that enhance rather than dominate these delicate tastes while offering sufficient acidity to balance the richness of certain types of fish.
What Makes a Good Sushi Wine?
Before we explore our top pairings, let's first discover the characteristics that make a wine suitable for sushi:
- High acidity: To balance the richness of fish and refresh the palate.
- Lower tannins: To avoid clashing with wasabi and ginger.
- Complementary aromatics: To enhance rather than compete with the delicate flavours of fish.
- Lower alcohol content: To let the nuanced flavours of sushi shine.
Top 10 Best Wines to Pair with Sushi
Here, we dive into what we consider to be some of the best wine pairings for sushi.
1. Salmon Nigiri with Sparkling Rosé
Salmon is rich and buttery, and Sparkling Rosé is its perfect match. The bubbles cut through the fatty salmon, while the light berry flavours bring out the salmon's taste. The wine's tang refreshes your mouth after each bite.
Here's why it works: The bubbles and tang clean your mouth, while the light berry taste makes the salmon taste delicious without being too strong.
2. Fatty Tuna with Chablis
Premium fatty tuna needs a special wine. Chablis, a dry white wine, with its crisp apple taste and clean finish, balances the melt-in-your-mouth tuna perfectly. The wine's cool, fresh quality contrasts nicely with the rich fish.
Here's why it works: This wine has no oak flavour, so it doesn't fight with the tuna's taste. Its tang cuts through the rich fat.
3. Yellowtail with Albariño
Yellowtail's mild sweetness goes great with this Spanish white wine. Albariño tastes like citrus with a touch of salt that makes the fish taste even better. Its freshness and light, flowery smell make it perfect for this popular fish.
Here's why it works: The citrus taste works like a squeeze of lemon on the fish, while its mineral taste reminds you of the ocean, just like the fish.
4. Grilled Eel with Gewürztraminer
Sweet and savoury grilled eel needs a wine with bold flavours. Gewürztraminer, an aromatic white wine grape with pink skin, offers hints of lychee and rose along with a touch of sweetness that pairs perfectly with the sweet glaze and rich texture of eel.
Here's why it works: The slight sweetness matches the eel sauce, while its strong aroma stands up to this bold-tasting sushi.
5. Spicy Tuna Roll with Off-dry Riesling
Spicy tuna rolls go great with slightly sweet Riesling. This flowery white wine's sweetness cools the spice while its freshness cleans your mouth. Tastes of apple, peach, and other fruits add nice layers that work well with the roll.
Here's why it works: The sweetness calms the spicy mayo or hot sauce, while the tang refreshes your mouth, making each bite taste as good as the first.
6. California Roll with Sauvignon Blanc
This popular roll with crab, avocado, and cucumber pairs perfectly with crisp Sauvignon Blanc. This white wine's grassy taste matches the cucumber and avocado, while its citrus notes brighten the crab's sweetness.
Here's why it works: The grassy, herbal hints highlight the vegetables in the roll, while the freshness cuts through the rich avocado.
7. Tempura Shrimp Roll with Crémant
The crunchy texture and deeper tastes of fried shrimp need a wine with enough body. Crémant, a French sparkling wine, has the perfect mix of fruit, tang, and bubbles for this heartier roll.
Here's why it works: The bubbles clean your mouth after each bite of crispy goodness, while the toasted honey notes match the shrimp's natural sweetness.
8. Salmon Eggs with Extra Dry Champagne
The pop of salty salmon eggs needs a very dry sparkling wine. Extra dry Champagne (called Brut Nature) provides the perfect balance with its sharp freshness and toast-like taste.
Here's why it works: The wine's mineral taste and lack of sweetness highlight the salty flavour of the eggs, while the bubbles create a fun contrast to the popping feeling of the eggs.
9. Vegetable Dragon Roll with Grüner Veltliner
This impressive-looking roll with avocado, cucumber, and other vegetables goes well with this Austrian white wine. Grüner Veltliner's hint of white pepper and green vegetable flavours make it perfect for veggie sushi.
Here's why it works: The wine's vegetable flavours match and boost the fresh tastes in the roll, while its crispness provides balance.
10. Premium Fatty Tuna Belly with Aged White Burgundy
For the ultimate luxury, pair the best cut of fatty tuna belly with an aged White Burgundy. This wine's rich flavours of hazelnut, butter, and subtle oak complement the incredibly rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture of top-grade tuna belly.
Here's why it works: The wine's complex flavours match the deep taste of this premium fish, while still being fresh enough to cut through the wonderful richness of the fish.
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