Sparkling Wine Pairing for Sushi

[CindyJ]

In "What to Drink with What You Eat", sparkling wine is highly recommended as a good pairing with sushi. Can anyone recommend a well-priced sparkling wine to bring to a BYO sushi restaurant? If it helps, tuna, yellowtail and salmon are frequent menu choices.

In addition to sparkling wine, Japanese beer is listed as a good pairing. I know nothing about Japanese beers. Are there one or two that would pair particularly well? Thanks!

[Bill Hunt]

I am a fan of either a Rosé Champagene, like the above-mentioned Billecart-Salmon, or a domestic (US) Sauvignon Blanc, with good fruit-forward characteristics, and Groth Napa fits that bill for me.

Enjoy,

Hunt

[CindyJ]

In neighboring Delaware I was able to find super-sized bottles of Kirin Ichiban and also Sapporo, so we're set with the beers for now. As for sparkling wine, I usually have a few bottles of Armance B. Brut on hand, and I think that will make a good pairing. It's crisp and dry from the Loire Valley. Let the experimenting begin!

[unagi1]

Can't speak to SW pairing (not really into SW anyways), but Kirin Ichiban is probably my favorite Japanese beer, with Asahi Kuronama being the second. The Kuronama is more of a dark lager but the Ichiban goes very well with sashimi.

[Michael Rodriguez]

I recently drank some sparling sake which I thought was very tasty: Harushika tokimeki sparkling sake. Japan, nv.

[souschef]

Yeah, I had some sparkling sake at Roy Yamaguchi's restaurant in Pebble Beach, and really enjoyed it. Don't remember the name, though.

[veganhater]

Was it Zipang?

[souschef]

No idea - it was about a year ago, so I can't remember.

[CindyJ]

I'm going to be heading across the state line into Delaware tomorrow, where wine and beer sales are NOT controlled by the government, as they are here in PA. I've got a wine and beer shopping list, now. Thanks for all of your suggestions.

[maria lorraine]

This has come up quite often:

Read these threads:
http://www.chow.com/search?query=sush...

[CindyJ]

Thanks! That was really helpful.

[Chinon00]

To completely ignore your request I've been drinking Viognier and pilsner with sushi. The Viognier is a nice contrast with it's flowery fruity fullness while the Pils serves as delicious palate cleanser. Hitachino Nest Japanese beer is good and good with sushi. As for inexpensive Champagne alternative I'd suggest a Spanish cava.

[veganhater]

Second the vote for Cava. The fresh and inexpensive stuff makes the fish and rice more flavorful, in a very good way. I actually prefer this kind of sparkler to a richer Champagne or Champagne-styled wine, if pairing with straightforward fish and rice.

[mengathon]

Go with a good non-vintage champagne, preferably one with a yeasty style. Billecart-Salmon and Aubry if you can find them.

[dinwiddie]

If by well priced, you mean inexpensive rather than a great price for that Champagne, I'd recommend several. Of course, you are going to have to deal with non-vintage wines, but that is OK since they are often very good. I've always been a fan of Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley. Argyle makes a nice Brut from Willamette Valley. Actually, Mumm makes a nice Brut Napa Valley Prestige that would go well. All of these wines can be found for less than $30 and sometimes as low as $20 and were made in great quantity.

That said, I also like to drink Burgundy with sushi, but that gets really expensive.

[Brad Ballinger]

"Well-priced" means what specifically? Also, depending on where you live there may only be "one or two" Japanese beers available, making that part of the task easier.

[CindyJ]

Are you suggestion that ANY Japanese beer will do? Assuming I have choices (I live in PA but shop in Delaware), is there something in particular I should look for?

[Tripeler]

Unfortunately, most Japanese brand beers sold in the U.S. are actually brewed in Canada.
However, beer is not right for sushi (except for casual fare) because it is too bitter and has the wrong kind of sweetness. Instead, I would recommend a good slightly chilled sake. Or, hot green tea always works well with sushi.