“If anyone had told me that our Vineyard Selection Shiraz would be a perfect match with this Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese sushi roll, I would not have believed it!” said Kleine Zalze cellarmaster, Johan Joubert, during a marathon sushi and wine pairing exercise earlier this month.
A formal tasting sheet was drawn up with two Sauvignon Blancs and Chenin Blancs, a Gamay Noir and Rosé and the previously mentioned, medium-bodied Shiraz squaring off against a selection from the Sushi counter in Café Felice at Cape Gate Superspar, which stocks Kleine Zalze wines exclusively.
After much tasting and deliberation, it was found that sushi items heavy on rice fare better with crisp wines which cut through the sweetness like the Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc which was a perfect fit with the Fashion Sandwich. With the sashimi’s, the amount of wasabi made a huge difference, but eventually it was decided that the Tuna worked better with the Bush Vine Chenin Blanc and the Salmon was great with the Gamay Rosé.
The über-popular salmon roses eventually ended up in a tie with half the group insisting on the Gamay Noir and the other 50% equally convincing on the Rosé! The verdict: A light, fruity red wine or a great Rosé would both work.
The surprise of the day was the Shiraz and salmon and cream cheese combo, but due to the creaminess of the cheese which coated the mouth to such an extent, only a good red wine would hold up! After extra servings all round, the group agreed with the commonly held belief that bubbly is a good match, but suggested that sushi lovers would be pleasantly surprised when trying out more adventurous pairings with their favourite items.