Contemporary sushi and Sancerre rouge

The best meal on my whirlwind tour of the Centre Loire* last week - and there was stiff competition - was a Japanese meal prepared by sommelier Juli Nakata-Roumet, the Japanese wife of the local promotional body’s director of communication Benoit Roumet

It was fascinating on so many levels I’ll be writing more about it but I wanted to single out one pairing as my match of the week

Juli had prepared a fabulous range of maki rolls (including some made with goats cheese that were surprisingly delicious) that I expected to pair best with one of the many sauvignon blancs we were tasting but in fact it was a red Sancerre that carried the flavours best.

The key, obviously, is the acidity and delicacy of the pinot noir grape. Although it was quite a full-bodied example (a 2012 from Dominique Roger of Domaine du Carrou) it had a suppleness and grace that didn’t in any way overwhelm the sushi.

I remember years ago a Japanese sommelier telling me that pinot noir was a good match for sushi and I was never entirely convinced. Now I know that - in the case of creative sushi like this, at least - he was right.

See my other pairing suggestions for sushi here.

* which includes Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Quincy, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon, Coteaux de Giennois and Chateaumeillant