Salmon sashimi and dry Languedoc rosé

Not, I admit, the sort of starter you expect to be served on your first night in France - or the wine you’d expect to go with it - but the pairing, at the Château du Port in Marseillan*, worked perfectly.

Rosé, of course, is the most flexible of wines so one shouldn’t be too surprised but the key thing is that the rosé in question - the 2011 Les Amandiers from Château de la Liquière in Faugères, a blend of Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan was really crisp and dry - similar to a Provence rosé in style.

The sashimi was served with thinly sliced cucumber and black radish which provided a contrasting touch of freshness and bitterness which assisted the match without adding any competing flavours.

Good though the dish was though I’m not sure that it wasn’t more about the environment in which we found ourselves: the first night of our holiday, a gorgeous sunny evening and a bottle of one of our favourite local wines. It shows matches are sometimes as much about mood as food.

*Incidentally the Château du Port used to be run by the Pourcel brothers who own Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier but was sold last year. The new owners seem to be doing a good job though.

Sashimi and Koshu

This week’s match had to involve the extraordinary Kaiseki meal I had at Umu. I wrote it up extensively a few days ago so I won’t dwell on it again but rather focus on the pairing that I think would work best in a less rarified contest. And that’s sashimi and unoaked koshu.

Koshu, as those of you who’ve read the piece will know is a Japanese white wine made from a grape variety of the same name. It’s not particularly characterful but that’s a virtue when it comes to sashimi where you want a wine that’s absolutely clean and without obvious fruit or oak character. Unwooded versions also have a crisp acidity that contrasts well with the slightly oily, soft texture of raw fish. (It was particularly good with the creamy raw cuttlefish)

I appreciate it’s currently hard to get hold of outside Japan but I’m sure that will change over the coming months. Look out for it in Japanese shops and supermarkets.

Sushi and Genmaicha (Japanese green tea with roasted rice)

To the incomprehension of my husband who can’t see the point in raw fish, I adore sushi and try to eat it at least once a week - usually with one of my daughters who are both big sushi fans.

Normally I accompany it with green tea but I’ve just discovered this totally addictive organic roasted rice tea called Genmaicha made by Clearspring which matches even better - the faint sesame nuttiness of the rice offsetting the slight fattiness of the fish and the delicate sweetness of the rice.

It needs to be served cooler than we typically drink tea in Britain but don’t let it steep or you’ll lose its delicate flavours. I make it double the strength and then take out the teabags after a minute and let the tea cool for about 10 minutes.

Another good pairing, which I enjoyed at the weekend with daughter no. 2, is a crisp Japanese lager such as Kirin which also pairs brilliantly with tempura. Beer and batter being great bedfellows.