KOSHU WINE PROJECT

---

FOOD MATCH

FOOD MATCH - How to Enjoy White Wine

CHARDONNAY

Chardonnay's Taste

Chardonnay tends to produce medium to full bodied wines with a good backbone of medium to crisp acidity and the alcohol usually ranges from 12% to 14% or more. The grape is seldom blended but sometimes seen mixed with Semillion, Viognier or even Sauvignon Blanc. A good young white Burgundy has ripe yet subtle fruit notes of apples, citrus fruits, peaches and apricots. Riper, warmer climate versions tend to show more tropical characters of melons, pineapples and mangoes. Use of whole or partial “malo-lactic fermentation” can contribute a creamy, buttery undercurrent and softer acidity. New oak is often judiciously applied in Burgundy, lending toasty, smoky hints and some refer to an oatmeal character. Less integrated oak, on younger wines for example, provides some vanilla and cedar. As good quality Chardonnay ages the flavours become richer, nuttier with a mineral complexity evolving. People also refer to the round, silky mouth-feel of great white Burgundies. Now, many of the best examples from California and Australia can taste very much like a good Burgundy, although the body may seem a bit fuller and the alcohol slightly higher. In a top year, from a leading producer, a Grand Cru white Burgundy can last up to 30 years. But much depends on the style of the producer and how concentrated the wine is to begin with. Most Chardonnays are produced for early drinking, within 5 years of bottling, but many of the better examples from around the world can last up to 10.

Food and Chardonnay

Chardonnay is so versatile in its styles and food pairings that it is difficult to go wrong with this grape! There are classic combinations such as Chablis and shellfish or oysters. My personal decadence is for a good Meursault with lobster. Poultry, fish and cream sauces, risotto and gently flavoured pasta all compliment a good Chardonnay from the cooler climates (Burgundy, Italy and Vin de pays d’Oc). The tropically flavoured, fuller bodied Chardonnays are great with rich sauces and meats such pork, duck and flavoursome fish such as salmon or tuna.

From the Japanese menu, a Chablis or Puligny Montrachet can show off the subtle and sophisticated flavours of sushi or sashimi beautifully. These delicate styles of Chardoonay are also great with soba. Rich, creamy, locally made tofu can be wonderfully offset by a Chassagne Montrachet or even a good, lightly oaked Californian or Australian Chardonnay. And I really enjoy chawanmushi with a ripe Pouilly Fuisse or St Veran.

Back to Top ^

RIESLING

Riesling's Taste

Rieslings are usually delicate, lighter bodied wines although some medium to full bodied examples are produced in warmer climates. The acidity tends to be refreshingly high which can help to preserve the wine and balance the profoundly aromatic flavours. In Germany the very high acidity is usually balanced with some sweetness. Alcohol levels range from low, say 8.5 % in Germany, to a maximum of 13%, but there are a few examples of higher alcohol Rieslings. Riesling is almost never blended with other grapes. These wines can exhibit an incredible myriad of different aromas and flavours, from musk to peach, or from citrus to rose petal. Earthy, steely, limes, grapefruit, minerals, pineapple, honey and petrol are just a few of the vast range of descriptors. Riesling is a remarkable grape in that it tastes of its terroir more distinctly than any other grape. Particular soils have been attributed to the grape’s minerally, steely, tarry, earthy, flowery or slightly spicy characteristics. Better quality Rieslings particularly from Germany and Alsace tend to taste lean and austere in their youth and need at least few years bottle age. The best can age 50 years of more. Top Australian Rieslings from the Clare or Eden Valleys will improve for perhaps 8 years and last for around 20.

Food and Riesling

Riesling’s long list of flavours creates a veritable palette of complimentary cuisine possibilities. The exotic, particularly aromatic and spicy examples are certainly the best choice for many Asian foods including spicy Chinese dishes and Kim Chi. Alsace and Austrian Rieslings can best superb with smoked fish and pates.

Of course we can’t forget the world’s great botrytized Rieslings and Ice Wines. These can make a hedonistic combination with apple desserts, fruity puddings or lemon meringue pie.

From the Japanese menu, Mosel is a nice match with delicately flavoured sushi. Alsace Rieslings are brilliant for cutting through the richness of seafood tempura. The warmer climate, more tropically fruited wines are delicious with Japanese Curry-Rice. Personally, I love a zesty Clare Valley Riesling with Gyoza − try it!

Back to Top ^

SAUVIGNON BLANC

Sauvignon Blanc's Taste

Sauvignon Blanc is grown in a wide range of climates but is usually planted on cooler sites which produce the intense aromas, flavours and crisp acidity for which it is popular. The body of Sauvignon wines range from light bodied to medium+ body, with a few fuller bodied examples coming from the warmer / sunnier climates. Alcohol levels are normally medium (12 − 13.5%) and the wines are mainly dry except in the case of botrytised examples. Sauvignon is occasionally blended with Semillon as the two grapes compliment and balance one another. Sauvignon usually provides the aromatics and high acidity while Semillon can moderate the acidity and provide weight along with silky mouth-feel. A number of well documented flavour compounds are responsible for the range of intense flavours present in Sauvignon, including methoxypyrazines and thiols such as 3-mercaptohexanol. The result is a genuine mixed salad of gooseberries, blackcurrants, green peppers, grapefruit, guava, passion fruit, elderflower, asparagus, fresh herbs and grass. Other aromas and flavours include smoky, mineral, steely, cat’s pee and gun flint. So Sauvignon is not lacking in the flavour department. However, for the most part these flavours don’t age well and can quickly dull or wilt to a disappointing rotten vegetable character. Most Sauvignons are therefore best drunk young, within 2-4 years of their vintage. Some examples, particularly from the Loire, can develop some genuinely interesting and appealing characteristics over time, lasting up to 10 years. The botrytised Sauvignons or Sauvignon / Semillon blends can last many, many years, even a century or more in the case of Sauternes.

Food and Sauvignon

A dry, fresh, crisp light to medium bodied style such as a Loire or Bordeaux Sauvignon is a great match with foods such as goat’s cheese, oysters, white fish, shell fish, asparagus and salads. The richer, high quality oak fermented and aged examples from the Graves (usually blended with Semillon) or a top Californian Fume are a beautiful accompaniment to smoked salmon, creamy sauced fish dishes or lobster. While the more intensely flavoured, medium+ bodied examples such as those from New Zealand are delicious with prawns, langoustine or crab.

Japanese food matchings include a chilled, intensely fruited Sauvignon with edamame or banbanji as the perfect aperitif on a hot summer’s evening. Sauvignon from the Loire or Bordeaux is superb with sashimi. Sauvignons also have the right combination the flavour and acidity to cut through the richness of Tempura.

Back to Top ^

KOSHU

Koshu's Taste

Koshu is Japan’s own indigenous grape with a flavour which is both distinctly vitis vinifera (the same species which is the basis of all high quality wines) and yet uniquely Asian. This is hardly surprising since there are few if any known plantings of this grape outside of Japan. Traditionally the wine was made using oxidative techniques such as barrel maturation that tended to mask its very enticing yet delicate aromas and flavours. It also used to be made with some sweetness and was either chaptalized or concentrated to increase the potential alcohol. The result was a rather cloying, oxidised, insipid concoction that left many potential consumers reaching for a beer. However, good news is on the horizon since winemakers from Europe, New Zealand and Australia have recently visited Koshu’s growing region, Yamanashi, and left a valuable legacy of modern techniques that bring out the best in Koshu. Nowadays a well made Japanese Koshu wine will have fresh, pure aromas of grapefruit, apples, lemons, yuzu and nashi. Its fruity aromatics are suggestive of Sauvignon Blanc which is in part due to the fact that it shares at least one of the same aroma precursors as Sauvignon. The wine is dry, light bodied, usually with a medium level of acidity and a light alcohol level, if unchaptalized, of 9.5-10.5%. Koshu is best drunk young, within 2-3 years of its vintage.

Food and Koshu

Although Koshu is almost by design crafted to accompany Asian cuisine, it is now made to an international style allowing it to go with a wide variety of foods. It is delicious with shellfish, white fish, grilled tuna, salmon and smoked fish. Salads, asparagus and antipasti are also complimented by this delicate wine.�

Japanese matches include many of the dishes which have had international success: sushi, sashimi, soba and tempura. However, it also has the zesty freshness to handle some spice, making it a nice pairing with other Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Thai and Korean dishes.

Back to Top ^

SEMILLON

Semillon's Taste

Semillon has proven to be a popular grape with growers mainly because its relatively easy to grow and thrives in a wide variety of climates and soils. It will also quite happily produce some pretty hefty crops. Unfortunately these large crops tend to taste of almost nothing. However by taming this vigorous vine and restricting yields, Semillon can produce some excellent dry and sweet white wines.

Semillon generally produces medium to full bodied wines with a silky texture which some describe as fat and oily. The grape’s acidity ranges from low to medium+ and it can produce some wines with fairly high alcohol. With a few exceptions, Semillon is often blended with Sauvignon Blanc or sometimes in Australia with Chardonnay. This is because on its own Semillon can be a fairly neutral grape. The aromas and flavours of Semillon are subtle with notes of waxed lemons, figs, honey, toast, peaches, pineapple and citrus fruits.

One example of a non-blended, unoaked style is Hunter Valley Semillon from Australia. In its youth, Hunter Valley Semillon has been described as “battery acid”. But with age, and these wines can age for 15 years or more, the wine begins to develop its wonderful honeyed, toasted aromas and flavours. The best unblended wines from New South Wales are completely different. They are usually oaked and, being picked riper, are full bodied with tropical fruit flavours of pineapples and passionfruit. In Western Australia, Semillon tends to be blended with Sauvignon to add acidity, aroma and freshness, using the great dry white wines of Bordeaux as a reference. However, these WA wines are undoubtedly richer and fuller than white Graves or Pessac-Leognans. The flavours of dry Bordeaux whites are generally tighter and more subtle and elegant. In young Graves whites, the Semillon adds creaminess and a waxy lemon character to the crisp, grassy Sauvignon character.

Semillon is however best known for its ability to produce exquisite botrytised wines. The flavours of Sauternes are marzipan, apricots, mangoes, honey, nuts, toast, pineapple, peach, orange, marmelade, honeysuckle and beeswax, to name a few, with a silky, creamy texture and great richness.

Food and Semillon

New World Semillons are a great match with simple fish and poultry dishes. A very good wine from the Graves or Pessac-Leognan is perfectly hedonistic with steamed or grilled lobster.

The sweetness of Botrytised Semillon is beautifully complimented by the strong, salty flavours of blue cheeses such as Roquefort. A classic combination is Sauternes and fois gras. Denis Dubourdieu, owner of Doisy Daene, even recommends Sauternes with the creamy, salty flavours of fresh oysters.

Japanese wine and food lovers can enjoy the subtle citrus flavours of Semillon with seafood tapenyaki. A crisp, youthful Graves white is one of the few wines which can stand up to the strong, rich flavour of uni.

Back to Top ^

PINOT GRIS / PINOT GRIGIO

Pinot Gris' Taste

The Pinot Gris grape variety is a true chameleon. It makes wine of different styles and even different names from one country to the next. Despite the confusion concerning its identity, Pinot Gris makes both high quality wines and commercially successful wines.

A large segment of the wine-drinking public knows this grape as Pinot Grigio. Most Italian Pinot Grigio wines are made by huge cooperatives in the Veneto or Trentino-Alto Adige regions. Those wines usually are light in color, rather light-bodied, crisp and acidic; with a fairly low-key flavor. Their neutral flavors and good acidity make them incredibly flexible companions with most fish and light meat dishes. Those virtues, in addition to their very reasonable price, have fed their popularity.

The most serious Italian Pinot Grigios come from private estates in Friuli, in Italy's Northeast corner. Friuli produces some of Italy's best white wines, and growers here give the Pinot Gris variety the respect it deserves. Those from the Collio district tend to be medium to full-bodied, and have concentrated, somewhat peach-like flavours. Unfortunately, they cost more than the co-op brands, and they're harder to sell to a public that expects Pinot Grigio to be inexpensive.

Some of the finest, most complex Pinot Gris wines come from Alsace. This region's very dry climate and long growing season result in a completely different style of wine: full-bodied, rich, with floral and peach-skin aromas and flavours, and a viscous, almost oily, texture. But Alsace's Pinot Gris has had a cumbersome name, "Tokay-Pinot Gris." The European Union requires that that name be discontinued by 2007, in deference to the Hungarian wine, Tokaji. In the near future all Alsace wines made from that variety simply will be known as Pinot Gris. Alsace Pinot Gris also comes in late-harvest, sweet versions, Vendange Tardive, or "VT," and Selection des Grains Nobles, or "SGN"; the SGNs especially are extremely concentrated, rich and fat.

Noting the recent popularity of Pinot Grigio, New World countries and regions such as New Zealand, Australia, Oregon and California have been trying their hand at planting Pinot Gris. The results are often intensely aromatic, full bodied styles which often bear no resemblance to the ubiquitous Pinot Grigios but are certainly more interesting.

Food and Pinot Gris

Light bodied, neutrally flavoured Pinot Grigios are extremely flexible. Although they are a good match with nearly any fish or poultry dish, they are also very good with spicy foods such as Thai dishes or Indian curry. I even like them with Cajun or Mexican dishes. A good, dry Alsace Pinot Gris is a great partner with onion tart or smoked salmon. The fuller bodied, richer styles are delicious with smooth liver pates or, if sweet, with fois gras.Light bodied, neutrally flavoured Pinot Grigios are extremely flexible. Although they are a good match with nearly any fish or poultry dish, they are also very good with spicy foods such as Thai dishes or Indian curry. I even like them with Cajun or Mexican dishes. A good, dry Alsace Pinot Gris is a great partner with onion tart or smoked salmon. The fuller bodied, richer styles are delicious with smooth liver pates or, if sweet, with fois gras.

From the Japanese menu, a simple, no-frills Pinot Grigio goes great with curry rice, yakizakana or ebi chili. I find dry, Alsace Pinot Gris is delicious with ikayaki or shabu-shabu.

Back to Top ^

• KOSHU WINE PROJECT
• WINE WORLD