Many restaurants are making increasing, and highly creative, use of sakes these days. Do you use these wines in your program? If not, why not? If you do, how do you pair them with food? Please be as specific as you can in naming preferred producers, categories and styles of sake, and even individual bottlings.
Jim Clarke, Sommelier and Beverage Manager, Armani Ristorante (New York City). At my last position (at Megu, a Japanese restaurant) sake was of course a primary part of the beverage program. I’ve now been at Armani for a couple of months and am about to add two or three sakes to the program. One, the Hitorimusume Nigori, I’ve picked specifically for use in a cocktail. I haven’t decided yet which others I plan to include, but they will most likely be a junmai daiginjo (Dassai 23, perhaps, or maybe Yuki No Bosha) and a kimoto or yamahai style (most likely the Masumi Nanago). The latter often have a bit more presence and acidity, which makes them more flexible with foods. We have a number of seafood dishes which these sakes will go well with.
Generally I find sake less structured than wine, so it rarely clashes with food; it might be overwhelmed by a dish, but there are no conflicts like you find with wine sometimes—barrel-aged chardonnay with spice, for example. On the other hand, a really dynamic sake-food pairing is also unusual—there are few “Muscadet and oysters” moments. Gently sweet sakes are handy with spicy dishes: our dover sole in a curry sauce, for example. We see a lot of regulars at the restaurant, so I see sake primarily as a way to vary their experience and to keep things interesting—anything to keep guests from falling into the pinot grigio rut that’s s common at Italian places.
Christopher P. Bates, GM/Executive Chef, Hotel Fauchere (Milford, PA). We do not use sake in our program often, unfortunately. I personally really enjoy sake, border on love it, and I very much enjoy using it in pairings, but it has thus far proved to be a waste of money for the restaurant program. Good sake is an artisanal product, one that takes time and love, and one that is not cheap to produce or deliver, and therefore they are not inexpensive. And because so many customers have little to no experience with sake, rarely if ever do they glean the quality and the intricacies of such a well-made product. Often it either goes untouched or at least unappreciated, and the most joy the customer experiences is often the realization that sake is drinkable or the shock that it can be consumed cold.
While I am very enthusiastic that many of my peers are spreading the good word and hopefully making converts, I have not found the typical fine American dining scene to be the best place to show the wares for consumer impact. And in the end, when a 300-ml. bottle costs $20 (more than Muscadet, Vouvray, Finger Lakes cab franc or riesling—and frankly, more than any wine I enjoy), and yields only four or five servings and most go unappreciated, it is financially a nightmare. I find nontraditional pairing with beer, cocktails, spirits, juices and teas to be much more impactful on guests.
That being said, I find sake to be much more impressive outside of its traditional context. While obviously great with sashimi, when served with it diners often just look at the sake as what they “are supposed to drink”; they rarely focus on the amazing detail and complexity that sake offers. I find that by serving it with unexpected items, the guest is encouraged to think of sake more as a wine, and to focus more on the details of the sake. But, it is important to remember one huge thing: no acid. To balance this, I often look to pair sake with a dish that is heavily acidic, bringing balance to the dish and to the sake. We had a dish on the menu this weekend that fit the bill perfectly: just shucked scallops with pickled hibiscus vinegar, sunchoke puree, preserved lemon and hay emulsion. The sweetness in the scallop is emphasized, and the hay brings out the grainy earthy notes in a crisp filtered junmai or even junmai ginjo.
For an unfiltered style of sake, I found that the increased mouth feel gives an impression of greater body, which can help it stand up to a dish like local maitake soup with housemade raw milk cream fraiche, sassafras vinegar, peach pit and oxalis. While I do not often use them in the restaurant, I hope the future will give more opportunity to do so, and that through plenty of continued force of will from sommeliers, consumers will get past the shock factor and start looking at the beauty of sake—and that by doing so, we can see an ROI from our investment. Notably, I avoid daiginjo sake entirely, as I find it is like trying to pour Jacques Selosse at your Super Bowl party trying to get your friends to drink wine.
Jeff Hagley, Sommelier, Restaurant Eugene (Atlanta). At Restaurant Eugene and the Holeman & Finch Bottleshop, both I and the shop’s wine concierge Ian Mendelsohn hold sake in very high regard. Speaking for myself, I will also admit that I do not have as much experience with sake in general. I understand what it is and I feel that I have a basic understanding of the main flavors. Recently, however, Ian and I decided that we really wanted to expand our knowledge as well as find appropriate placement for this great product. We asked a local distributor to bring in a good selection and a sake expert on their staff was able to come in and walk us through several of the selections. We had a nice time trying about 15 different sakes along with some sochu and a Choya (plum wine) as well. I learned a new fruit descriptor that I had never used before but it hit home as soon I said it concerning many of the sakes sampled: dried banana. The group erupted in agreement and then we let the adjectives fly.
When I described a sake as reminding me of baking spices, our Japanese sake guide looked at me for a moment to grasp what I was describing and then he slowly nodded in understanding; it was a cool moment. We selected two sakes that we liked and we will see how they do. The first is a junmai daiginjo made by Kikusui, delicious with mandarin orange and citrus aromas and a light spiciness on the palate that ends in a mellow, pearl-like finish. I am currently using this as a welcome aperitif for our guests who select a tasting menu with wine pairings. One of the gifts that Chef is currently sending to guests is a snapper tartare that goes quite well with the Kikusui. I also like the surprise factor that presenting sake first accomplishes. I think it quite nicely sets the tone for an evening of surprises, along with great flavors. I also selected a junmai daiginjo from Dassai; the cuvée is simply called 50. It is a little more austere in style, with additional tropical fruit elements. When I tasted this wine, I thought that this is what people originally sought when creating rice wine. It seemed to nail the important classic flavors. I am holding it on reserve and offering it tableside to guests who are looking for something more out of the wine program.
To date, the welcoming sake has been a tremendous hit with guests and staff alike. I am waiting to see if Atlanta will accept and embrace new ideas, like the Dassai 50. Our local culture often leans towards the classics. I would like to expand the sake selection but I also don’t want to force anything on our guests.
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For a basic background on sake, please refer to “A Sake Primer,” previously published on Winophilia:
http://www.winophilia.com/2010/08/24/a-sake-primer/#more-1824
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