Sometimes in wine, as in life, you are dealt with unexpected pairings. A series of events transformed Friday night’s wine tasting with my fiancée into Sunday night’s tasting with my friend Patrick. I tried not to sound too desperate and weird when I said “I have to drink this wine tonight...I’ll explain later.” Patrick dutifully enough came over, and we decided to get some carry out sushi, watch some TV, and drink this month’s wine.
Now don’t make that face! I know what you’re thinking! “Sushi and wine?” “Sushi and this wine?” But we got it for two reasons. First was that Patrick’s girlfriend doesn’t like sushi, and I knew he was craving it. Second was that I had a hunch about a pairing combination that would work really well. We put the Rad Red into the fridge to get a bit of a chill on it, headed up the street for sushi, and came back about 20 minutes later.
We uncorked the bottle and poured out test tastings and I was immediately surprised by the deep color of the wine. I admittedly prejudged this wine, no vintage on the outside, red blend, fun name and zany action label...that put in my head a ruby red, perhaps even rosé colored wine. But this wine was a deep and rich red and had a smell of coffee, pepper and a bit of earthiness to it. I looked at the wine, I looked at the plate of sushi in front of us and I thought “Man, I messed this up.”
Granted, the spicy tuna roll we ordered overpowered the deceptively mild taste of the wine, and the octopus didn’t add anything either. But it paired well with the eel and its fatty, almost caramel like sauce and texture. Its true shining moment was drinking it with the “Philly Roll” consisting of salmon, cream cheese and avocado. The wine pairs beautifully with cream and fat, both of which are abundant in the Philly Roll. It enhances the creaminess of the roll and hits all those spots on your tongue where the last tastes of salmon and cream cheese linger and amplifies them. Interestingly enough, soy sauce worked well with the wine too, as the salt in the soy balanced with the pepper in the wine.
The sushi gone, we settled into more traditional pairings, with some cheeses I had in the fridge. The winery recommends Jarlsberg as cheese pairing, of which I heartily concur. We found some creamy and mild cheeses as well that worked great throughout the evening, as the wine breathed and became even mellower after opening.
It was a night of surprises, with neither the company, the food, nor even the wine I originally expected. But sometimes unexpected pairings become the best ones, and our eyes are opened to new opportunities. Here’s hoping you enjoy your wine from James River Cellars, in whatever circumstance you find yourself in.
Cheers!