Last Wednesday, twelve of you joined trained Sake professional, Micky Chan, and me in our shop for a Sake and Wine Pairing Dinner. We asked Chef Peter Teo of Bistro du Vin to prepare a five-course menu, and Micky and I designed pairings for each course. The idea behind this dinner was to broaden our understanding of flavours and beverage options when pairing with food.
In deciding on the wine pairings for each dish, I considered the following factors about the food:
- Sweetness of the dish
- Fat and oiliness
- Spice
- Char-grilling as a cooking method
- Salt
And for the wines, I considered the following factors:
- Flavour profile of the wine: fruit characteristics, earthy aromas, wood/oak notes, flavour intensity, etc.
- Structure: acidity, tannins
- Is the wine dry or sweet?
- Weight/body of the wine
Micky explained that in putting together his pairings for the evening, his focus was on the texture of the sakes. He pointed out that sake isn’t a beverage with high acidity; rather dishes with acidity can enhance the flavour notes of a sake......
