Sangiovese Meets Soy Sauce !
Posted By Joel on June 19, 2009
Although I find my center of culinary gravity in Italian food traditions, I totally appreciate and enjoy other international cuisines. I am always on the lookout for exciting, creative pairings of international foods and the Italian wines I love to drink.
Soy sauce, as ubiquotous in Asian cooking as is olive oil on the Tuscan table, is a very interesting counterpoint to the Sangiovese varietal. The earthy, mushroom-y nature of soy sauce - a taste profile not at all uncommon in Italian food - pairs incredibly well with Sangiovese. And the salt component of soy sauce, when tasted against Sangiovese, is good on my palate in the same way that I find the saltiness of, say, regional cured Italian meats delicious when paired with Sangiovese.
High quality sushi / sashimi / maki, dipped in the traditional mixture of soy sauce and wasabi, and paired with a bottle of slightly cooled, good Sangiovese, is a sleek, minimalistic thing of culinary beauty.
The Sangiovese-Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah blends are relevant here too and for the same reasons. Additionally, the influence of the international varietals can make for a rounder, smoother mouthfeel, which can be incredibly sensual against the fish oils, balanced by the slightly elevated acidity of Sangiovese.
If your looking for something more imaginative than the “order white with fish” evening, give this pairing a try! You can easily identify some good Sangiovese wines by clicking on the Sangiovese tag in Vintrospective’s right sidebar!
About the author
Joel
Joel Mack has worked for a celebrated importer / distributor of Italian wines and continues to study the wines and winemaking of Italy. He has advised many restaurants in making their Italian wine list selections and has provided training to restaurant staff. Today, Joel conducts wine classes and leads specialized private and corporate tastings of Italian wines. Joel carried out his higher education at a highly regarded College of Music and continues to extend an artistic point of view to Italian wine, balanced with factual information about wine, its nature and identity. By day, he applies his time to collaborative software technology. Joel can be contacted at joel@vintrospective.com.Comments
2 Responses to “Sangiovese Meets Soy Sauce !”
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I think you are very right. I marinade duck breast with orange, soy sauce, brown sugar, rosemary, garlic and honey. Then I sear it and serve it with the reduced marinade. That would be wonderful with some good Sangiovese
That recipe sounds delicious, a “must try” with Sangiovese ! Thank you for visiting and for your comment