Sushi’s New Best Friend

Last October, the new Four Seasons Hotel Osaka cut the ribbon on Sushi L’Abysse Osaka Yannick Alléno, a sleek culinary gem glistening 37 stories above the city. Ever since, guests at the omakase counter have been treated to elevated renderings of French-influenced Japanese cuisine amid sweeping sights of the urban panorama.  

And when they want the right liquid to match the mood, they are steered not toward sake, but to award-winning wines instead. Citrusy Sancerre sits beside tangy silken tofu. Fatty tuna, hand-carved to order, finds a perfect foil in the ripened cherry aromas of a Margaux du Château Bordeaux. 

There’s a similar approach an hour north at Sushi Ginza Onodera, which opened at Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto last fall. There, the 400-year-old Japanese cypress that doubles as the restaurant’s sushi counter is routinely lined with stemware, thanks to a popular wine-pairing option. 

Across the globe, in fact, some of the world’s preeminent omakases are positioning fine wine as the preferred complement to raw fish. “It’s often been overlooked due to the preponderance of sake and the lack of deep cellars at most sushi restaurants,” says Austin Ferrier, beverage director at Sushi Note, which offers an exclusive tasting menu out of its two-year-old Beverly Hills location. “Not only is wine incredibly diverse, but in some cases, it can react with food in ways that sake might not be able to, specifically when it comes to acid and tannin.”  

Because acidity is generally higher in wine than in sake, vino is better equipped to match the tart and sour tonalities of many marinades common to Japanese preparations. Tannins, meanwhile, marry perfectly with fat and umami, the defining elements of heavier ocean fish. 

“People don’t really consider red wine with sushi a thing, so I love defying those expectations,” says Dean Fuerth, sommelier at Sushi Nakazawa in New York’s West Village, where the wine list overshadows the sake list. Among Fuerth’s uncommon choices are rare Portuguese red Ramisco wines. Made from sand-grown grapes, they project a briny maritime palate that effortlessly accentuates unctuous, vinegar-rich nigiri, for which Nakazawa is known. “I want it to be a conversation starter,” says Fuerth of his esoteric library. “But it should be innately delicious—that’s the most important part.”