Tio Pepe Fino Sherry and Sushi/Sashimi: A Match Made in Heaven!#WinePW

Although it is indeed a rare pearl, the king of food pairings really exists, and its fino sherry

Francois Chartier

This month’s theme for the Wine Pairing Weekend(#WinePW) crew is Saké and Other Pairing For Asian Foods this month. Leading the charge this month is Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

I’m a fan of saké. In fact, I wrote this Saké 101 post several years ago. But truth be told, didn’t have any on hand, nor could I locate the style I wanted.

What I did have on hand though is a couple of bottles of Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, so I decided to go with that and pair it with my favorite type of Japanese foods; Sashimi and Sushi.

I previously hosted a Wine Pairing Weekend Sherry theme and a wrote a piece entitled – An Exploration of Sherry, In The Glass And At The Table.

About Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine that has been produced from white wine grape varieties in the sun-baked Andalucia region in the southwest corner of Spain.

It is one of the oldest wine growing regions in Spain.  In fact, in 1933 Jerez-Xérès-Sherry was the first DO to be officially recognized in Spain.   But for centuries before then, the wines of Jerez (pronounced: he-reth)  had been popular not only in Spain but also in France (as Xérès) and England (as Sherry).  Which is why the DO title “Jerez-Xérès-Sherry” appears in all three languages on each bottle.

the-sherry-triangle1
Image courtesy of mixology.bridgetalbert.com

The epicenter of the region is town of Jerez de Frontera.  Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María mark the three corners of the famous “Sherry triangle”.

What makes the terroir in Sherry unique is the combination of the three soil types, albarizabarro, and arenaand the weather; extreme heat where summer temperatures regularly exceed 100 ºF ( 40 ºC ) is tempered by cooling breezes from the Atlantic.   Albariza is the most important of the three.  It’s a blinding white color in bright sunlight, and is a combination of chalk, limestone, clay and sand.  It is valued for it’s high moisture retaining power, and for its ability to reflect sunlight back up to the vine. Approximately 90% of the vineyards in the region are planted on albariza. If you want want to delve into the realm of wine geekery, be sure to have a looks at my aforementioned Exploration of Sherry post.

I have been a Sherry lover for many years.  My appreciation of sherry was inspired by two books; The first edition of Karen MacNeil’s, The Wine Bible, and Francois Chartier’s, Taste Buds And Molecules – The Art And Science Of Food With Wine.   

Fino Sherry At The Table

In the book Taste Buds And MoleculesSommelier Francois Chartier, who spent the better part of two decades collaborating with top scientists and chefs to map out the aromatic molecules that give foods and wines their flavor, identified why certain food and wines work well together at the molecular level.

Chartier posits that the versatility of sherry at the table is because of its tremendous amount of aromatic molecules (over 300); and given its aromatic complexity…there is a good chance that sherry will find its alter ego in a wide variety of ingredients and foods.

His work makes sense to me. Not only did it reinforce prevalent opinion that sherry is one of the most food friendly wines, it also jibes with my  own experience.

Pairing Tio Pepe with a couple of our favorite sushi roll, assorted sashimi and wakame salad  

Gonzalez-Byass Palomino Fino Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Tío Pepe (Muy Seco-Extra Dry)

Pale straw color with inviting green apple, toasted almond, olive aromas with notes of lemon peel and yeast. On the palate it’s medium-bodied with tangy, mouth-watering acidity. It at once, fruity and dry with juicy green apple, and lemony flavors with a saline minerality and a satisfying finish with an appetizing bitter almond note. 100% Palomino grapes aged in the Tio Pepe solera for an average of five years under flor. SRP – $16.99|ABV – 15% As always, for my palate, this was an excellent pairing (the wine with scallop sashimi was a little slice of heaven) One note of caution when pairing sashimi/sushi with Fino sherry – stay away from spicy rolls like Spicy Tuna, or toppings.

Pairing a fino with sushi and/or sashimi has become a favorite of mine. What separates Fino sherry from other wines that pair well with sashimi and sushi it that it also pairs well with the combination of soy sauce, wasabi and (sometimes) pickled ginger too, I often like to dip my sashimi and sushi in. It’s rare that other wines fare well it comes to dipping in the combination of soy and wasabi.

What about pairing Fino Sherry with other Japanese foods? I think it has the same “umami” character present in saké. For that reason, I’d recommend trying it with any Japanese food you’d enjoy with saké

About Tio Pepe

The Tío Pepe brand has been around since 1844. The founder of Gonzalez Byass, Manuel Maria Gonzalez Angel, named ‘Tio Pepe’ after his ‘Uncle Joe’ who created his pale very dry white wine in 1841.

Tio Pepe Soleras – Image courtesy of Gonzalez Byass

At that time Fino was still a very local Andalusian product, and it was his uncle who encouraged him to commercialize it on a wider scale. Today, Tio Pepe, is the world’s best-selling Fino.

Looking for other ideas about saké and other wines with Japanese food? Check out what the #WinePW crew has discovered!

If you’re up early enough, you’re invited to join the participating bloggers and others via a live Twitter chat on Saturday, January 9th, 2021 at 8am PST/11a EST. Just follow the hashtag #WinePW and be sure to add it to anything you tweet so we can see it.

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3 Comments

  1. robincgc says:

    I had Sherry once and wrote it off, I just didn’t like it. Of course, that was not a high quality Sherry and my palate has evolved since then. You may have inspired me to give it another try, but only with your express recommendations.
    I do find it interesting that while you say to avoid spice with this pairing, that the soy wasabi goes so well. What do you attribute to that Martin?

    1. WordPress.com Support says:

      I was referring spec to capsaicin derived heat. For example Fino would be so-so with a spicy tuna roll. But, I’ve found it does fine with wasabi( though I don’t use gobs of wasabi because it make my head feel like it’s on 🔥), and I mix it with soy. I’d recommend the Tio Pepe as a good place to revisit Sherry because it sufficiently fruity and offers very good value. Also look for the “En Rama” styles which are less filtered.

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