Pairing Sake & Cheese
The words “wine” and “cheese” go together so well they could probably get a marriage license. In practice, however, pairing wine with cheese can muddle and overpower the cherished flavors and aromas of both. Sake, the umami-rich fermented rice drink from Japan, shares several characteristics with cheese that put it in the running for a great partnership.
"Sake brewing" by jimoneilalaska (AKA: Jim O'Neil on ipernity) is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Sake is brewed by fermenting steamed polished grains of rice with the addition of koji, a mold particular to making alcoholic beverages from rice (plus barley and other starches: It’s also used with soybeans to brew soy sauce and miso paste). The starch is broken down into glucose by the koji, and then converted to alcohol by added yeast. This process is aided by the presence of lactic acid, which adds notes of cream and buttermilk to sake’s flavor and texture.
In cheese making, the lactose in milk converts to lactic acid during fermentation and aging, creating similarly delicious flavor compounds. When eating cheese, particularly aged varieties, you will find high levels of umami or savoriness (sometimes described as brothy) plus, often, a nice hit of salt, which complements the sake’s delicately briny notes. Not coincidentally, sake goes beautifully with raw seafood preparations like sushi and sashimi—fish and shellfish are packed with the glutamates we call ‘umami.’
According to “A Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Sake,” published by Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and National Research Institute of Brewing, “Cheese is rich in amino acids and peptides resulting from the breakdown of milk-derived proteins by micro-organisms…The similarity of the aroma ingredients resulting from fermentation and aging is thought to be the reason that cheese and sake go well together.”
We tasted through a diverse cheese board with three types of chilled sake to see how the pairings matched up, and asked Jessica McGlynn, Key Accounts Manager at Tenzing Wine and Spirits, to weigh in with her sake expertise. Our findings were both delightful and unexpected:
Fresh goat cheese can be bright, tangy, and rich, and its subtlety can get pummeled by the wrong wine pairing. Enter junmai ginjo, “a classic style of sake that’s easy to drink, and slightly fruity.” The junmai ginjo’s clean delicate acidity set off the tang without crushing the creaminess as some richer white wines tend to do. Adds McGlynn, “I can see how it walked along nicely with the chevre's tanginess and soft texture.”
The elegant, restrained junmai ginjo also paired best with an oily, salty sheep cheese from Spain called Manteo—its nuances allowed the aggressive sharpness to shine through without adding any clashing flavors that would cause a funk. “The balance in acidity and slight fruit presence likely worked well to balance the nuttier and funkier tones of the sheep,” explains McGlynn.
Our tokubetsu junmai showed dry, rich, and round, savory and full-bodied. It sang a duet with a Swiss gruyère, allowing the classic brothy and briny notes of the cheese to make themselves known. It also played well with a marvelous semi-firm Belgian goat’s milk cheese called Cabriolait. “Junmai ("pure rice") refers both to the classifications of sake that don't have any additives (including brewer's alcohol) and indicates the rice has been polished to at least 70%. These factors contribute to a style that is often dryer, richer, and tends more earthy than fruity. It's no surprise to me,” continues McGlynn, “that it got along with the semi firm goat and the aged cow as it likely matched their savoriness and the higher alcohol (bigger body) likely helped too!”
An unfiltered cloud-filled nigori was creamy in the mouth and fruity on the tongue, and we expected this one to pair the best with everything. Boy were we wrong! Don’t drink nigori with fresh cheese unless you like the thought of washing down a wet, lactic slice of mozzarella with a big glass of milk. Says McGlynn, “the fresh goat cheese perhaps needed that cleaner Niigata style [of the junmai ginjo] much like it would want a sancerre over a riesling.”
Nigori with gorgonzola dolce, however, tasted like pure heaven. Our tasting notes read “creamy dreamy, the combination soothed the palate in its deliciousness.” That same rich and fruity taste contrasted nicely with a briny aged Spanish cow called Mahon Curado. “Many nigori found in the US fall more on the sweeter side of the spectrum,” says McGlynn. “I can see this singing with a gorgonzola much like a great riesling for that reason. The fruitier palette and richer mouth feel tuned into the boldness of both of those cheeses.”
With just a couple clunky moments, the three sakes paired tremendously overall with our international cheese roll call, and the exercise helped us learn more about the different styles of sake on the shelves at our wine shop. Wake up a tired palate and try a new adventure by pairing sake and cheese.