Pairing “surf and turf” sounds simple enough, but what about when that surf is sushi and that turf is terroir, the environment that makes a wine an S.B. county wine? Sushi and wine came together at Dierberg-Star Lane Vineyards early this May, when I and several others were lucky to try an exclusive lecture and lunch by Dierberg family winemaker Tyler Thomas and world-famous sushi chef Kiminari Togawa.
Together, the winemaker and chef explored themes of texture and freshness in the glass and on the plate based upon the environments that made them. Thomas and Togawa sought to challenge notions about long-standing traditions: whether it be the way the vineyard's soil shapes the sensory experience on the palate, or how those resulting notes and nuances may pair with sushi, a culinary treasure that poses pairing puzzles in its delicacy and freshness.
Thomas is a winemaker with the mind of a philosophical botanist, coming to Dierberg and Star Lane vineyards with a background in wine physiology and a critical eye. Togawa, meanwhile, is so well-known in his native Japan for his oenological expertise that a character was based on him in The Drops of God, a popular manga largely credited for turning the Japanese populace onto the wines featured in its pages. Both men have come to be known as questioners, challenging long-held beliefs in their home countries and asking that we delve a little deeper — and dive we did that day.