Vinous Sashimi
I love omakases.
I love them first for the interaction that is allowed between myself and the chef. I get to watch the production in all of its focus and preciousness. I witness the care. I am privy to the level of the quality of ingredients and the techniques employed. And after all of that build up, a beautiful, deeply interesting, piece of food is placed in front of me and I am asked to take it in- one bite (maybe two)- and the chef is there to witness my revelation. Smiles are exchanged. Applause is given in some form...omakases are such a pure form of the guest / chef relationship, where each side gets the best of each other.
But, Japanese omakases are not the only place this perfect relationship can exist...
Head to a small cellar
Perhaps a small producer in Europe. A cellar where the producer is a true artist, pushing the envelope, and working to make wine with a similar level of deep expression. Often, producers like these, like amazing sushi chefs, are looking to make 'one perfect cut'. They are looking to be able to execute a perfect, undisturbed fermentation and wine, so that the essence of the terroir is captured. They are trying to make vinous sashimi.
And when they do the wine can be magical. It is alive. The wine bursts of a freshness and depth, a complexity and dynamic richness, that supports two conversations side by side- one of 'glou glou' deliciousness and one of deeply serious artistry. The producer has captured their terroir in its most pure form.
Pulled directly from tank or barrel, these wines often have had nothing added to them. They are '0-0' (zero sulfur, zero yeast, and nothing added; totally pure). The serving logistics to taste these wines is measured in seconds, the distance to your glass maybe 1-2 meters, tops. As the guest, you are effectively sitting at their counter, enjoying their wine omakase, and similar to the Japanese restaurant, it is very hard not to be blown away.
I only want 0-0s!
I have been there, in those cellars, and had vinous sashimi. "Send it all", I have cried. "This is the best wine I have ever had!" (I am never shy for a fine dollop of hyperbole.) But, then we leave and head out and my colleagues remind me that sashimi from an omakase, that is placed in a to-go container, that is then placed on my lap in a cab as I travel back to the apartment, that then gets tossed in the fridge, all to be opened up twelve to sixteen hours later as a lunch snack, does not taste the same. In fact, sometimes, it has broken and sadly needs to find its new home in the trash.
And that's why I am OK with sulfur. Just a wee bit, mind you. I like half a lime squeezed over my avocados as I mash them into a guacamole- not a gallon of lime juice. And I know my wines when I taste them from tank and barrel, and I'm OK having just a little less perfection via a squeeze of sulfur in order to maintain 97% of the experience. After all, my logistics exist in thousands of miles.
But Christian- you ask me, you import some 0-0 wines? Yes, we do. Always in very small quantities. Always from true artists who's wines I have tasted for a very long time. And from artists where I know the wines arrive after their initial angry spells to find their new homes in America and evolve post their bottle shock chrysalis. I also know that these wines take enormous patience, and that they need to be served at the right 'counter'. These wines are Lady of the Night flowers. We open them. We receive them. We marvel. We drink them and then they are gone. They are not to be served as a lunch snack the next day.