Sake and cheese masterclass at the London Wine Fair

Masterclass on pairing of cheese and sake by Natsuki Kikuy, a well-known senior sake researcher with WSET credentials.

Sake is, of course, the national drink in Japan, we all know that. What many, surprisingly, still don't know is that is is a fermented drink, and not a distilled one. 

Four basic elements go into sake: rice, water, koji and yeast.

 There are about 100 types of sake rice in Japan and several are grown specifically with sake brewing in mind. Water in Japan is also special, it has the least minerals of most other waters in the world. Koji is a mould, also used as condiment with miso etc Finally,  koji yeast is used to break up starch into sugar.

As for sake categories, to put it in simple terms, the popular Junmai means the sake has 50+%plus polish, ie more than half of the rice grain is polished away to leave only the inner core for sake.

For honjozo they add alcohol and achieve a staggering 70% polish rate.

Cheese and sake go well together because they share : fermentation, umami notes and, for both, aging matters.

Following are my tasting notes.

Kisaki sprasu pink sake

Junmai daiginjio 

Sparkling sake, champagne method 

50%pol ratio 

11%abv

Score 89

La tur cheese from Piedmont 

Soft blend cow sheep goat 

Koi Junmai Daiginjio 

17%abv 

Score 92

Secret polishing ratio 

Very smooth long 

Brilliant savarin creamy cheese from burgundy 

Perfect pair by concordance 

Tatsuriki Sakura 

Junmai 65% polish ratio 

15%abv 

Used cherry blossom flower that contains yeast 

Score 89

Dorstone goat cheese from England 

Light fluffy texture 

Niida Shinzenshu 

Kimoto Junmai Genshu

From fukushima 

Polish ratio 80% 16%abv

fruity 

Score 90

Cheese Salers from Auvergne 

Un pasteurized cow milk 

Chunky cheese concordance with thick sake 

Asahizakura ginjio koshu (aged) 1996

Exception as it needs aging while usually sake should not 

Polish ratio 60%

Abv 17%

Color by maillard reaction like for onions,slight toasted bitter nites

Score 88

4yo gouda cheese from Netherlands 

Smooth paste and sake by concordance 

Ebisu Fuku Ume 

Not technically sake 

Made with apricots 

Abv 12%

Aged in brandy casks for 20 years 

Paired by concordance with 

Blue cheese goat gorgonzola from Italy 

Hidden gems of Iberia

 

Eclectic masterclass at the London Wine Fair 2025 focussed on Iberian wines and led by Mercedes Carbajo of Majuelos Iberia.

Below are my tasting notes.

Rias Baixas

Alvinte As Laxas

Crisp, zesty, green apple,

Score 86

Cariñena

Garnacha 

Vaquerizas, tierra de Cubas

Score 85

Catalayud 

las Martas San Gregorio 

Garnacha 

Smooth elegant long 

Score 92

Ribera del Jucar Ramblilla 2022 

bobal grape 

Vega Maragona 

40yo vines 

Structure length 

Needs a few years in bottle

Score 88

Txakoli Zudugarai rosé

Hondarrabi 60% beltza and 40% zuri 

From Basque country, 

Slight effervescent natural 

Score 85

Rioja selection, Jesus Madrazo 2018

Graciano 28% 2% Maturana 70% tempranillo 

Intense aroma, Elegant, structure still rough, needs time 

Score 86

Ribera del Duero - AØ (zero) Ferratus 2020 

Tempranillo 

12 months French oak 

Perfect balance, long ready 

Score 91

Jumilla 2021 

Alceño 12

From area considered kingdom of monastrell (mourvedre), only grape that grows well in the region 

Pre phylloxera vines, climate too tough even for pests!12 months in French and American oak 

Perfect balance, long, ready 

Score 92

Klein Constantia, South Africa

Clara Schnitzler export manager

Small but interesting tasting at the LWF 2025 of a niche South African wine.

Klein Constantia is a  340-year-old winemaker, one of the oldest in South Africa, planted its first vines in 1685 close to ocean. In part for this reason, Muscat first worked well.

In the old days it was a favorite of royals in Europe as well as by the rich in the USA, though it later became more affordable and widespread and thus available to a wider clientele. Jane Austen said it helped heal broken hearts!

Only 11 producers in Constantia valley, smallest region in South Africa.  

Below my tasting notes:

2023 estate 

100% sauvignon blanc 

Fresh salinity, crisp finish yet balanced, mod complex 

Score 88

2019 Clara sauvignon blanc 

After c Eliza hussey, American steel heiress who helped develop KC in 1920s

More floral, more texture, earthy notes 

Score 86

Estate red 2020 

58%cab sauv 

Blend p verdot, malbec, syrah 

Smooth, elegant Perfect balance, mod long, ready

Score 90

2020 Anwilka 

In Stellenbosch 

60% cab sauvignon 

40% syrah 

A bit rough attack, intense red fruits and notes of leather 

Wait 5 years 

Score 88

Vin de Constance 2021 

100% muscat de Frontignan 

Late harvest, pick highly concentrated grapes, no botrytis 

Aged 18 months in mixed old and new French oak 

Marmalade and lichee, moderately long. 

Score 89

Discovering China’s Coastal Terroir in Penglai

Masterclass at the 2025 London Wine Fair with Michael Palin, expert of Italian wine actually who recently discovered Chinese wines, and Sonya Song, founder of Longting, China's leading boutique vineyard by the sea.

We learned how China now boasts 100k hectares of vineyards, roughly the same surface area as in Germany. The huge country can use a huge range of soils, altitude, rainfall, latitude.

Since 2010 push to try different grapes, Marselan and Petit Manseng works well in Shandong in addition to classic Chard and Cabernet Franc 

These are my tasting notes.

Petit Manseng 2022

3 months of oak 

Balance sapidity and smooth ,long

Score 90

Rrp 500 rmb in China 

"Sea breeze" 2020 

Chardonnay 

3 months in New French oak 

Intense aromas Zest almonds 

Score 88

Rrp 600rmb

"Lan" Marselan 2021

Ripe fruit, plum, black cherry, cassis, still rough edges needs time 2 years perhaps

500 rmb

Score 89

Dragon label 2019

Cabernet franc

30 days on skin, plenty of tannins 

Alcohol feel (14.5%)

Needs time

Rrp 2000 rmb almost sold out 8k bottles 

"jade" late harvest petit Manseng 2021

Acidity and smooth ending 

Score 86

Rrp 287 rmb, 7 is her lucky number 

Txakolina wines by Bodegas Virgen de Lorea, Basque country, Spain

Unusual opportunity to taste some wines from a grape variety, and a wine region, that were not known to Roving Somm until now.  In this post I am going to review some wines from the Bodegas Virgen de Lorea, in the Spanish Basque Country. An estate that goes back at least 300 years but that has recently modernized and updated its production, including to organic certification. Twenty-two hectares surrounding the winery produce wines that belong to the Denominacion de origen Bizkaiko (Biscay).

In the video below I had the privilege of interviewing Gorka Zabalbeitia, wine maker of Bodega Virgen de Lorca. Below follow my tasting notes of three txakolina wines that they provided to me for review.

         

Loreako ama (limited edition) 2024

Hondarrabi Zuri grapes

Artistic bottle representing various scenes from the region of production.

single vineyard, 35+ yo vines

Intense aromas of flowers, fresh attack, slightly tingling on the mouth and a moderately long finish

I paired it by contrast with fatty raw salmon and also with mackerel and crab-filled ravioli

Score 91

Aretxaga 2024
Hondarribi Zerratia grapes

A fresh and lightly sparkling wine, citrusy start evolved into herbaceous notes and ends in rounder banana tones. Moderately long finish.

Score 89

I paired Señorio de Otxaran 2023 and Aretxaga 2024 with a Chinese dish of pork belly ad mushrooms to contrast the wines’ freshness with the food's fat and it worked out very well. A touch of truffle oil from organic producer Biosasun completed the successful experiment of the evening.

Señorio de Otxaran 2023

Hondarribi Zerratia grapes

single vineyard, 35+ yo vines

A more complex and round wine than the predecessors, a more structured body that will probably age well for a couple more years in the bottle although all these wines are meant to be drunk fresh out of production.

Score 92

Pork belly rice and black mushrooms Chinese style