What do you serve when you want to showcase premium Italian wines? You’d expect to be in a fine Italian restaurant starting with an antipasto and then moving on to a pasta with seafood or osso buco.
But if you’re Giulia Pussini, of Prosecco Superiore, and Olga Bussinello, of Valpolicella wines, you choose Miku, the Japanese restaurant at Canada Place in Vancouver.
Then you invite chef Yoshitaka Miyamoto to create seven contemporary Japanese dishes to demonstrate how versatile 16 different Italian wines can be.
The reception wines and those that were served with the seafood courses were Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG, the premium version of Prosecco DOC.
Both are white sparkling wines produced from Glera grapes by the efficient and cheaper tank method, which translates into a friendly price for the consumer.
While Prosseco DOC’s basic version is produced in 556 villages in the Veneto and Fruili regions of northern Italy, Prosecco Superiore is made in only 15 special villages in the hilly region of Veneto. Because these vineyards are so steep, the grapes can only be picked by hand, ensuring a more premium product.
Two Prosecco Superiore Bruts, the driest style, were served as the reception wines at the Miku dinner. Bruts are excellent as pre-dinner drinks because they are festive and their dryness and acidity activate your salivary glands, preparing you for the feast to come.
Two other Bruts were paired with the first course of three types of aburi or seared sashimi: maguro (bluefin tuna), salmon and hamachi (yellowtail). This was followed by sockeye salmon oshi and prawn (ebi) oshi. Oshi is an ancient type of sushi from Osaka.
Alternating layers of sushi rice, condiments and seafood are pressed in a small wooden box.
The delicate flavours of sashimi and sushi were not overwhelmed by the Prosecco Superiore, as the wine possesses a delicate aroma and flavour. And sparkling wines are excellent to cleanse the palate, which is helpful when you’ve just eaten raw fish along with ginger and various sauces.
The third course was pan-seared Hokkaido scallop, flown in from Japan’s northern-most island.
Accompanied by navel orange, watercress, and a putanesca with yuzu, (the sour citrus from Japan), the scallops were served with a couple of Extra Dry Prosecco Superiores.
Despite the label, this style of Proscecco Superiore is slightly sweeter than the Brut. The extra sugar emphasized the wine’s apple and pear aromatics and balances the acid found in the scallop dish.
Join me next time for a review of the delicious fusion main courses and dessert I enjoyed with the Valpolicella reds and the Prosecco Superiores when Italy teamed up with Japan at Miku Waterfront Restaurant.
Addio and sayonara!
Eric Hanson is a lifelong Richmond resident, retired teacher and wine enthusiast.
