Shimogamo Gilbert
Shimogamo Restaurant Lunch with Stolpman Vineyards Uni Wine
Background
Photo from Shimogamo Restaurant
While at the SanTan Art & Wine Festival this weekend and just around the corner was Shimogamo, featuring fine Japanese cuisine. The three of us stopped there for a late lunch. They have two locations, their original one in Chandler and just over a year ago, the one opened in Gilbert.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
I ordered various sashimi pieces and a bottle of Stolpman Uni, a blend of Roussanne and Chardonnay that was recommended from a previous visit. The wine comes from Ballard Canyon AVA in Los Olivos, California. Here the delicate richness and mouth filling Roussanne combined with crisp and bright Chardonnay with apple and pear tastes, provided a great accompaniment to the fresh sashimi.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Ordered several pieces of two of the specials. One was Ma Aji served with a smidgin of onion and ginger. The other was Hirame (Halibut) with chili pepper crisp. Both were excellent. Each piece of sashimi was delicious and extremely fresh. The wine complimented each morsel of fish consumed.
The Winery
This is now the third time I have enjoyed a Stolpman wine and will not be my last. Stolpman is known for their Syrah and Roussanne grapes growing in limestone outcropping near on the Central Coast with the nearby Pacific Ocean breezes. They are committed to dry farming, native fermentation and with minimal manipulation bringing forth their wines.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com