Udon

Udon

Udon is thick wheat noodles in a clean dashi broth, light and savoury with a quiet, kombu-and-bonito umami, so the wine should be bone-dry, saline or gently oxidative and very low in tannin, contrasting and cleansing rather than mirroring. Lightness and salinity are the keys. Avoid tannin and oak.

Pairs Perfectly

A Fino Sherry, Jerez, Spain. Bone-dry, nutty and saline, its savoury, oxidative character meets the dashi umami where an ordinary white would simply sit there.

Pairs Well

A Muscadet, Loire, France. Lean, saline and inexpensive, it shadows the broth and keeps everything clean.

A dry Riesling, Eden Valley, Australia. Lime-pure and racy, a New World white that lifts the gentle broth.

Avoid

Tannic reds and oaked whites, which turn metallic against the dashi.

Failing That

A Picpoul de Pinet, France.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Grigio, Italy.

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