Match of the week

Okonomiyaki and orange wine

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on September 8 2023 at 03:16

Our experience of Japanese wine is so limited in the UK that it came as quite a surprise to find three wines I would never have expected in a small restaurant and natural wine bar called Pasania in Osaka - a pinot noir, a kerner and an orange koshu.

Koshu is the variety that most often makes it over here but is on the whole relatively unexciting, or has been in the past at any rate. Maybe I need to revisit it as this orange version - Coco Farm & Winery's F.O.S. (fermented on skins) - was luscious, as aromatic varieties so often are.

It went perfectly with the restaurant’s speciality, okonomiyaki - a delicious umami-rich pancake made with cabbage and in this case, pork, squid, shrimp and octopus. (If you're unfamiliar with it - and a Brit - imagine a cross between bubble and squeak and a tortilla.)

Pasania is one of the restaurants in Osaka that is listed on the Star Wine List website. You can find the others here.

By the way you need to make a reservation as they don’t have many seats or take walk-ins. There’s a full explanation on their website but don’t be put off - it’s worth it, especially if you're a natural wine fan.

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