Handmade Soba with Sake, Plus Dry Riesling

Back in October we had our first handmade soba noodle making demo with sake pairing. I say "first" because the event was a hit and many interested people missed out due to space limitations. I plan to invite Yumi again to the store see her magically transform mere buckwheat flour and water into tasty strands of noodles with just her bare hands!

The drinks pairing feature was mainly sake. With the appetizers, I poured the Amabuki "Sunflower" sake, a more dry sake made with sunflower yeasts that proved to be everyone's favorite. Another one I poured was the Sohomare Tokubetsu Kimoto Junmai (buy it here), a more subtle and expressive sake with depth in the finish.

While viewing Yumi's noodle making demonstration, I served a glass of Iwate Brewery Japanese Herb Ale Sansho (buy it here), a fun and refreshing beer flavored with sansho. I find this beer's slight bitterness and herbal and spicy flavors attractive to wine enthusiasts.

Finally, with the soba itself, I presented the 2011 Van Volxem Mosel Riesling "Wiltinger Braunefels (buy it here). Earlier this year when I was in Kyoto, I enjoyed drinking this wine so much at Ryuhei, which serves soba-themed kaiseki style cuisine. This mineral, dry Riesling I find has an affinity with soba that's subtle and sublime.