Pairing Wine With Uni (Sea Urchin)

Sea Urchins are a great delicacy in Japanese cuisine, where they are known as ‘uni’, they are often used in sushi or served sashimi style. Only the sex organs are used and are eaten which run along the inside of the shell. Sea Urchins are full of sugar, salt and amino acids which give them a super umami-salty sweetness and are similar to oysters in the way that they taste like the ocean and the seaweed they feed on.

They have been dubbed as the foie gras of the sea due to their buttery texture and delicate ocean flavors. Sea Urchins are best served raw straight from the shell to fully enjoy the sweet buttery flavors they produce.

Wine Characteristics To Pair With Sea Urchin

Characteristic	Detail
Sweetness	Dry
Acidity	High
Tannins	Low
Body	Low
Notes	Lemon, Lime, Citrus

Best White Wine To Pair With Sea Urchin

Sea Urchin has a delicate, creaminess to its body. So a white wine with a bright acidity and mineral accent will enhance the taste of the ocean, while simultaneously cleaning the fat from your palate for you to enjoy it all over again!

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigo offers a refreshing sparkle of acidity with faint honey notes, floral aromas like honeysuckle and a saline like minerality. This wine pairs wonderfully with Uni as it is fairly acidic which actually enhances the Sea Urchin’s full flavor. The minerality of the Uni is a perfect match for the acidity of the wine, and the creamy texture of the Urchin also pairs well with the roundness of the Pinot Grigio.

Champagne

Champagne and Uni are such a wonderful match! Champagne has yeast, bready flavors which add quite some depth to the pairing. In Champagne the yeasty notes contribute to umami flavor which alongside the sweet and salty notes creates the perfect pairing. The bubbles of the champagne provide the perfect textural contrast to the velvety texture to the Uni; it is important to have a Brut champagne to pair it with as dosage will overwhelm the delicate flavors of the Sea Urchin. The high acidity of the Champagne helps cut through the richness of the Uni; where the richness and bitterness of the Champagne with hints of citrus and paired with the saltiness of the Uni make it a grand meal on its own.

Albarino

Albarino from Northern Spain (Rias Baixas) along the Iberian Peninsula in Europe, is a fantastic choice to pair with Sea Urchin! The wine is super linear with great acid and flavors of lemon zest, honeydew, nectarine and salt along with others, with the combination of high acid makes it a perfect pairing for Sea Urchin. The acidity in the wine helps cut through the brine-iness of the Urchin while the minerality complements the ocean flavors of the Uni.

Aligote

Aligote is a rare white grape found in the regions of Burgundy, France. It is used as a base ingredient in a few cocktails for its citrusy taste. The wine is bone dry and has flavors ranging from apples and unripe peaches to smoke and fresh herbs; also being super acidic too! Aligote is a light and refreshing wine with slight citrus notes which makes it pair wonderfully with sea urchin! The acidity in the wine helps cut through the richness of the oysters and the mineral notes to complement the briny taste of the Urchin.

Best Red Wine To Pair With Sea Urchin

Red wines are tricky to pair with the delicate flavors of sea urchin. This is because tannins can be far too harsh and overpowering. However reds with a lighter style to them which are lovely pairings with Sea Urchin!

Zweigelt

Zweigelt is one of those rare reds that pair well with fish and lighter style shellfish such as sea urchin. The variety won’t overwhelm the food, as it has low alcohol and subtle tannins with high acidity, which makes it approachable for delicate Sea Urchin. Zweigelt grape is a crossing between Blaufrankisch and St. Laurent, it is a variety in Austria and accounts for half of the country’s red wine production. As said, it has light, fresh and simple nuanced flavors making it ideal to pair seafood like Sea Urchin.

Best Wine To Pair With Sea Urchin

Sea Urchin being a buttery, salty, sweet flavor profile pairs wonderfully well with a steely dry, high acidic, white with minerally undertones. Sea Urchins are considered to taste like a toned down version of oysters and caviar; so think wines that would traditionally pair with them! Which are wines with high acidity, notes of citrus, no tannins and dry!