Can you bottle terroir? The liquid yellow rippling in my glass is vibrant and pure. It is everything I would expect from Chardonnay grown in a cooler area of Napa Valley. The wine in focus: Six Cloves Wine, by owner and winemaker Sonoe Hirabayashi. This boutique winery released its inaugural vintage just a few years ago, in 2017. That vintage sold out in Japan in just three months. Since then, it has rapidly added new varietals and expanded production. Read on for our review of Six Cloves Wine, and a wine pairing with chirashi.
Background
Growing up in the Japanese Alps, Hirabayashi brings a unique perspective to winemaking. Her father grew apples, and came from a family of sake and soy sauce brewers. While she obtained a winemaking degree from U.C. Davis, farming and fermentation are practically second nature to her. Hirabayashi also credits her upbringing for instilling an appreciation for food products with purity and a sense of place. These values guide her winemaking to this day.
Photo by Marek Piwnicki via Unsplash
Hirabayashi gravitated towards winemakers with a philosophy similar to hers. She worked for Ted Lemon of Littorai wines, and Steve Matthiasson of his eponymous label. Like her, they believe exceptional wine starts with the grapes. As a result, all Six Cloves wines are carefully sourced from organic vineyards. The Linda Vista Chardonnay comes from the same vineyards as Matthiasson’s Chardonnay. Her Benguerel Primitivo is both organic and dry-farmed. Finally, the Magnolia Red Blend is sourced from vineyards that former UC Davis classmates have newly turned organic.
To showcase these grapes, Six Cloves is made with minimal manipulation. But don’t let this term fool you — Sonoe is highly involved in winemaking. She visits each vineyard often to check on the grapes and their brix levels. She also closely manages harvest, maceration, and fermentation. Six Cloves is her unique interpretation of the California terroir.
Wildfires, severe drought, and a pandemic have made it a tricky time to start a winery. Due to this year’s extreme heat, the team rushed through harvest to save the grapes from scorching. Even with fast picking, harvest is about 60% smaller than normal. Despite these setbacks, Hirabayashi is resilient. With her entrepreneurial spirit, Six Cloves has succeeded in expanding production and distribution.
A Wine Built for Food
One of Six Cloves’ goals is to bring more expressive, terroir-driven Californian wines to Japan. Hirabayashi makes frequent trips back to meet with Japanese sommeliers, winemakers, and wine enthusiasts to share her wines. Today, you can find Six Cloves Wines at all types of restaurants across Japan, from French restaurants to Peter Luger’s Steakhouse. With their bright acidity and pure fruit, Six Cloves pairs beautifully with a wide range of cuisines. It should come as no surprise that the wines are particularly good with Japanese food. The Chardonnay and Red Blend are harmonious with the flavors of Japanese kaiseki-style meals. These small, artfully-arranged dishes often include fresh seafood, soups, meats, vegetables, and steamed rice.
Tasting Notes: Six Cloves Wines
I had the opportunity to experience both the 2020 Six Cloves Linda Vista Vineyard Chardonnay and the 2019 Magnolia Red Blend. Both live up to their promise of being vibrant, expressive examples of their local terroir. Here are my tasting notes:
2020 Six Cloves Linda Vista Vineyard Chardonnay
This Chardonnay deftly weaves fresh, distinctive aromatics with crisp acidity and an opulent body. Layered notes of lemon, grapefruit, golden apple, pineapple, and toasted almond unfold. On the palate, the Chardonnay is rounded and has body. While elegant, it is still lively, with a prick of minerality and vivid acidity. This is an excellent wine for fresh fare such as sashimi, grilled fish, vegetables, and oyako donburi (Japanese chicken and egg over rice).
2019 Magnolia Red Blend
This is a vibrant, cool-climate Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend from Sonoma’s Carneros AVA. It has pure fruit, delineated by laserlike acidity. On the nose, bright raspberry, black cherry, black plum, and cinnamon mingle with warm earth and black pepper. The palate yields more plum flavors, along with black pepper, cranberry, and citrus zest. While the red blend is bold in flavor, its tannins are surprisingly elegant and supple. With its vivacious acidity and medium body, this is a versatile wine for a wide range of foods. I’d pair it with anything from rich meats like yakitori (grilled meat on skewers) to lighter meats like duck breast.
Wine Pairing with Chirashi
With its lemony acidity and savory minerality, I knew the Six Cloves Chardonnay would be delectable with chirashizushi (or “chirashi” for short). This popular Japanese dish consists of sashimi artfully arranged on rice. If you can procure fresh sashimi, it’s incredibly easy to make. The vibrant, citrusy acidity of the Six Cloves Chardonnay cleanses the palate after each bite of tender fish – almost like a squeeze of lemon. This acidity also melds nicely with the vinegared sushi rice. The tobiko, or fish roe, gives a salty pop of flavor that brings out the fruit notes in the Chardonnay. See below for an easy recipe.
The Final Sip
In an era where our climate and environment are in turmoil, it’s more important than ever to support businesses that are conscientious of their impact. Six Cloves is one of these. Its wines are proof that distinctive, expressive wines can be sustainably made. From partnering with vineyards that don’t use sulfur and pesticides, to avoiding unnecessary additives, I hope more wineries can operate like them. Six Cloves will release the 2021 vintage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir soon. Stay on top of the release at SixClovesWine.com or by following them on Instagram.
Easy Chirashi Sushi Bowl
Ingredients
For the Sushi Rice
- 1 1/2 cups sushi rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the Chirashi
- 16-20 oz sashimi of your choice, thinly sliced
- 6-8 oz tamago (Japanese egg omelette), thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup seaweed
- 1/4 cup tobiko (fish roe)
- Optional: Wasabi, ginger slices
Instructions
- Cook the sushi rice with water, according to package instructions (usually a 1:1 ratio of water to rice, but sometimes more depending on the rice brand).
- While the rice is cooking, simmer the remaining seasoning ingredients until they are well-integrated. You can also use the microwave for faster results.
- Once the rice is cooked, remove from heat. Pour the seasoning over the rice and mix by turning it gently with a rice paddle.
- Scoop cooked rice into two bowls, adjusting the amount to your preference.
- Layer sashimi and tamago on top. Next, add seaweed, tobiko, and optional wasabi and ginger.
- Enjoy alongside Six Cloves Chardonnay (or Chablis or a Chardonnay of your choice).
Enjoyed this Six Cloves wine pairing with chirashi? Check out our other wine pairings here.