High-end Japanese restaurants in the UK tend to take a two-pronged approach to their drinks, pairing either sake or European-style wines with their menus. Now Luna, the modern omakase counter within the Thesleff Group’s City restaurant Los Mochis, has introduced a third option – pairing its 12-course set menu with Japanese wines.
Luna has linked up with Japan’s oldest wine company, Château Mercian, which was founded in 1870 and which has in recent years developed a range of red and white wines from vineyards in Nagano and Yamanashi, neighbouring prefectures in central Japan west of Tokyo and north of Mount Fuji.
The showcased wines – complementing chef Leonard Tanyag’s meals that change subtly from day to day in response to the phases of the moon – include a Chardonnay grown at an altitude of 600m and a Syrah from the Mariko winery in Nagano.
Most interesting and unusual for the average guest, though, are Château Mercian’s wines from Japan’s indigenous grape Koshu, a variety cultivated for more than 1,200 years but whose “hidden” citrus aroma when vinified was discovered as recently as 2003. Developments since then have resulted in distinctive wines including Iwade Koshu Ortum, whose saline flavours make it an ideal match for sushi and shellfish, and Fuefuki Koshu Gris de Gris, a light-orange wine whose skin-contact tannins make it ideal for richer dishes.
Having introduced the Château Mercian wines at Luna, they are now available by the bottle at Los Mochis, while the special pairing is available through October at Juno, the omakase at the original Los Mochis branch in Notting Hill.
Los Mochis, which combines Mexican ingredients with Japanese culinary techniques, was first launched in 2021 with the larger City venue following last year. The brand is set to make its US debut next year at the One Beverly Hills development in Los Angeles.
