Market Watch, December 2020

SOMMELIER SPOTLIGHT76 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM DECEMBER 2020Pairing Wine And SushiDean Fuerth of Sushi Nakazawa searches the world for the best pairingsAt 33 years old Dean Fuerth has survived more ups and downs in the restaurant business than a retired prizefighter But restaurants and wine are his passions which he pursues daily as beverage director at Bedford Hospitality Group which operates Sushi Nakazawa in New York City and Washington D C Covid 19 forced the permanent closure of the groups historic Chumleys restaurant in New York City famed for its speakeasy origins and literary patrons and uneven restaurant regulations have made for a very tough 2020 Sushi Nakazawa in Washing ton D C was able to open July 1 for indoor dining at 50 capacity and in August the location had a record month Business has been steady ever since help ing to sustain Bedfords operations In New York City regulations forced Sushi Nakazawa to close on March 13 Were on a quiet West Village street a few outside tables wouldnt have worked said Fuerth explaining the decision not to offer outdoor dining when it became an option in July Once the city eased regulations the restaurant re opened on September 30 for indoor dining at 25 capacity installing glass dividers to socially distance parties at the sushi counter The venue which typically did 115 120 covers a night pre pandemic had sellout reservations a day after reopening Many of our regulars have come in to dine multiple times already and the energy feels very posi tive Fuerth notes As a veteran of the restaurant trade for a dozen years Fuerths resilience has helped his venues weather the pandemic Starting in 2008 at Bella Blu Ristorante Fuerth has worked his way up in the industry from bus boy to sommelier to wine director Among his stops were prestigious New York City restaurants like Commerce Bouley Tribeca Bar Boulud and Betony where he served as wine director He joined Sushi Nakazawa in 2017 The Michelin starred restau rant which offers omakase dining features a 150 menu at the counter and a 120 menu in the dining room Pre Covid Sushi Nakazawa attracted a mix of Wall Street types tour ists and fans of chef Daisuke Nakazawa as well as NYU students who order off the a la carte menu in the lounge and have one glass of wine High End FocusA Manhattan native Fuerth is based at the restaurants West Village location and visits the D C property once a month He oversees the beverage operation at both venues with strict attention to detail We do 90 of the gritty hard work behind the scenes customers see the 10 part says Fuerth Im more oriented to the business side and running a success ful organized program Sake and French wines dominate the 900 bottle wine list Pairing with chef Nakazawas 7 course omakase cuisine is a delicate dance between wines that will appeal to the restaurants upmarket clientele and offerings that subtly complement the range of food flavors Fuerth offers a different 2 ounce sake pour for each course and his staff will also suggest other wine pairings Fuerth offers 133 sake selections and has cultivated personal relationships with brewers visiting Japan and secur ing access to very rare sake expres sions Choices range from 55 a 500 ml of Kizakura Junmai Daiginjo to 14000 a 500 ml of Niizawa Abso lute 0 Junmai Daiginjo Sake bestsellers are all from the Niiga ta prefecture Its notable as a region for producing the clean dry styles that our guests tend to prefer says Fuerth Popu lar ones are Soto Junmai Daiginjo 120 a 720 ml bottle 25 a 5 ounce pour Kubota Hekijyu Junmai Daiginjo 130 a 720 ml and Kirin Zan Junmai Ginjo 150 a 720 ml 35 a 5 ounce pour The restaurant serves by the glass sake in traditional wine stemware Everything the guest touches should be luxurious it adds to the high end experience Fuerth adds Sake remains an intimidating proposition for customers 90 of whom have little experience with the category Fuerth says Our sommeliers spend time educating custom ers and asking what they like to drink so they feel safe in our hands he explains You really have to be fluid in navigat ing between demographics budgets and backgrounds Sushi Nakazawa sommeliers themselves have discovered that sake education is basically a self taught process While Fuerth and several of his sommeliers in New York City and D C hold a certification from the Court of Master Somme As beverage director at Bedford Hospitality Group Dean Fuerth runs its drinks programs in both New York City and Washington D C