Tastemaker Series: Artur Silva, The Rule-Breaking Beverage Director Who Pairs Uni with Red Wine
Playlist WineTL;DR
Meet Artur Silva, Beverage Director at NYC's ITO, who believes anyone can make great wine from any hill. For S02E06, he curated 12 wines that embody what Burgundy means to him - without a single bottle from Burgundy. His philosophy? Break every rule if it makes the pairing worth it.
What Burgundy Means (Without Any Burgundy)
Artur Silva doesn't play by wine rules. He pairs uni with Barolo. He updates his omakase wine pairings every four days. He'll put 40-year-old whiskey in a cocktail without hesitation.
As Beverage Director at ITO, one of NYC's most acclaimed Japanese omakase restaurants, Artur approaches wine like a craft cocktail bartender who accidentally fell in love with terroir. Which is exactly what happened.
His philosophy comes from an unlikely source: Ratatouille. "Anyone can cook" doesn't mean everyone can be a great chef. It means great cooks can come from anywhere. Even a rat. Apply that to wine, and you get Artur's obsession: anyone can make wine, and every hill could produce wine. You just need the right people in the right place.
For Playlist's S02E06, Artur curated 12 wines that capture what Burgundy represents to him. The catch? Not a single bottle is from Burgundy. Instead, he found winemakers around the world who use grapes as a medium to transport the essence of their land. People making "Burgundy" without calling it that.
Honesty. Transparency. Deliberate. That's his vibe.
Q&A with Artur Silva
Matt Friesen (Playlist): What inspired your selections for the drop?
Artur Silva: I wanted to understand why pairings work, why there's such a diversity of pairings, and what makes them possible to sequence.
In the movie Ratatouille, there's a theme where the fictitious chef says, 'Anyone can cook.' The critic initially hates this idea, thinking it's childish and ludicrous. But in the end, he realizes it's a metaphor: great cooks can come from anywhere, even a rat. It's not that everyone can be a great chef, but that anyone, regardless of background, has the potential.
I became a bit obsessed with this idea, thinking that anyone can make wine and every hill could produce wine. You just need the right people in the right place. From there, I asked myself, 'Has this terroir been expressed? Is this place interesting?' It boiled down to finding people who use grapes as a medium to transport the essence of their land.
To me, this is the essence of terroir. Not all wine embodies this, and not all wine opinions align with it. My obsession with Burgundy stems from the fact that a four-foot difference in any direction, using the same varietal, results in completely different expressions. The methods aren't very different; it's the land that makes the difference. It's the art of transposing the land through the grape. I tried to apply this on a scale that might have been too ambitious.
MF: If you had to describe the vibe of this drop in three words, what would they be?
AS: Three words are always tough for me because the only ones that come to mind are honesty, transparency, and being deliberate. There's no single word for being deliberate, but if there were, that would be it.
All these words are similar yet different. Through this process, I've found more and more places where people are essentially making Burgundy. I know that sounds crazy, but it's what Burgundy represents to me and what that metaphor for the wine means to me.
What Burgundy means to me with no Burgundy in the list.
MF: We met at ITO a couple of months ago, and I was blown away. It was the first time I experienced a Japanese omakase that paired wine along with sake. I love how that added a different level of depth. I'm curious, how do you approach pairing wine with the complex and subtle flavors of Japanese cuisine?
AS: Pairings often come down to generalities like fat content, types of meats and proteins, vegetable interactions, and acid notes. This gives you a wide range of options. However, omakase doesn't adhere to generalities. For example, you might have three fatty fish—Otoro, Sea Perch, and another—that fit the same descriptors but are as different from each other as lamb is from chicken.
When pairing for this level of nuance in the food, the beverage pairing has to match. I realized that you need to forget all the generalities and focus piece by piece. Start with one specific bottling and match it to one specific dish. Once you find a pairing that works, try to adjust up or down until you build a small narrative. Each pairing must be precise and piece-by-piece specific. If you don't achieve this precision in every pairing, you'll need to refine your approach.
MF: I would imagine the progression of the evening changes frequently, if not daily. How often do you have to update them?
AS: I used to say I updated the pairings once a month, but it really ended up being every four or five days. For example, we would swap different types of sashimi: sometimes it would be ChuToro, sometimes Otoro, Akami, or Hirame. These changes worked with the sauce set by adjusting the acid balance.
However, with wine, I can't manually change the acid balance in the bottle. So, I learned to adjust the pairings piece by piece. I could switch the order of the wines, deciding where the champagnes fall, starting with the rosé instead, then moving into the white, and building a progression with alternatives that are brighter or less bright.
For instance, we have an Egon Müller that leads into a Ridge Grenache Blanc from the U.S. From a technical standpoint, there's no congruency, but side by side, piece by piece, it makes perfect sense. It's the only way it works. The challenge is that if you remove that pairing from the specific omakase, it results in chaos. But when experienced together, it fits neatly.
MF: What's the wildest reaction you've ever seen from a guest after they tasted a wine you recommended?
AS: People often act mind-blown and get confused, especially when they know enough about wine to recognize that I'm breaking the rules in a major way. I've had people react more strongly, asking, "Are you sure you want to do this?" I assure them that my title and credentials mean it's okay and to just trust the professional. We'll be fine.
Beyond that, it's the lifelong friendships that have come from wine suggestions and pairings that stand out. I've met people at a table who I've since attended their weddings and built deep, well-connected relationships with. It all started with small conversations about preferences, leading to moments where they realized, "I didn't know wine could do that." I share these discoveries passionately because I didn't know either until I did.
MF: As someone who's worked extensively with both cocktails and wines, how has your approach to creating cocktails influenced your approach to wine?
AS: Professionally, I started at a high level with craft cocktails. I was learning about spirits, building programs, and eventually running one. The biggest change is the culture. Craft cocktail culture has a sense of humility and experimentation, along with a bit of irreverence. Cocktail enthusiasts are willing to put 40-year-old whiskey in a cocktail without hesitation. I am still one of those people.
Transitioning from that to the Jean-Georges group, where there is a reverence for the history of wine and definite do's and don'ts, was a significant shift. However, maintaining the attitude of ignoring traditional rules and just making it worth it was important. The biggest cultural difference is the willingness to make mistakes, step on sacred lines, and experiment on the edges.
MF: I love that. That really embodies the spirit of Playlist. It's not about the traditional rules - it's about having fun and drinking delicious wine and discovery. I'm curious, do you have a favorite wine-based cocktail?
AS: Absolutely. There's a clear answer to this question. My favorite, and the first one that came to mind, is a mulled wine New York sour that we developed at Clocktower. It is incredible.
If anyone is making New York sours, try making some mulled wine first. Play around with it, and text me if you need a recipe that works really well. That drink tastes like magic. Besides that, the Aperol Spritz is a close second. It's happiness in a glass, perfection, and stupid simple. What would you rather have on a beach?
MF: What was the moment you realized that you fell in love with wine?
AS: I can thank my parents for my early interest in food and wine. They owned a restaurant when I was a kid in Brazil. Although my parents are Portuguese, they traveled a lot around the world, doing all kinds of things—much like yourself—very entrepreneurial people.
One of my earliest memories is going to dinner with my father at a restaurant in Portugal. It was a relatively formal place with nice stonework, and at the end of dinner, he had port wine. My father is an ex-military, stoic, old-school European, with a strong sense of boundaries and rules. Despite this, he gave me some of the port wine, which was a very OG European thing to do.
I was just a kid, and it shocked me how different it was from anything I'd ever had. It stuck with me like a lightbulb moment. I will always remember that first taste, as it changed my perception of what things could taste like. It was a pivotal moment for me, even as a kid.
MF: Could you describe your perfect bite and what you would be pairing it with?
AS: The word "perfect" is so loaded for me. When I really boil it down, I realize that perfection doesn't exist. So, is the perfect bite something we're always chasing, or is it just a series of transient experiences?
For me, it's the latter. It's about the moment in time when it happens, making it perfect for that experience. And then, a new perfect will come later.
MF: Wait, wait… so what you're trying to say is that the perfect bite isn't just about the taste of something, but it's the perfect moment?
AS: Exactly.
MF: Imagine you're hosting a relaxing Sunday brunch with friends. What's a surprising / out-of-the-box wine that you'd serve?
AS: This is an easy one for me because I can just go with sake. There's a very specific type of sake called Bodaimoto, made in a traditional way by a brewery called Mimurosugi. They do a once-a-year release, and it's not crazy expensive. It's made by monks in a temple dedicated to the god of sake, and their attitude towards it is very laissez-faire—pour it, drink it, who cares? The temple itself is over 800 years old.
This sake is my Sunday brunch wine for all those contrasting reasons. In fact, I'm heading to a barbecue today, and I'll be bringing it along.
MF: This wouldn't be Playlist if I didn't ask you, what song perfectly complements the brunch?
AS: I Got You by James Brown!
MF: In the spirit of breaking the mold, what's a traditional wine pairing rule you love to break?
AS: That's an easy one for me because I do it every time we do the pairing.
It's the uni with red wines. High-grade auction uni has many rules regarding shellfish and what you're supposed to pair with it. I've paired it with Barolo, Pinot, and other reds. I usually choose reds because, in my opinion, they're the right pairing. It might surprise some people, but it's delicious.
I argue that it's probably the right pairing, and maybe once consensus shifts, I'll switch back to whites or try sherry or something fun. The idea that there's a generic rule saying you can't pair a certain category of wine with this is something I like to challenge. Whatever the rule is, I like to find the exception.
So, I guess all of them, but definitely challenging categorical rules in pairing, basically with all of them.
MF: In a world where personalization and algorithms dominate our lives, how do you discover new wine and music?
AS: I'm not really affected by these constraints because I've avoided social media so actively. I don't use Instagram, and my Facebook account is mainly for texting old family members. Instagram is the most modern platform I understand; I don't use TikTok or Snapchat.
Without the social ecosystem constantly pointing me in new directions, my experiences haven't changed much. It's still pretty routine, word-of-mouth-based. For new wines, I rely on authorities in the field—importers, distributors, and sommeliers. We do big portfolio tastings and get early access to what's coming to market.
For new music, it's similar. I'll watch a film or show and then look up the composer or producer. I'll check the credits, find a producer whose style I like, and explore other music they've created. So, avoiding social media hasn't affected me much because I've stepped out of the bubble enough.
MF: What do you think is the next big trend in the world of wine?
AS: I think the real question is about the next big change in the wine industry. Regenerative agriculture is where it's headed. Everyone striving to be biodynamic and organic is now looking at soil depletion and its effects on wines and soils. Vines are a monoculture, and we want to plant them for 70 to 100 years, maybe longer. To bridge this gap, we're moving towards cover crops and regenerative agriculture.
Regenerative agriculture is no longer confined to small pockets in Spain or a few dedicated individuals. It's becoming mainstream in the wine world and will soon be the standard practice.
Another significant factor is how global warming will change varietals. Burgundy, for instance, is benefiting from the warmer climate, though this may not last long. The English wine industry is also thriving, producing beautiful bubbly wines due to the warmer climate.
So, while global warming is a major factor, regenerative agriculture is the most significant upcoming change. It will revolutionize how we make wine and address the challenges we face.
MF: Thanks Artur. To close out, if you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
AS: Get more sleep. For sure. Am I going to take that advice moving forward? Nope, absolutely not. Giving advice and taking advice are very different.
We often know what the right answers are, but will we follow them? It's about making the immediate best choices, right? Do you sleep well? I ask because you're a serial entrepreneur.
MF: I don't sleep well at all. I go to bed late and wake up early. I try different things like acupuncture to bring my energy down and make it easier to sleep. But no, I don't sleep well.
AS: Yeah, I haven't met anyone who does a lot of things and sleeps well. We all know how important sleep is; the science is clear. But there's no small coincidence—I've never met any high performers who sleep well. Not one. Maybe it's the delirium that keeps people going. Hopefully I'll figure it out one day.
Discover Artur's Drop
Explore the 12 wines Artur Silva curated for S02E06. What Burgundy means to him, without a single bottle from Burgundy.
FAQs
Who is Artur Silva?
Artur is the Beverage Director at ITO, a renowned Japanese omakase restaurant in NYC. He came from craft cocktails and brings that experimental, rule-breaking energy to wine.
What makes Artur's wine curation unique?
He pairs with precision, piece by piece. He updates his omakase wine pairings every 4-5 days. And he's not afraid to break every traditional rule if it makes the pairing worth it.
What Drop did Artur curate for Playlist?
Artur curated S02E06, featuring wines that embody what Burgundy represents - terroir-driven, honest, transparent - without including any actual Burgundy.
What wine rule does he love to break?
Pairing uni with red wine. Specifically Barolo and Pinot Noir with high-grade auction uni. Traditional rules say no, but Artur says it's delicious.
What's his philosophy on wine?
Anyone can make wine, and every hill could produce wine. You just need the right people in the right place using grapes to transport the essence of their land.
What advice would he give his younger self?
Get more sleep. Will he take that advice? Absolutely not.
