Anne-Sophie Pic x MURI
Uzume
Some collaborations begin with a brief. This one began with a conversation.
Maison Pic first became a customer of MURI in 2021, when we were still a young company finding our place in the world. Over the years, Murray remained in touch with Anne-Sophie Pic and Cheffe Sommelier Paz Levinson. What began as a shared curiosity gradually became a project: to create a sparkling rosé without alcohol that could bring the same pleasure, complexity and sense of occasion as a great bottle of wine.
Three years later, that project became Uzume.
A blend of fermented strawberries, ice-clarified tomato wine, smoked vanilla and whey, Uzume takes inspiration from one of the world's most beloved flavour combinations: strawberries and cream.
It is nostalgic at first glance. Few flavor combinations are as capable of transporting us to our childhood. A summer table. A favourite dessert. The feeling that something good is about to happen.
But familiarity is only the beginning.
The strawberries are fermented in three different ways, deepening their perfume and bringing brightness, texture and complexity. Tomato adds savoury depth and freshness. Vanilla is gently smoked over beechwood, adding warmth and a subtle smoky note that arrives just as the fruit begins to fade.
The result is bright, creamy and layered. Familiar enough to make you smile, complex enough to keep your attention.
A shared approach
Anne-Sophie Pic's cuisine is celebrated for revealing unexpected connections between ingredients. At MURI, we approach drinks in much the same way.
We begin with exceptional raw materials and use fermentation, clarification, smoking and other culinary techniques to explore what they might become. Not by disguising ingredients, but by allowing them to express more of themselves.
Complexity, for us, comes from transformation.
Uzume became one of the most demanding drinks we have ever developed. Strawberries and cream sounds simple until you spend three years trying to perfect it.
Every element was refined repeatedly. Every ingredient had to earn its place. The final blend brings together Anne-Sophie Pic's instinct for flavour and MURI's approach to fermentation and blending.
It feels unmistakably like both.
The flavour
Uzume is built around Danish strawberries, fermented in three different ways to draw out their perfume, freshness and ripe fruit character.
Yoghurt whey lends a soft, creamy texture. Ice-clarified tomato wine contributes savoury depth and subtle umami. Beechwood-smoked vanilla lifts the aroma and leaves a gentle smoky finish.
Lightly sparkling and finely balanced, Uzume combines ripe red fruit, refined acidity and a long savoury finish.
The occasion
Uzume was made for the moments when opening a bottle should feel like an event.
It has the brightness to begin a meal, the structure to accompany one, and enough complexity to be enjoyed on its own. Pour it for celebrations, long lunches, first courses that become second bottles, and late afternoons with no particular plan beyond staying a little longer.
It is a drink for people who enjoy paying attention to finer details, and who have time to savour the flavors as they emerge.
Serve chilled, ideally around 12°C.
Pour into a wine glass and allow a moment for the aromas to open. As it warms slightly, the strawberry, tomato and smoked vanilla become more expressive.
Uzume works beautifully with shellfish, lobster, tomato-led dishes, burrata, soft cheeses, grilled vegetables and desserts built around red fruit and gentle acidity.
At the Pic bistro in Valence, it is paired with burrata and tomato salad. We are equally fond of it with friends and absolutely no food at all.
