SHŌ is expanding the language of pairing with an eight-drink experience created expressly for Shōjin, the restaurant’s new plant-based omakase. Developed by Bar Director Pepe Pereyra, the pairing combines the ritual and structure of classic wine service with the inventiveness of modern cocktail-making, unfolding as a zero-proof progression that evolves in step with Executive Chef Mari Katsumura’s vegan tasting menu.
Rather than assemble a traditional lineup of juice-forward mocktails, Pereyra set out to recreate the way wine behaves alongside food, including how its acidity, aromatics, and texture unfold across the palate and how its finish carries into the next bite. At the foundation is a selection of nonalcoholic wines from Oddbird, each traditionally vinified before the alcohol is gently removed through vacuum distillation to preserve its character.
Working with expressions including a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend, sparkling rosé, sparkling orange wine, and a Riesling-Sylvaner white blend, Pereyra layers in teas, organic shrubs, and ingredients drawn directly from the kitchen—from red miso syrup and strawberry vinegar to verjus and fresh citrus—giving each pour its own identity.
“Just as working without traditional proteins opened new creative possibilities for Chef Mari, working without alcohol pushed me to think differently about every glass,” says Pereyra. “We both let the ingredients guide us, and for me that meant chasing the way wine moves with food, rather than simply replacing it.”
Served off ice in wine glasses, the drinks are designed to be swirled, sipped, and experienced alongside each course. The progression opens bright and effervescent, pairing the canapés with an alcohol-removed Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend layered with Mallorca melon, watermelon, and saline. As the menu unfolds, the drinks move into more savory, umami-rich territory. The hot somen, for example, is accompanied by a Tempranillo-based pour accented with red cabbage shrub and yuzu.
The complete spirit-free pairing journey includes the following.
- Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre, Mallorca Melon, Watermelon, and Saline
Paired with the opening canapés. - Seedlip Spice 94, Red Verjus, Pineapple, Beet, and Red Miso
Paired with the beet crudo. - Pinot Blanc-Riesling, Wölffer Verjus, Orange, Watermelon, and Lapsang Souchong
Paired with the sweet corn velouté. - Pinot Blanc-Riesling, Cucumber, Yuzu, and Celery Shrub
Paired with the tofu, artichoke, and broccolini hand rolls. - Sparkling Rosé, Seedlip Spice 94, and Umami Shrub
Made with yuzu, wild kombu, ginger, and sake lees vinegar; paired with the eggplant and mushroom hand rolls. - French White Blend, Wölffer Verjus, Ginger, Yuzu, and Sesame Oil
Paired with the pea soufflé. - Tempranillo, Red Verjus, Red Cabbage Shrub, and Yuzu
Paired with the hot somen. - Seedlip Spice 94, Red Verjus, Umami Shrub, Strawberry Vinegar, and Red Miso
Paired with the hojicha, almond, and chocolate soft serve.
A Broader Beverage Landscape
The Shōjin pairing is part of a broader beverage program led by General Manager and Sommelier Preston Smith, who develops distinct wine, sake, and platinum pairings around SHŌ’s evolving menus. Each progression is built course by course. Sake selections span different prefectures, brewing methods, and yeast strains, while the wine pairings move across regions, colors, and styles to complement the restaurant’s Japanese foundation and global influences. The platinum pairing, a guest favorite, brings together standout wine, sake, and spirit selections in one highly curated progression.
“Pairings should never feel like checking a box or following a formula,” says Smith. “We want each pour to create a genuine connection with the course while introducing guests to producers, regions and styles they may not have encountered before. Sometimes the right answer is wine, sometimes it is sake or a spirit — the menu should always lead the decision.”
Meet the Team
Pepe Pereyra
The line between kitchen and bar has always been fluid for Pepe Pereyra. He began his career cooking in Chinese and Japanese restaurants across Colorado and Texas before moving behind the bar, eventually holding roles at Chicago destinations including River Roast, Cherry Circle Room, After Lounge, and the intimate Milk Room. At SHŌ, that culinary foundation allows him to engage directly with Chef Mari Katsumura’s menus, borrowing ingredients, techniques, and flavor combinations from the kitchen and remixing them in the glass.
Pereyra’s approach is equally rooted in his Mexican upbringing, where cooking, pouring, and gathering around the table were natural expressions of care. His drinks balance precision with generosity, bringing sweet, savory, and umami flavors into combinations that often sound unexpected but arrive with clarity and purpose.
Preston Smith
Preston Smith came to hospitality by way of the stage. Before building his career in Chicago dining rooms, he spent a decade as a professional performer, earned a Master of Arts in Musical Theatre from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and toured across three continents. That background still informs the way he thinks about service through pacing, storytelling, and an acute awareness of the room.
A Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas, Smith held combined wine and management roles at Cherry Circle Room and Beity before joining SHŌ. Today, he oversees both the guest experience and the restaurant’s wine and sake program, approaching each pairing like a carefully sequenced playlist in which every pour must earn its place. His selections prioritize small producers, sustainable farming, and female brewers and winemakers, always chosen in service of Chef Mari Katsumura’s cooking and the occasion unfolding at the table.
