There are
several reasons to drink Sake, but I don't know too many people who have
been motivated by even one of them to try it.
For folks
that don't know anything about Sake here is some motivation:
It's new
to you. And with so many styles the newness lasts at least a little while.
Richard Auffrey, a local food/beverage writer and Certified Sake Professional,
has compiled a list of the different styles in an article entitled Types of Sake. I personally like the Nigori style where some of the lees are left in the
finished product creating a creamy texture and leaving lots more to ponder in
the glass. You might like a sparkling Sake or any number of the other styles
served Nama style, e.g. on draft. Sake infused with fruit flavors might do it
for you or you might be interested in how organic sake is different from other
types. Junmai and Ginjo are the two styles I have most often enjoyed. The
progression in quality between the two
is a great segway to the next point.
( A mural on the outside of the SakeOne kura in Forest Grove, Oregon. Look how happy they appear! )
Sake is a
fermented beverage with a special process (they use a mold to convert rice starch to sugar!) and a long history. Some of
the process, see Sake Brewing, is reminiscent of beer brewing (heating the rice) while other aspects are like wine, clearing and aging for example. Quality in Sake is governed by a number of factors with the
primary one being how much of the rough, outer portion of the rice is polished
away before it is used to make Sake. Learning how it is made and some of the
traditions of its long history is akin to studying terroir, place names and
famous wine-making families. There is
ALWAYS more to learn!
( The apparatus used to mill the Sake rice at SakeOne in Oregon. )
( The koji grow room at SakeOne in Oregon. )
I believe I
had my first taste of Sake about 20 years ago. I was out with friends at an
Asian restaurant and somebody asked if I had ever had it and then suggested we
try it when I and others said we hadn't. I don't remember the experience in any
detail, but I do recall thinking it was similar to white wine, Riesling in
fact, and that it was a good match with the food.
Once you get
a taste of Sake there is wide world of possibilities, and so many more reasons
to drink it, and not just from the different styles. I am learning firsthand
that Sake is a phenomenal agent in food pairing, and not just with Asian
cuisine as you might initially think. I've not ventured far off the Asian
cuisine/Sake pairing playbook quite yet, but as I gain more exposure to the
different styles I am feeling more confident to try new pairings. My guide is
again Richard Auffrey who has written many posts on Sake and two in particular
on food pairing that really lay out the potential here. For Sake food pairing
basics check out Sake & Food. Reading the more in depth article, The Science of Sake & Food Pairings, you will find notes on the chemical compounds
in Sake and food that are working together to create delicious pairings, as
well tips on how the different styles can be generalized in their food pairing
roles.
I've explored
some of that world of possibilities in 2012 and my new Sake experiences are
steadily filling in my knowledge of the styles and have provided me with opportunities
to try Sake in different settings.
In April
when Margot and I headed to Miami before shipping out on the Kid Rock Cruise we
dined at Tony Chan's Water Club, a well known Chinese restaurant in town. I was
very excited because I was taking my wife out for her first sushi experience,
something I had only started to enjoy in the previous year. Having done my
research I knew the Water Club had Sake on the list, and when I got to ordering
I selected the Kuromatsu-Hakushika Junmai Daiginjo (in the photo on the right) which I knew to be of the
highest grade (thanks Richard!) and a style I had yet to try. The pairing of
the Sake with the different sushi bites served to both enhance the fish and to
cleanse the palate for an optimal transition between each piece. Much richer
than the sushi, the Three Cup Chicken gave me the opportunity to see how Sake
would pair with an entree. It did well, but the richness of the sauce overpowered
it a bit. Margot loved the sushi (so did I!) and I happily finished my Sake
before taking a stroll along the marina at sunset.
My second
sake experience this year was a visit to SakeOne in Forest Grove, Oregon during
my trip for the Wine Bloggers Conference (#WBC12). I didn't come in early enough to take
the pre-conference excursion to SakeOne, rather I planned trip for Margot and I
on the first of our three post-conference vacation days. The tour of the kura
(Sake brewery) was very similar to the many winery and brewery tours we've taken
before and while my one attempt at brewing Sake was not successful, I was
familiar with the process enough for there not be any surprises during the tour.
I did catch a video of a the top of a batch fermenting. If you look real close
you can see some gentle bubbling.
The
highlight of the visit was the post-tour tasting. The selections at the tasting
bar included the full product line from SakeOne and a number of imported
products, including some highly sought after Sakes. Sidenote: SakeOne was
created by a company originally launched in 1992 as an importer partnership
with the Murai Family and the Momokawa Brewing Company of Japan. Within 10
years a new kura had been built and the company renamed itself SakeOne and
began producing Sake from Californian rice and local water. For a more in depth
review of the company, history and
products check out SakeOne - Craft Sake In Oregon. The products available for
tasting reflect this history and the ongoing partnership with the Murai Family
whose products are among the retail and tasting room offerings.
( A wall of Sake at SakeOne! )
SakeOne uses
the Momokawa name for their line of traditional Sakes. We tasted the Silver, Organic
Junmai Ginjo, Ruby and the Ruby Nama style for our opening flight. The most
notable aspect of the flight was how the Ruby served from the bottle differed
from the Nama version. The Nama style was much bigger and bolder with more
acidity and fruit all around. The lack of pasteurization really does give you
some idea of what is sacrificed in pasteurization to be able to stabilize the
product for transport and longer shelf life.
The next
Sake was the G Joy Ginjo Genshu, a more robust
and spicier style made specifically to appeal to the American palate. I
really like this Sake, but that is not to say that I prefer it to the other
styles I tasted, I just think the purposeful crafting of this style resonates
with me. I could see this as my house Sake to have on hand for casual sipping
and cocktails, and in fact I do have a bottle open right now for just those
purposes!
( My "house" sake! )
We then
transitioned to the Nigori style, coarsely filtered and often milky colored and
thicker, sampling both the Momokawa Organic Nigori and the Murai Family Nigori
Genshu. The texture and viscosity of Nigori Sake will differ from producer to
producer and the Murai Nigori Genshu was considerably thicker than the
Momokawa. Both were very smooth, sweet, a little starchy and offered a lot more
fruit (tropical fruits were predominant) to the palate. The combination of the
texture, sweetness and additional fruit made me swoon.
( The bottle is full, the unfiltered rice has settled. )
Our final
flight was from the Moonstone product line, Sakes infused with fruit extracts. The
Moonstone Sakes are a blend of the house brewed Junami Ginjo style sake, except the coconut lemongrass which is a Nigori, and all-natural fruit extracts with flavors of plum, raspberry, coconut/lemongrass and
pear. Margot found her sweet spot here, and the Moonstone Plum was her favorite.
I tasted the Plum, Coconut Lemongrass and Pear. All of them taste well enough
of Sake, but with the added fruit flavors they come off as much more of a
cocktail, and that is alright by me! It could be said that this would be a good
way to introduce someone weary of Sake to the beverage, but I think the flavors
in the mouth mask the natural Sake flavors too much for it to be used as an
instructional tool. These beverages are sippers, cocktail Sakes and perfect for
socializing.
( What an exciting experience. And we ordered some to have shipped home! )
My most
recent Sake experience was in celebration of Sake Day, a 35 year old celebration
of the beverage and the start of the annual Sake brewing season in Japan.
Kanpai! That's a toast equivalent to cheers in English.
( Richard showing off the Momokawa Nigori Sake on Sake Day. )
For Sake Day
Richard (I guess you could say I like this guy, huh?) organized a Sake and food
dinner at Thelonious Monkfish, a sushi and Asian fusion restaurant, in
Central Square, Cambridge. Richard was going to be pouring six Sakes paired
with three small plates of Asian-inspired appetizers. You can read more about
Sake Day and the local event directly from the man driving the Sake cart
himself in his pre-event post, Celebrate Sake Day on October 1st.
Knowing
Richard would have a diverse selection of Sakes to try I made sure I could
attend, and I was not at all disappointed. The Sakes were poured in the
following order:
- Murai Family Tokubetsu Honjozo
- Wakatake Junmai Onikoroshi
- Manabito Kimoto Junmai Ginjo
- Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo
- Momokawa Organic Nigori
- Moon Rabbit Sparkling Sake
The first
two Sakes paired nicely with spicy tuna on rice, pairing best with the Wakatake
Junmai which I found to be moderately rich and full.
( Spicy Tuna on a Crispy Rice Ball )
Richard
explained that the term Tokubetsu means that something special was done
to make this Sake, perhaps a special type of rice or a process element that is
not typical to the other styles of sake made by the same kura. As a Honjozo Sake
it is made using the four classic ingredients (rice, water, koji, yeast) and
has had neutral brewer's alcohol added to it during the finishing.
( The dumplings, which would be good fried as well! )
I focused
my attention on the next two Sakes paired with the two different dumplings (Chive
and Shrimp respectively), finding both to be worthy partners. The chive
dumpling offered a blend of leafy green and savory flavors that were happily met
with hints of sweetness and spice in the Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo
Sake.
Food
pairings were a hot topic during dinner. Richard conjectured that blue cheese
with Sake would be a much more interesting pairing than I would have actually
thought. The umami (savory, earthy flavors) in both the cheese and the Sake are
what would make this work. When we got to the Momokawa Nigori, Richard
mentioned fruit as a good pairing, and I dug into the fruit salad to confirm
that. I added that making a fruit salad with some of the same Sake in it, an
adult fruit salad if you will, would be a nice bump to a great utility dish
served in multi-course meals. Richard continued the dessert thread and
suggested this Sake would also pair well with coconut cream pie. I would agree
wholeheartedly and all I can say is that we are clearly dangerous people to
dine with!
( The fruit salad was pretty AND delicious! )
The final
flight also included the Moon Rabbit Sparkling Sake, another style I had yet to
experience (other than Sake force carbonated on tap). This Sake is sweet with
plentiful carbonation and tasted much like sparkling Moscato. Something about
this Sake being sparkling tells me that there is much more to explore here. From
some basic research it looks to me like most sparkling Sake trends sweet, but
if there are any drier versions out there I could so many pairing possibilities
for just the sparkling type alone!
I hope my
adventures have provided ample motivation for those of you who haven't tried
Sake to get out and find some. Fine wine merchants, and especially those in
urban areas with Asian and international influence, will often carry Sake
including many that would be excellent for people who are just starting their
education with this beverage. And don't hesitate to try different food pairings.
The Japanese say that "Sake does not get into fights with food", and
with that advice in mind any fear of failure should be much reduced.
Cheers!
Jason
