| Sake 101 |
|
|
| December 2007 | |
|
As American diners have come to appreciate Japanese cuisine—there are now more than 9,000 restaurants that serve sushi—their taste in sake has grown increasingly refined. Just as we recognize that Japanese cuisine is more than tuna rolls, most now realize that sake is more than sake bombs and warmed, generic boxed brew. (Boxed sake is what Bud Light is to an artisan-crafted micro-brew beer). Perhaps one reason for this expansion in the average
American’s premium sake horizon is that restaurants are now offering more
choices. Few can match Sakagura in In Choices are also expanding for consumers who prefer to sip
their sake at home. In addition to being available at Asian markets like Why the surge in sake’s status? Experts point to the popularity of Japanese cuisine and sake’s savory, unassertive flavor profile that pairs well with food. And in general, today’s imbibing trend leans heavily toward lighter alcoholic beverages. “People are drinking lighter and lighter, switching from heavy, rich, oak-y Chardonnays to more Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc and Albarinos from Spain,” finds Christopher E. Coon, veteran sommelier and director of wine and beverage at the ultra-posh Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, Calif. He continues, “And sake is the lightest beverage you can get. It’s a complex puff of air: that’s the best way I can describe it.” In September, the resort’s famed French-Med restaurant, Studio, added a 30-brand sake selection to its already encyclopedic wine list. Sake is brewed in both the Today, Sake is made across “If you remember one word, remember ginjo,” advises sake
expert John Gauntner at a recent sake tasting in Sake is shaped by its brewing method. For instance, Nigori sake is lightly filtered and milky white. Sparkling sake features added carbonation and is popular with Japan’s younger drinkers. Expect the back of an imported sake bottle label to offer important details on the product. The Sake Meter Value (SMV) is a scale that indicates the sweetness to dryness of the sake (the higher the positive number, the dryer the sake). ALC reports alcohol content, typically around 16 percent. Look for the name of the brewery on the label as well as the prefecture of origin. Each sake brand also has a name, designated by the brewery. Translated, names like “Heaven’s Door,” “Summer Snow” and “Moon on the Water,” are poetic and evocative but don’t reveal much to an American consumer. For the sake-curious, a sake tasting is a sure path to greater understanding. At the Studio at Montage, flights of sake are offered various ways: by style, classification (for instance, only high-end daiginjos) or by prefecture for comparison. “It’s going to take some experimenting to discover your sake preference,” says Luigi Alberganti, sommelier and manager at Shibuya, located at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The sake list at Shibuya is artfully presented, with each brand illustrated by a small image of the label, followed by a description and the prefecture of origin outlined in a small map of Japan. Alberganti recommends seeking out an establishment that has a variety of sakes to taste in small amounts. He also suggests making a connection with a restaurant’s sake expert. At Gonapachi in Los Angeles, Drew Myers is just that person—willing to patiently educate customers on the finer points of the eatery’s expansive sake list, grouped under the categories of aromatic, poised, powerful or sweet and special, individually described by flavor profile. In Seattle, Johnnie Stroud and his wife, Taiko, of Sake Nomi, a sake shop and tasting room, are committed to educating customers and demystifying sake buying. The bi-cultural couple met and married in Japan and founded their shop in part because they couldn’t find enough quality sake selections locally. To further his customer’s sake knowledge, Stroud presents detailed tasting notes in English as well as daily sake flights for tasting. Check the Internet for a wealth of sake info and sake fan sites. John Gauntner’s www.sake-world.com is the online bible; order sake at www.esake.com; and blogs, like www.urbansake.com, meticulously detail sake tastes. Or consider the DIY-approach. Shop markets for both domestic and imported sake brands; recently Trader Joe’s added its own house label, and Whole Foods can be relied on for an interesting mid-range priced selection. (Look for Hakutsuru’s Junmai Ginjo in a distinctive blue bottle.) As Japan’s indigenous beverage, sake goes naturally with Japanese food. Chef Masa Shimakawa at Onyx at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village in California suggests traditional food pairings such as Kobe beef carpaccio with chilled sake; never with fried foods or buttery sauces. “Without oversimplifying, the lightness of Asian cuisine, fresh fish and light, simple vegetables, marries well with sake,” agrees Coon. As with wine, the weight of the dish, should match the weight of sake: the lighter the dish, the lighter the sake. Premium sake is best chilled; conveniently, the ideal serving temperature is found on the label. “By far, the passion and human touch that they use when making sake, impressed me the most,” says Shibuya’s Alberganti, who studied in Japan with Gauntner. Most breweries are very humble and rustic, with most steps in sake brewing done by hand, in a labor-intensive process. “They brew it for the pure honor of the product,” Alberganti continues, adding, “There’s something magical about it.”
Sake Retail Options Saké Nomi True Sake Sakaya Comments (0)
 Write comment
You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
Sake begins with rice. Via a process that originated 1,000
years ago in 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
