Sakaya NYC Blog

With Thanksgiving  just around the corner,  it’s that time again when the wine scribe community holds forth on the annual “what wine to drink with the big dinner” question.  Somehow, they always seem to land in the same Beaujolais, Zinfandel, Riesling neighborhood….hmmm.  We’ve pondered the question ourselves and, with a bit of a bias as you might suspect, came up with some different answers…

Dassai 39 Sparkling Daiginjo Nigori (Yamaguchi) — Every holiday begins with a kanpai/toast and this expressively effervescent sparkler which strikes the perfect balance between sweet and dry is not only a festive aperitif, but is also a great match with hors d’oeuvres to serve as you welcome your guests.

Akita Bare Suirakuten Junmai Daiginjo (Akita) — To complement your first course, serve this elegant, gentle, compact brew with a clean dry finish.  After tasting this sake, you’ll want to add it to your list of reasons to give thanks.

Sawanoi Kiokejikomi Kimoto Junmai (Tokyo) — For a sublime pairing with roast turkey, savory stuffing, and sides e.g. sweet potatoes, maple bacon brussels sprouts, etc., nothing beats this nutty, creamy, sake with its layers of  butterscotch and caramel flavors balanced with just the right amount of acidity

Housui Tokubetsu Junmai (Tokushima) — As an alternative or a second option for the main course, this aromatic, silky, slightly sweet sake’s peppery flavor and long finish also has the acidity to stand up to the richness of traditional Thanksgiving fare.

So, try sake this Thanksgiving.  You may find yourself  thanking the Japanese for something on this quintessentially American holiday.  Perhaps if all those wine writers did the same, they might come up with a new answer to the annual question.

Please come visit us for specific suggestions for sake ideas to match your menu.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rick & Hiroko

The more familiar you become with sake, the more you come to find how many different approaches there are to making it.  While brewing a beverage from rice, water, yeast, and koji may seem relatively straightforward, there are an unfathomable number of variations on the basic method (if there is such a thing) used by brewers to create their own unique sake.  To add to your experience we’ve scheduled a variety of sake, each with its own “recipe” and story behind it.  Please join us to taste them and hear what was done to give them each their own distinct aromatics and flavor profile.

We look forward to seeing you!

Kanpai!

Rick & Hiroko

Friday, November 6, 2009, 6-8PM

Yumegokoro Sake Brewery Tasting by Nobuo Shoji, the Exective Director

Naraman Muroka Junmai (Fukushiima)

Saturday, November 14, 2009, 5-7PM

Wataribune Junmai Ginjo Tasting (Ibaraki)

Friday, November 20, 2009, 6-8PM

JFC Importer Sake Tasting

Gassanryu Junmai & Ura-Gassanryu Honjozo Muroka Namazume (Yamagata)

Saturday, November 28, 2009, 5-7PM

Takaisami Tokubetsu Junmai (Tottori)

The following day’s brewery visit took me in a completely different direction, to Ozawa Shuzo in scenic Sawai, nestled among verdant mountains about two hours west of the city, but still in Tokyo prefecture. This time, a pleasant five minute walk through the picturesque village led me to my destination, the kura that brews one of my favorite sake, Sawanoi Kiokejikomi Iroha Kimoto Junmai.  My guides Kubo-san and his assistant were gracious and informative, making sure that I saw the cedar tank (kioke) used in making the aforementioned brew, the underground springs that are their two water sources, and a wall of koshu (aged sake) vintages dating back 20 years.

Another highlight of the visit was a perfect lunch at their fabled tofu restaurant perched serenely just above the rapids of the Tama River. As my server presented each in a series of delectable tofu dishes, I sipped from the flight of four Sawanoi sake that I had pre-selected while gazing at the natural beauty of the tableau spread out before my windowside table.  Even as rain began to fall, it only enhanced what couldn’t have been a more peaceful and relaxing experience!

Accompanied by our friend Melinda, I set out early the morning following the SSI awards event for Huchuhomare Shuzo in Ishioka, a small town in Sonoma-like Ibaraki-ken, about an hour and a half north by train from Shinjuku station in Tokyo.  On our arrival at Ishioka station, we were greeted warmly by the smiling shacho-san (brewery President) Takaaki Yamauchi.  As he drove us to his family-owned brewery, we discussed the local effects of the typhoon which had made landfall in eastern Japan the day before, destroying several older buildings nearby.  Fortunately, no harm had come to any of the inhabitants!  (Aside from high winds which temporarily shut down rail service, the much-anticipated typhoon had been a non-event in Tokyo).

Following a welcome of tea and sweets in the ancient reception room, Yamauchi-san led us on an intriguing tour of the kura.  We then tasted the full line of Wataribune nihonshu as he described the history of the brewery and how he had come to use the unique Wataribune strain of  sakamai (sake rice varietal) to make his sake.  It seems that a former high-ranking Ministry of Agriculture official who had retired to the locale, about twenty years ago suggested that Huchuhomare consider resurrecting the long-ago used pure strain.  Only problem was that all they could find was about 15 grams of seeds in the seed bank.  Not a lot to start a rice field with!  Nevertheless, they planted it, collected the seeds each year and eventually cultivated a sufficient supply for sake brewing.  The story came to life quickly as our next stop was that very rice field itself which surrounds our lunch destination, the homemade tofu and soba restaurant owned and operated by, you guessed it, the gentleman who brought Wataribune to Yamauchi-san!

To learn more about the wonder of Wataribune, read this.

Earlier this month, I traveled to Tokyo to receive The Sake Service Institute’s (SSI) Honorary Master Sake Sommelier Award (Kikizake-shi) on behalf of SAKAYA. Since it was the 10th Anniversary of these awards, there were a number of luminaries from the worlds of sake, journalism, and Japanese hospitality in attendance at the three-hour event which featured a Shinto ceremony, awards presentation, and dinner.

As one of three America-based honorees along with True Sake‘s Beau Timken and T.I.C Restaurant Group‘s Bon Yagi (owner of Sakagura, Decibel, Robataya, and a number of other Japanese restaurants in NYC), I was thrilled that our efforts to promote enthusiasm for sake and its linkage to Japanese culture were recognized, and honored to have been included among such distinguished (and far more accomplished) company.

Accompanied by Hiroko’s dear friend Hitomi, who met me at my hotel dressed in a beautiful pink kimono, I found the event to be a curious mix of glitz and traditional ritual. At one moment we’d be bathed in swirling lights from a mirror ball with blasting disco music, then a few minutes later, silence would be broken by mournful chant from a Shinto priest. It was truly East meets West. We shuttled back and forth between a reception room where we met and conversed with the other honorees, SSI dignitaries, and their friends and family to photo sessions, and the ballroom where the Shinto ceremony and awards dinner took place.  During the dinner, we were called to the stage to accept our awards, traditional scrolls bearing our official kikizakeshi plus a medal of honor which would put a military commendation to shame, while those in attendance ate or watched (or both).

What I found interesting was that although it was a sake event, the beverage was but a bit player in the grand scheme of things. It was available in the reception room during our down time between shuttling and a small glass was at each of our seats during the ceremony. I purposely didn’t drink it as I anticipated a “kanpai” at the conclusion of the proceedings which never came. For dinner, there were four sake servings of about 2 oz. but no refills offered. Odd, I thought for an event dedicated to promoting service of the brew!

What there was in abundance were appeals for money. Each of the honorees had been responsible for a “donation” to the Shinto shrine from which the priest had come to perform the ceremony. There were also envelopes and forms given to each person soliciting donations for the SSI foundation.  Finally, after the awards were given and as dinner segued into dessert, there was an auction of sake, shochu, and other donated items to raise money for the same(?) foundation. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that fund-raising, may in fact, have been the point of the event.

The balance of the trip was devoted to: visiting sake breweries Huchuhomare Shuzo and Ozawa Shuzo, the makers of Wataribune and Sawanoi respectively, a sake yeast focused tutorial tasting at Japan Prestige Sake‘s Okanaga Club with sake master Dr. Koichiro Mori, exploring the Tokyo food and drink scene with friends Hitomi and Hanayo Kishi, Melinda Joe, J.P. Mudry, Ted O’Neill, Etsuko Nakamura, and a day of tasting sake from Shimane prefecture, sake shopping, and izakaya drinking with friend and mentor John Gauntner.

Interested in visiting sake breweries?  If you are, we have exciting news….

Our friends Etsuko Nakamura and John Gauntner (author of The Sake Handbook) have put together the sake-lover’s dream vacation!

Now, anyone can access the inner workings of the sake world. Visit Japan, start off with a bit of formal sake education by sake guru John Gauntner, then you’re off to visit  several sake breweries to see how sake is made while under the care of an experienced sake-savvy interpreter.  Some stays in ryokans (Japanese inn) and sake-focused dinners at izakaya (sake pubs) round out the experience.

This brewing season, there are two tours planned:

Tour I: February 23 to 27 in the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe) area

Visit sake breweries including those in the historic sake town of Fushimi (in Kyoto), one of the major brewing towns in Japan as well as Japanese gardens and historic Nijo Castle, built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Edo period shogun.

Tour II: March 15 to 19 in the San-in (Shimane/Tottori/Hiroshima) area

In addition to visiting breweries, this tour also includes a visit to the  Izumo Grand Shrine, one of Japan’s most ancient and important shrines, plus parks and art museums.

For more information, pricing and reservations please visit Sake Brewery Tour.  Participation is extremely limited this season for the two tours that are scheduled.

October is an exciting month for sake enthusiasts.  Nihonshu no Hi (Sake Day) on the 1st is when Japanese celebrate with  Hiyaoroshi, the  first release of once-pasteurized sake bottled in the spring. We’ll be offering two tastings for you to try it on its first availability in this country later in the month.

In the meantime, we’ll be reprising the popular Ume no Yado Yuzu-shu and Aragoshi Umeshu and debuting the new-to-our-shores Ninki ichi Junmai Ginjo on consecutive weeks.

Please join us for any and all as we celebrate the fall season at SAKAYA!

Thursday, October 1, 2009, 6-8pm

Sake Day Celebration Tasting

Saturday, October 3, 2009, 3-6pm

Daiei Trading Tasting

Umenoyado Yuzu & Umeshu (Nara)

Saturday, October 24, 2009, 5-7pm

Japan Prestige Sake Hiyaoroshi Tasting

Friday, October 30, 2009, 6-8pm

Japan Prestige Sake HiyaoroshiTasting

October 1st is Sake Day (Nihonshu no Hi) in Japan and we will be commemorating this most important of days with our second annual celebration at SAKAYA on Thursday evening, October 1 from 6-8PM.  In the spirit of this auspicious occasion, the festivities will feature “ample samples” of a selection of six of our favorite sake imported by Japan Prestige Sake and Nishimoto Trading Company, embodying a set of distinctly different styles from across Japan.

 The sake sampling season of September is in full swing!  With brewers descending on New York for their importer and distributor events, we’re excited about welcoming a full complement of them to SAKAYA for a line up of terrific tastings.  Please join us for as many as you’re able to fit into your schedule.

And don’t forget about Joy of Sake on September 24 where there will be over 270 sake to taste! Tickets may be purchased at SAKAYA for $80.

Friday, September 4, 2009, from 6 to 8PM

Daishichi Brewer Sake Tasting (Fukushima)

Daishichi Kimoto Classic Junmai, Minowamon Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo, & Daishichi Kimoto Umeshu

Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 3 to 6PM

Niigata Sake SENA Tasting

Kirinzan Junmai & Manotsuru Junmai Ginjo Genshu

Friday, September 18, 2009, from 6 to 8PM

Joto Sake Tasting

Yuho Junmai (Ishikawa) & Taiheikai Tokubetsu Junmai (Ibaraki)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009, from 6 to 8PM

Shochu Tasting by Satsuma Distiller (Kagoshima)

Satsuma Shiranami Imo (Sweet Potato) Shochu & Kuro Shiranami Imo Shocchu

Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 5 to 7PM

Nanbu Bijin Brewer Tasting (Iwate)

Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai

  

August is the height of tomato season so we’ve been indulging ourselves at every opportunity. Due to several factors including a wet June and July, there has been much discussion and angst about a blight affecting much of the tomato crop in the Northeast this year. The result has been a surge in price, particularly with heirloom tomatoes. Current prices at the Union Square Greenmarket range from $6 to $8 per pound. Because we look forward to this late summer treat so much and want to support the farmers in their hour of need, we continue to buy them but are more careful about weighing them before we buy.

However, even the high price has not discouraged us from purchasing our beloved summer favorite heirloom tomatoes. This year, we experimented with pairing our tomatoes with different types of sake. Since tomatoes have an abundance of umami, we thought that there would be a natural affinity for an umami-laden Yamahai junmai sake. For our choice of Yamahai, we decided on Kuroobi Do Do Yamahai Junmai from Fukumitsuya brewery in Ishikawa prefecture. Usually, we like to warm this sake to further awaken its earthy, rich, creamy character. But this particular food pairing, coupled with the August heat and humidity suggested that giving this brew a slight chill in the fridge was the way to go.

We were delighted but not surprised to discover that the Kuro Obi Do Do and tomatoes were a sensuous, palate-pleasing match. The pairing of the sweetness and slight acidity of tomatoes and the earthy flavor of Yamahai danced a seamless tango in our mouths. The mozzarella we had added to the salad also played perfectly off the lactic elements that are the hallmark of Yamahai sake.

So don’t wait for the fall or winter to drink Yamahai (or its cousin Kimoto) sake, its umami makes it a wonderful complement to some of summer’s best produce, locally grown tomatoes!

(For a complete selection of Yamahai and Kimoto sake please visit SAKAYA.)