Like great winemakers, sake producers make beverages that do more than quench thirst: their brews reflect the place from which they came in the flavor of the type of rice, the local water and the yeasts used.
The result is an array of sakes, each filled with its own particular flavors and scents, its own particular personality.
Sake masters don’t often go on tour in the United States, but next week, five sake masters from Fukucho, Kanbara, Chiyonosono, Tentaka Kuni and Takasago are coming to Denver to pour their sakes and tell us about their craft in person. See the Food Calendar (above) for tastings.
Crafting sake is a labor-intensive process that stretches out for the better part of a year, typically from October until spring. It demands of its workers an almost religious devotion to the kura, or brewery, at which it is made, as they mill, steam, knead, ferment and press the rice.
That these sake brewers will be in Denver is partly due to the fact that sake drinking is falling in Japan as young people leave their “parents’ drink” behind for the more glamorous feel of foreign wine. To preserve the sake tradition, makers are concentrating on high-end, boutique sakes that can stand out at home and be appreciated abroad.
But it can be enjoyed like a great white wine, served lightly chilled in thin- lipped glasses with anything from sashimi to a roast pork loin – or even beef, depending on which sake you choose. Sakes can be light and delicate or rich and tropical; sweet and cloudy or even golden and aged.
Tara Q. Thomas writes an occassional column for Food, is managing editor of Wine & Spirits magazine, and author of the “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics.” She can be reached at dp@taraqthomas.com.
