Sake
Sakes We Offer
The following sakes can be purchased at Windham Wines. Tanzer recommends chilling them slightly, to approximately 55 degrees.
Rihaku "Dreamy Clouds," Tokubetsu Junmai Nigori – 300ml (13.99)
Hazy pale lemonade color. Aromas of squash and nuts. Big, rich, broad and dry; in a mellow, low–toned style, with a distinct rice flavor. A bit neutral but sound acidity gives this smooth wine a fruity quality. 87.
Tozai "Snow Maiden," Junmai Nigori – 300ml (8.99)
Heavy milky–white. Nutty, creamy nose. Rich, chewy and lush, with soft saline and banana flavors and an attractive hint of fruity sweetness. Not complex, but this mellow, easy–to–drink saké is not short of acidity. 88.
Tozai "Well of Wisdom," Honjozo – 750ml (20.99)
Pale, bright color with a bit of yellow. Assertive, high–pitched aromas of squash and white pepper. Smooth and fine–grained, with good life in the mouth. Finishes clean and bright if a bit generic, with repeating flavor of squash. The Kizakura Brewery is located in the southern part of the Kyoto prefecture, the oldest saké brewing area in Japan. 86.
Tentaka Kuni "Hawk in the Heavens," Junmai – 300ml (12.99)
Pale, yellow-tinged color. Smoky aromas of pumpkin and squash, with hints of grilled bread, fennel and menthol. Gives a subtly sweet impression but retains good freshness. Not particularly rich, but the melting finish is clean and persistent. Made from a spring that has been famous for more than 400 years. 87.
Nanbu Bijin "Southern Beauty," Junmai Ginjo – 300ml (15.99)
Very pale yellow. High–pitched, rather Chablis–like aromas of lime, pear, fennel and minerals. Suave and understated, in a lighter style and very easy to drink. A rather sexy commercial–style saké with a touch of sweetness and a smooth texture and finish. I found myself wishing for a bit more flavor. On the other hand, if I could find a saké like this at my local Japanese restaurants, I'd be very happy. Made from water purified naturally as it runs through mountain rock. 89.
About Sake
We started to carry sake because of a few requests, and that led me to a sort of "cram" session to try to learn more about sake. Stephen Tanzer, of International Wine Cellars offers a great introduction. The summary below draws heavily from him. . . .
Often referred to as "rice wine," sake is actually somewhat closer to beer in that it is brewed. Fine sakes are made from just four ingredients: premium sake rice, pure water, hand–made koji and special yeasts. Koji is a rice-product that has the effect of converting the starch in rice into sugars which then can be converted into alcohol. Mass-produced, industrial sakes often use table rice, tap water, mass–produced koji as well as adding distilled alcohol, sugar or other flavor additives used to cloak the off–flavors of poor ingredients and mass production processes. The yeasts used by many commercial sake producers is not because of the aromas and flavors that they convey (like beer, so much of the flavor comes from the yeast strain), but simply because they are most efficient in converting sugars into alcohol. Higher–grade, artisanal sakes are fermented more slowly than the industrial variety.
The rice used to make sake is prepared by having its outer core, which contains impurities contributing to off–oders and flavors, milled off. Holding the other ingredients constant, the degree to which the rice is polished determines the quality of the final product. Sakes use designations to convey the degree of polish.
Types of Sake
For Junmai sake at least 30% of each grain has been polished away.
Honjozo is junmai to which alcohol has been added.
Junmai ginjo ups the ante to 40% of the hull milled away.
Generally these sakes are also fermented more slowly and at cooler temperatures resulting in a more fragrant, fruiter and refined sake.
Tokubetsu means "special," and sakes with this designation have some difference in their production, including a special rice or a lower temperature for fermentation.
Finally, Nigori sake has a cloudy appearance because it has been bottled unfiltered or only partially filtered. The resulting texture is creamier than filtered sake and the flavors more mellow.