Club Life/19th hole
vintage
I
n a way it’s not surprising that sake is so hot— or more often cold—right now. It has become the alternative to white wine and has the ability to stand up to cuisine without overwhelming it. So for those eager to get beyond the hot clay pot, but don’t know where to start, here’s the 411. Japan’s famous rice wine is as steeped in the country’s history as Sumo wrestling and the tea ceremony. Dating back to the third century, the first sake was called kuchikami no sake, or “chewing-in-the-mouth sake.” Legend has it that sake was originally made with the help of virgin spittle—the young ladies would supposedly
chew the rice and spit it into the vats.
pleasures
The international appeal of sake
by Paschal Fowlkes
The real story is not quite so erotic, but equally unappetizing—rice, chestnuts and millet were chewed by the whole village and then spit into a tub. The enzymes in the saliva broke down the starches into sugars that would ultimately ferment into alcohol. Thankfully, this process is now facilitated with good clean mold—koji is steamed rice onto which koji-kin (koji mold) has been cultivated. This cultivation of koji is the heart of the sake brewing process.
Giving the grape a run for its money, there are some 65 varieties of rice designated as “sake rice,” some garnering more praise than others. And like grapes, different rice strains grow best in particular regions. Of these strains, several different types of sake are made. The exact definitions are debated, but the three main types of sake seem to differ by the portion of grain lost in the milling process. Junmaishu maintains 70 percent of its original form. Nothing is used in its production except rice, water and koji, and its taste is usually a bit heavier, fuller and a bit more acidic than other types. Ginjoshu is sake made with rice from which the outer 40 percent has been ground away. This removes more extraneous elements like fats and proteins that impede fermentation and cause off-flavors. It is a very labor-intensive process, and the sake is fermented at colder temperatures for a longer period of time, resulting in a more complex and delicate flavor. Daiginjoshu is
ginjoshu made with rice milled to no more than 50 percent of the original size—which is an even more painstaking labor. Honjozoshu is sake with a very small amount of distilled ethyl alcohol added at the final stages of production, (water is also added, so the alcohol content does not change). This makes the sake lighter, drier and often easier to drink. Though considered by some to be the new vodka, sake is not a distilled spirit at all. In fact, while it is a rice wine, it is brewed more like beer, albeit
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