In the Thick of It: Spring Sake Tastings

You really start to wonder what the day has in store for you when the only seat left on the train is between two people sniffling and wearing white masks. On the one hand, you’re happy to have a place to sit, on the other, you’d rather not catch swine flu. But if you’re feeling unwell yourself and have a long ride ahead, you just have to go for it and pray that they have allergies.

I always feel stupid waking up with a hangover, but yesterday I cursed myself with particular ferocity. I’d had the Shinshu Festival marked on my calendar for at least a month and had been looking forward to sampling the spring releases from the 60-odd breweries in the Ginjo Kyoukai, including a number of contest gold-medalists. It’s one of the busiest tastings of the year, and, to get through it, you must be prepared mentally as well as physically.

I was not in good shape. You would think I'd have learned my lesson after attending 2 distributor tastings on an empty stomach last month - no fun. That time, I’d gone with John Gauntner and basically ended up eating his dust for four hours. The man's hard enough to keep up with when you're in tip-top tasting condition.

As I contemplated the task before me, a dull ache settled in my temples. I am, however, a professional – at least that’s what I keep telling myself – and eventually mustered up the courage to face the hundreds of sakes I knew would be waiting for me. Realizing that there was no way I’d be able to get though it all, I quickly assessed the room and made note of the most crowded booths:

Denshu (so popular that they ran out of their tobin within the first 45 minutes! I didn’t even get to try it.)
Mansaku no Hana
Tenju (wildly popular among the, erm, senior contingent at the event)
Kudoki Jozu
Suehiro
Azuma Rikushi
Yukidoke (at the other extreme, popular with the younger people at the tasting)
Kirin
Chiyomusubi
Fukucho

I split my attention between breweries I was already fairly familiar with and breweries I didn’t know well, but decided to hold off on the sake from producers I’d sampled recently.

As expected, I only managed to cover a little more than half of the booths in the allotted two hours, but the sake was good. Overall, I noticed a great deal of emphasis on rice varieties and their unique characteristics. Many strains were local, highly area-specific, and the brewers were taking the time to point that fact out. The weight and texture of most of the sake was lighter and more subtle than a couple of years ago, and I encountered fewer full-on fruit bombs.

One happy surprise was that there seemed to be more young people at the tasting. Another surprise was that someone actually stopped me to ask which sakes I’d liked best – and took notes. I was genuinely taken aback. Never mind that I'd spent most of the time wandering the tasting floor like a wraith, muttering, “Keep it together, keep it together” like an angry mantra; somehow, I fooled one person.

Check back soon to see my top picks! For those of you who don't already know, the huge Nagano Sake Messe is happening on May 19th. Download the coupon o their website for a Y500 discount, and get there as early as humanly possible.