I Surivived the Nagano Sake Messe!

The Nagano Sake Messe is one of my favorite tasting events every year, although it can also be the most taxing. Between the 600 sake and the seemingly thousands of tasters, it’s a bit of sensory overload. Still, I always have a great time. One of the most striking things is how friendly and approachable the Nagano brewers are.


Entrance to the event costs a mere Y2000, but with the downloadable coupon, you only have to pay Y1500. This year, though, there was another special discount that allowed people dressed in traditional Japanese gear to get in for Y1000. I’d thought it was a novel idea, but I didn’t really expect to see anyone go through with it. However, a surprising number of people - both men and women – turned out in yukata or kimono.

“You should do that next year,” JP suggested.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“It would diminish my credibility.”

Laughter.

“Well,” I crossed my arms tightly across my chest. “It’s difficult to spit in a kimono, at any rate.”


There was a lot of good sake this year. Because I’d managed to stay for roughly hours, I was able to taste a fair amount of it. At this tasting, too, I thought the sake was lighter overall. There were prominent herbaceous notes and noticeable astringency in much of the Miyama Nishiki sake that I tried (last year, I picked up on more bitter notes and the sake had a softer quality). I also saw more sake made with Hitogokochi.

There are really too many good ones to list, but here are just a few of the sakes that I enjoyed.

Sakunohana Junmai Ginjo Nama Natsu-gentei – full, rounded impact, smooth but light texture. Made with yeast #18.

Takashige Karakuchi Nama Genshu Aged Yamahai. - What can I say? This was so up my alley, a real mouthful, with chewy sweetness and an oily texture.

Takashige Miyamanishiki Kimoto – Whoops, didn’t note the grade, but this baby was super-rich, packed with generous butterscotch flavors.

Mizuo Junmai Ginjo – peppery, woodsy, with bitter notes in the finish. Nice and dry.

Kawanakajima Maruboshi Mai Miyama Nishiki Ginjo – This had good range. It was dry overall, but with a bright, acidic attack (and I must use the word attack here) and juicy bubble-fruit (don’t ask) on the palate, with soft bitterness in the finish.

I was also really impressed by several products from Matsuo.


Matsuo White Label Junmai-shu had a quiet nose and billowing umami, with hints of salted banana taffy on the palate. The Shinanodaichi Tokubetsu Junmai-shu was rich and savory, with mellow flavors of bamboo. The Matsubotan Junmai Daiginjo was packed with sweet-edged umami richness that ended in a clean finish. I also tried it slightly warmed, and it was terrific. All of these were made with 100% Miyama Nishiki and aged in the bottle.

You’ll have to excuse me. For some inexplicable reason, I’m in a Pollyanna-Sunshine good mood today. Will be back with more biting sarcasm next week, but til then, happy drinking!

Shinshu on my Mind

What a week! I've been plodding through a steady stream of deadlines this month, and my brain is constantly churning. I feel like I've hardly had a moment to relax. Such is the plight of modern life, especially if you live in a big city like Tokyo and have an internet connection.

Moreover, I've finally succumbed to Twitter, which has opened up new and exciting avenues for procrastination.

That said, I'd promised to let you know some of my top picks from last week's Shinshu festival, so here goes.

Denshu Kononishi Junmai Daiginjo - a wine-like, fragrant bouquet followed by chewy lactic notes and firm acidity on the palate. I could see this pairing well with a number of dishes.

Nambu Bijin Miyama Nishiki Junmai Ginjo - lively, with flavors of red licorice and a touch of mineral gravitas in the finish.

Kariho Junmai Ginjo - made with yeast #15, really juicy impact and light texture with smoky, ricey flavors.

Eikofuji Junmai Ginjo Shinken - grainy texture, but dry and clean, with some soft bitter noted in the finish.

Kudoki Jozu Junmai Daiginjo Super - made with Kairyo Shinko rice, smooth, rolling, soft and complex, very fruity. True to Kudoki Jozu's style.

Dewazakura Yukimanman Daiginjo Daikoshu - aged five years, this daiginjo was round and deep, with well-integrated bitteress in the background. The closest sake can come to being avuncular.

Suehiro Gensai Daiginjo - Solid impact, richly layered midpalate and a surprisingly sweet finish.

Suehiro Mai Daiginjo - made with kyonohana rice, good depth, mellow with a touch of honey. I heard this sake is a perennial favorite among the ladies, and I can see why. Actually, I really liked the entire Suehiro line-up this year. The president told me that their Ken Daiginjo was served at a Grammy afterparty.

Azuma Rikishi also caught my attention, and I quite liked their Jumai Daiginjo Nakadori Muroka Nama Genshu. Made with gohyakumangoku rice, it had a generous midpalate with hints of marshmallow surrounding a fruity center, but it still managed to be dry overall. Their aged Uroko was also great, very broad and complex.

Yukidoke Junmai Ginjo aged Genshu was juicy juicy and very likable.

Homare Kirin Junmai Daiginjo Choutanrei - as expected, dry as a bone, but with a toasted rice flavors imparting richness.

Taiyozakuri Daiginjo - really surprising, a complex mix of tropical fruits on the nose; peppermint, fruit, and ricey notes on the palate; and light, dry texture followed by a soft finish.

Fukucho Junmai Daiginjo Nakagumi Yamada Nishiki - an opening salvo of fruity exuberance. Melon, Japanese pear, and hints of stone fruits laced with smoky nuance and a mild sweetness.

Tenzan Hotarugawa Daiginjo - elegant and complex, with a smooth, light texture and nice depth.

If I'd had the chance to get through all of the sake that day, I'm sure this list would be longer. Now that that's out of the way, though, I can turn my attention to the Nagano sake messe today - with 600 sakes to sample, I'll need every ounce of concentration I can muster.

On another note, my new sake friend Greg took leave of us to make his life as a kurabito up in Nagano. It's such a bold move. Then again, I suppose it won't be a huge leap from microbiology. Best of luck, Greg!

Sake, Por Favor

Sake education is on the rise, with fans talking nihonshu from Boston to Beijing. Now, there's a new voice to add to the discussion, and it has a Castilian accent. Our Spanish-speaking friends can read all about sake basics, history, production, and tasting techniques in a recently published book called Sake by Antonio Campins Chaler. Muy bueno!

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.

Green Thumbs Up

It’s Golden Week in Japan, and I’ve been tending my garden. When I say “garden,” I really mean “window box and four pots on the balcony,” and by “tending,” I mean “watering.” Even so, my little plant fam is thriving, save one sad cilantro experiment. Blessed with the gene that enables me to appreciate the idiosyncratic aroma of fresh coriander, I am a huge fan. A couple of months ago, JP and I decided to try growing our own, and the results amazed us. Within a few weeks, our cilantro was robust and flourishing, with sturdy purple stalks and an abundance of lush green leaves that we harvested a couple of times. Last week, however, our bushy plant began withering away. The leaves had turned yellow and a spidery, translucent film covered the soil. Because I know next to nothing about plants and am too lazy to search on the internet, I emailed my friend Mark, who sent me this terrific advice. I swear the man should have his own column – Dear Abby for gardening tyros.

Hi Melinda,

Glad to be of horticultural assistance. The translucent film sounds
like slug or snail trails. The first thing is to look underneath the
pot for the buggers. Another possibility is over-watering. If the soil
is always very damp, the plant will go yellow and the roots will rot.
How much sun does it get? It is good to get the soil warm and dry for
one day - but not too dry or it will just die! Actually, cilantro is
very hard to grow, and only lasts a month or two as a mature plant.
Has it seeded yet? After it seeds, it will die.

So now you start to see the real wonder of the food on our plate. 7
billion people all being kept alive by the most delicate of ecological
interactions. And what do they say? The world has two weeks of food in
reserve?

Anyway, at this time of the year, coriander grows very fast, so I'd
just start again!

Who knew? I’d always thought of cilantro as a hardy weed - a survivor - and I’d taken the flowers as a sign of health. At any rate, I’m keen to begin afresh and am preparing the soil for a second planting. In the meantime, my arugula is coming along rather nicely. Soon, some of its succulent leaves will find their way into a salad bowl.

Naturally, when I look at my herb garden, my mind runs through possible pairing options. Both cilantro and arugula can be tricky, but there are at least a few good matches out there.

My first recommendation is Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah. This medium-bodied, deep ruby rose has plenty of personality to stand up to strong flavors. The wine has great balance, just the right amount of acidity, sweetness, and charm to make it versatile. We loved it the other night with salmon stir-fried with yellow peppers, black mushrooms, and handfuls of fresh coriander. I could also imagine it pairing with the white asparagus topped with grilled haloumi and arugula salad that we had at Cujorl a couple of months ago.

As the weather warms up, I find myself cruising the white wine aisles more often and more seriously. Come August, there won’t be a bottle of red in the house, but I’ll probably stock up on Gatao Vinho Verde. With its low alcohol content, razor-sharp acidity, and gentle effervescence, it really helps cool you off. Cevice loaded with cilantro is a natural companion. This food-friendly wine gives you lots of leeway, though - shrimp salad and arugula canapés; soba noodles tossed with fresh herbs and a soy-sesame oil dressing; tuna salad with apples, olives, and herbs; salt-cod fritters on a bed of arugula.

On a side note, I’m starting to think that any Portuguese wine can work with cilantro, particularly when combined with orange (and meat). Last week, we had pork and bean stew, infused with orange and covered with cilantro, and it was magic with reds from both Alentejo and Dao. One I remember is the Esporao Alentejo Reserva 2005. This wine is full-bodied and smooth, with generous dark berry fruit at the fore and unique flavors of smoky wood, sandalwood, and – although this sounds unflattering – sawdust coming through on the palate.

If you’re pairing with light dishes in particular, you can’t go wrong with sake. Masumi’s Junmai Ginjo Arabashiri is lovely this year, full of character. The somewhat quiet nose is followed by a sweet impact wrapped in acidity – it reminded me a little of Smarties – and a soft, slightly bitter finish. It has light body and a touch of that fresh, arabashiri zing. One thing that makes this sake interesting is the wave-like, reaching quality it has on the midpalate; it’s a feeling of incipience, like the flavors are just emerging and waiting for you to seek them out. I can think of lots of things to go with this - Vietnamese rice paper rolls, cold somen noodles with cucumbers and fresh herbs, prosciutto and arugula salad dressed with lemon, to name of few.

Good luck to any other budding gardeners out there. If you start thinking of alcohol the next time you water your plants, I will feel certain that I’ve done my job.