I don't intend to make a habit of this, unless everybody thinks it's
swell. I am subscribing to it via email. In any case here's a sample
of the newletter:


From: http://www.sake-world.com
Subject: Sake World Sake Newsletter, December 2006
Date: December 4, 2006 10:50:31 PM PST


Sake World Sake Newsletter

Issue #85
December 1, 2006

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= *=*=*
In This Issue:
-Sake Regionality: The Few Defined Systems
-Good Sake to Look For
-Sake Events/Announcements: The 2007 Sake Professional Course
-In the archives...
-Subscribe/unsubscribe information
-Publication information

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Readers are politely asked to handle subscribing and unsubscribing
themselves. To unsubscribe or change your subscription address, please
see the subscribe/unsubscribe information at the end of this newsletter.
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Sake

Regionality: The Few Defined Systems

Last month, we looked at regionality in sake, and the fine line of
vagary versus validity upon which it treads. Those that missed it, and
the descriptions of what contribute to regional distinction in sake, as
well as what detracts from it, can find that article archived he
http://www.sake-world.com/html/sw-2006_11.html

As mentioned at the end of that article, there are a handful (currently
five) prefectures that have defined sets of rules to which local
brewers must adhere to qualify for the equivalent of a proper
designation of appellation. This "designation" in the end amounts to a
sticker on the bottle, although what that represents can be
significant. So let us now look at these several systems, their pros
and cons, their strengths and their (where applicable) silliness.

Remember that with one (vague) exception, these are not law, but are
mutually agreed upon rules decided upon by the local brewers'
associations, and are followed only by those brewers wishing to
participate - and only for those products within their lineup that they
choose to submit to the process. More on this later, but let us now
look at the regions and respective rules.

1. Nagano Prefecture
Almost four years ago, in 2002, Nagano Prefecture was the first to
begin a "Genchisan Koshou Kanri Seido, " or "Local Product Control
System." The qualifications are actually pretty strict. The sake must
be brewed with Nagano-grown rice, and be one of four sake specified
rice types that grow there. It must be milled down to at least 70%, and
must be either junmai, junmai ginjo, or junmai daiginjo (i.e. special
designation sake, and no added alcohol). The water as well must be from
Nagano.

On top of that, it must past a series of blind tastings without getting
dinged for flaws. There are tastings in January for just-made sake,
again in May, and September. If a brewer sells the sake while still
quite young (say in March or so, although this would be unlikely for
premium grades) that is fine, but if it is still around in May, it
needs to be tasted again, and if it is still around in September
(which, again, is very likely for premium sake as it needs to be
matured at least a bit), it must undergo the ritual a third time. This
ensures it is both cared for properly, and also that it has not been
brewed in a way that leads to instability. After this, it is good to go
for a year, but if it still has not been sold, it must be subject to
the tasting gauntlet yet again. Pretty strict.

However, one very fair aspect of the tasting is that the sake is
divided into groups of flavor profiles, such as "general," "ginjo
aroma," "sweet, " "higher-than-usual acidity," "kimoto type" and
"other." This prevents a sake with a different but valid flavor and
aroma profile from getting whacked when tasted after a sake of
significantly different style. Pretty fair, methinks.

2. Saga Prefecture
Two years ago, in 2004, Saga Prefecture in the southern-western part of
Japan began a system modeled after that in Nagano. The rice must be
Saga-grown rice, but can be any variety. There is no minimum milling
requirement, but the degree of milling must be listed on the bottle.
The water must be Saga water, and the entire brewing process including
bottling must take place there too. Furthermore, the amount of koji
must be at least 15% of the total volume of rice, and no liquid enzymes
(to replace the starch-to-sugar conversion function of koji) can be
used.

(In truth, there is not much of a need in my opinion for the last two
requirements since it would be difficult to make sake good enough to
pass the tastings if one forewent proper koji making for industrial
enzymes.)

Saga sake is then judged twice, in March and September, and the
certification is good for one year. The sake is divided for the judges
by grade, not profile, and the four are junmai-shu, tokubetsu junmai,
junmai ginjo, and junmai daiginjo. Furthermore, while the judges do not
know the brand of sake, they are given information like alcohol
content, acidity, whether or not it has been pasteurized, and whether
or not a special method like kimoto or aging has been employed. This
allows them to assess it for what it is given those conditions, and
serves the same purpose as dividing the sake up by flavor profile as
they do in Nagano. An equally fair system, methinks.

3. Hokkaido
Way up north, Hokkaido has a system in place not only for sake but for
a wide range of local products including meat, cheese, salmon, soba,
miso, salmon roe and even ice cream. The sake requirements include
locally grown rice milled to at least 70%, local water, and junmai,
junmai-ginjo or junmai daiginjo only. Sake here goes through a tasting
ordeal too, but only one time, and here the sake is tasted by both a
panel of pros and a panel of non-professionals, whose opinion is also
taken into consideration.

Hokkaido is not the best place for growing any rice, much less sake
rice, and only three types grow there. Brewers must use one of these to
qualify. As such, only six sake breweries (out of the 17 there) have
qualified - or cared to try.

4. Ishikawa Prefecture
This is the only place where there is government approval and
involvement in the appellation designation system. But I dunno; this
one is a bit weird to me.

Of the 41 breweries in Ishikawa, only five are even allowed to
participate. All are in the city of Hakusan, near the historically
important mountain of the same name. About 700 years ago, sake from
this region near that mountain was prized and known as "Kikusake," or
�gChrysanthemum Sake." So there is a historical precedent to all of
this. The five brands are Tengumai, Kikuhime, Tedorigawa, Manzairaku
and Takasago.

So the five breweries still there are allowed to call their sake
"Hakusan Kikusake," and put that on their labels, by almighty decree of
the Ministry of Taxation, the ministry in charge of sake-related
issues. No other brewers in the country are permitted to do that. Not
sure why they would want to, though. I have trouble imagining why a
brewer from, say, Miyagi would want to put "Hakusan Kikusake" on their
label. But still, if they did want to, well now they can't. So there.

Also, in terms of rules and regulations, while the rice used does have
to at least 70%, it does not have to be local Ishikawa Prefecture rice
(go figure!), nor does it have to be a junmai style. Kikusake that does
not use Ishikawa rice seems like a big chink in the ole�f armor there,
or so methinks. And while there is a tasting involved, the rules and
judges are a bit unclear, and it seems a tad incestuous to me. But I
could be wrong about that.

Hmm. I know four of the five breweries very well, and they all make
some of the best sake in the country. (The fifth may as well; I just am
not as familiar with it!) And in fact, I just visited two of them last
month, so I feel a pang of slight disloyalty stirring in my solar
plexus as I write this. But there are too many ironies in the fire for
this designation to be taken seriously, in my opinion. I wonder how
necessary it is.

Going off for a moment on a tangent, and in what actually amounts to
somewhat of a defense of the above system, bear in mind that the nature
of the raw material of sake, rice, is such that it can be stored for
months and transported easily with no threat to quality. This is quite
different from grapes (at least before modern infrastructures et al),
and in truth the nature of the raw materials of any product should be a
huge factor in determining rules governing quality.

So there is, actually, nothing too odd about a brewery using rice from
another prefecture, especially when one considers that so much is done
to the rice once it is inside the brewery that it does not hold as much
sway over the final product as does, say, grapes in wine, since so much
is left up to the skill of the toji (brewmaster) and his henchmen.

5. Niigata: Niigata O C
Niigata has a less strict system involved in that there is no judging
involved. But the prefecture as a whole probably has more pride in
their sake than anywhere, and a rep to go with it, so I do not foresee
any big problems with this. The requirements are, for the most part,
the usual suspects. The rice must be grown in Niigata (but can be any
variety), and must be milled to at least 60%, which is higher than any
of the other systems. Local water and the vaguely defined local
traditional techniques must also be part of the equation. Currently, 39
out of the 97 breweries in Niigata participate.

* * *

The above five locales have the most meaningful and organized systems.
There are at least two others worth mentioning, though. Yamagata
Prefecture has what amounts to a single brand name shared by all the
brewers in making a super premium sake that meets a number of
requirements. Those requirements are using Dewa Sansan rice, using
Yamagata Yeast, Yamagata koji mold, and passing multiple very strict
tasting tests. They then get to call this resulting daiginjo "Dewa
Sansan," although the written characters are different from those used
in the rice name. While all of this sake is indeed sterling, personally
I would rather see the individual brewing company names and arm myself
with expectations and anticipation. For me, that is half the fun.

Finally, there is the "Uchu-shu" of Kochi Prefecture, written about in
this newsletter several months ago. While for this the brewers of Kochi
(all 17 of them) must use one of two specified Kochi sake rice types,
they also use one of five yeast types that spent time in space aboard
the Soyuz space station. So they are defining their regionality through
the cosmos. Yeppir. You read that right.

Still, as the yeasts were all very interesting strains before their
foray into the heavens, the Uchu-shu sake is for the most part quite
tasty, and quality is very high overall. And it certainly is a unique
and powerful marketing concept.

* * *

So, as you can see, the systems have their ups and downs, their good
points and their holes. To me, regionality in sake is extremely
interesting, but partly because of its vagary, exceptions, and
frailness of uniformity within a region. Systematically defining it is
therefore inherently laden with challenges.

While some feel it will lead toward increased international recognition
of sake, I am not so sure. The rules are different for each prefecture,
and understanding what is behind them takes some study too. If things
get too complex, people will avoid getting too close, leading to the
opposite of the objective. Also, if only some of the brewers and some
of the sake of these respective regions choose to play the game, I
wonder how much authenticity and credibility can be generated by these
efforts.

And in the end, sake has its regionality, with the array of supporting
and detracting factors that make it all so appealing. Whether regions
will continue to try to systematize it remains to be seen.

----------------------------------------------------------
Good Sake to Look For

Here, let us look at a representative of each the appellation-defined
regions above.

Masumi "Nana-go" (Nagano Prefecture)
Junmai Daiginjo
Nana-go means "Number 7," and refers to the yeast of the same name,
discovered here at the Masumi Brewery back in 1946. Naotaka Miyasaka,
director of the brewery, once commented, "Dr. Yamada from the Brewers'
Association bent over that tank on that fateful day in 1946, and said,
'You've got something good here.' Then he scooped some of the foam out
and went back to his office. While we won all honors in all
competitions that year and the next, we never made a yen off that
yeast, but they sure did!"

The interesting thing is, while Number 7 is a vigorous fermenter and
very clean, it is not very ostentatious at all, and not usually
considered a ginjo yeast. But Miyasaka-san decided it was a waste for
the discoverer of that yeast to not make the most of it, and several
years ago they began brewing this daiginjo using it.

Not surprisingly, the sake is very restrained, subtle, and reserved.
(Very Japanese, in that sense.) While clean, lively, focused, with a
touch of pineapple and pear, it is tight and compact overall. It is
also brewed using the yamahai method, but is ever so subtle in its
manifestation of the gamey, smoky idiosyncrasies associated with that
style.

Tenzan "Hotarugawa" (Saga Prefecture)
Junmai Daiginjo
A wonderful blend of several "faces" of sake: the aromas are fruity if
grounded, apples and chestnuts dancing together. The weight and texture
are on the heavy side, even more so for a diaginjo, and in that sense
very representative of sake from far western Japan. Fruity tones that
tie into the aromas arise, as do nuts and figs and steamed rice and
more, reaching deep into recesses that open up with time and
temperature. These all fade into a much drier-than-expected flavor that
strikes the palate softly, with a buttery essence rising up later. This
is a beautiful example of a daiginjo sake that is much better closer to
room temperature than chilled. But definitely try it at several
temperatures and watch it change as it warms up.

Chitose Tsuru (Hokkaido)
Junmai-shu
Chitose Tsuru is the largest brewer in the largest prefecture,
Hokkaido. A fairly classic example of dry junmai-shu, this sake is full
and billowing with rice flavors, yet a round, mellow earthiness
suffuses that, and a moderate acidity drives it from behind.

Tengumai (Ishikawa Prefecture)
Yamahai Junmai Ginjo
An interesting and doubtlessly difficult to achieve blend of richness
and cleanness define this product, as do an almost maple-tinged sweet
touch surrounded by tarter elements and a smoky suffusing quality
(compliments of the yamahai methods used). Plenty of umami richness in
the recesses, with a palate-cleansing acidity rising up at the end to
bid it all farewell.

Kikuhime "BY" (Ishikawa Prefecture)
Daiginjo
Kikuhime is a very prestigious brewery, and while not huge, their
reputation precedes them. They use a remarkable one thirtieth of all
the Special Designation A (i.e. the best) Yamada Nishiki grown in the
country, or at least they did as of a few years ago.

BY is short for brewing year, and this fairly expensive sake is one
that has been aged a year at low temperatures resulting in an
incredibly well harmonized flavor profile. It is one of three or four
*very* expensive daiginjo put out by this brewery, and while it is the
cheapest of these, it is by far the best to me (and the one closest to
be being worth the cost, I daresay). Lots of light yet mature fruit
essences tightly bound together, exquisite texture, weight and balance,
a firm structure with nothing at all wasted, and a remarkably clean
finish considering all that flavor. 'Nuff said.

----------------------------------------------------------
Sake Events and Announcements

Sake and Pottery Seminar February 3, 2007
While it is still a bit out, the next sake seminar at Takara is
scheduled for Saturday, February 3, 2007. It will be the yearly seminar
on sake basics. Also in attendance to provide a basic seminar on
Japanese pottery will ceramics luminary Rob Yellin. Those interested
can make a reservation by emailing me.

Announcing the Fourth Annual Sake Professional Course
January 22 to 26, 2007, in Tokyo, with a visit to the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area.

While there are but one or two spaced yet available, it seems worth it
to announce this one last time.

The Sake Professional Course is a five-day intensive immersion into
sake and the sake world, replete with plenty of classroom instruction
followed by relevant tasting, four sakagura (brewery) visits.
Naturally, the evenings will be filled with more merry tasting along
with great local cuisine.

While the course is focused on those that plan to use the information
professionally, anyone is of course welcome to attend. My objective is
that, after completing the course and taking the time to absorb the
material, no one out there will be able to tell you anything about sake
that you do not already know. In this, I have great confidence. It will
be thorough. The tasting sessions that follow each classroom session
ensure that participants will understand the material on a deeper and
more permanent level than would be the case from book-study alone.
For more details, and some testimonials (more to be posted soon), see
http://www.sake-world.com/html/consu...ro-course.html.



Calling All Active Sake Homebrewers: I know you are out there!

�cand I want to put you together. From time to time I get requests from
those interested in home-brewing sake, and/or those actually doing it
that are looking for others with which to share notes and ideas. The
sake home brewing mailing list I used to mention on this site seems no
longer active, but I would still like to help put together those trying
their hand at making sake themselves so as to help you share info on
koji mold suppliers, yeast, tricks �eo da trade, and whatever else.

So, if you have emailed me in the past about sake home-brewing, or are
interested in this, and want to be put in touch with others doing the
same, please email me and I will do what I can to put you all in touch
with each other. It can only lead to good things, methinks.

Also:
Do you work for a company in Japan? John Gauntner is available for
corporate sake seminars. A wide variety of formats are possible: in
house, at a sake pub, with food, without, with lectures on a variety of
sake-related topics. Please contact John by email for more information
----------------------------------------------------------
Sake Pub Book Available Directly From This Site

My most recent book, the �gTokyo Sake Pub Guide,�h is now available
directly from this site.

NIHONSHU NO UMAI OTONA NO IZAKAYA" (Sake Pubs with Good Sake for
Grown-ups), or the "Tokyo Sake Pub Guide. " Written by myself (the
English bits) and
Akihiro Yorimitsu (the Japanese parts), introduces in depth 40 sake
pubs all over Tokyo. All 40 pubs were selected by myself based on
various parameters, including food, reasonable prices, the sake list
(of course), and that all-important ambiance. Convenience of access was
also taken into consideration.

The selection runs the gamut from old and traditional to modern and
funky, but with a bit of a lean toward the former. If you visit Tokyo
even once in a while and enjoy sake, this little handbook will prove
indispensable. Most of the text is in Japanese, as the book is geared
toward Japanese people wanting to take overseas customers and guests
out drinking sake. However, there is enough English in it to ensure
those that do not read Japanese can find and enjoy all 40 pubs. The
book is chock-full of revealing photos that speak a thousand words
each, showing the nature and feel of each place introduced. It also
includes an English chapter on what is what in Japanese sake pubs, in
terms of both food and sake. If you regularly visit Tokyo or plan to,
and have an interest in sake, this is the guide for you. A picture of
the cover et al can be seen he

To order, send a check or money order for US $15.00 or JPY1000 to

John Gauntner
1 - 4 - 4 Jomyoji, Kamakura-shi
Japan 248-0003

Include your name and address, and it will ship directly to you, from
me, with an author�fs signature and date. Make your next trip to Tokyo
that much better.
----------------------------------------------------------
In the archives...

At the risk of shameless self promotion, I want to encourage readers to
scour the archives of this newsletter at
http://www.sake-world.com/html/sw-archives.html for a wide range of
topics that have been covered over the past seven years in this
newsletter.

The archives go back to August 1999. Within them are covered just about
anything related to sake, from what it actually is (8/99, 6/03) to how
it is made (9/99, 4/00, 7/04) to what makes for good ingredients
(water: 2/01, 6/03, rice: 11/02, 3/03, and yeast: 10/99, 12/02). The
topic of sake and region is covered, with articles on the sake of
Niigata, Shimane, Fukui, Yamagata, Nara, Fukuoka, Ishikawa and Hyogo
Prefectures. There are many more regions to be covered, but these are
certainly worth knowing.

More focused, less general topics like un-pasteurized sake (11/99,
5/00, 7/03 and 12/04) and nigori-zake (10/03) are there, as are
culturally supplanting topics like history (11/00, 7/02) and official
government sponsored tasting contests (June or July of each year).
Detailed (overly so?) discussions of processes like the yeast starter
(8/00, 10/00) and its more interesting manifestations like yamahai
(3/04) and kimoto (12/04) and pressing sake from the dregs after
fermentation (4/01) along with discussions on aging sake (8/03) and
warming sake (11/99, 10/03). And much more.

And while shameless self promotion is not usually my bag, being useful
and informative is. I simply want readers to know the information is
out there. Please check it all out at your leisure.

----------------------------------------------------------

Sake books:

THE SAKE HANDBOOK, published by Charles Tuttle.
This second edition of my first book, with more sake, more sake pubs in
the Tokyo area, and updated information, is the most detailed on the
brewing process.

THE SAKE COMPANION, published by Running Press
This book approaches the sake world from a bit more of a romantic,
cultural side, and less of a technical touch, and covers material like
sake history and the differences in sake styles and flavor profiles
from the major sake-producing regions of Japan. Sake production is
also explained, although not in as much detail as in The Sake Handbook.
Almost 140 sake are introduced with an indication of the region from
which each hails. Large, full-color photographs of the labels makes
them easier to remember.

Also included is a listing of where to buy and drink sake in the US. As
this book is geared mostly to a market other than Japan, where to buy
and drink sake in Japan is not covered, as it is in The Sake Handbook.

The Sake Companion is available at bookstores such as Borders for
$24.95, as well as at Amazon for a bit less. If you are in Japan,
Amazon.co.jp is highly recommended, as the price in Japanese bookstores
is quite high (4490 yen).

New!! "NIHONSHU NO UMAI OTONA NO IZAKAYA�h (Sake Pubs with Good Sake
for Grown-ups).

Written by myself (the English bits) and Akihiro Yorimitsu (the
Japanese parts), the book introduces in depth 40 sake pubs all over
Tokyo. All 40 pubs were selected by me based on various parameters,
including food, reasonable prices, the sake list (of course), and that
all-important ambience. Convenience of access was also taken into
consideration. The selection runs the gamut from old and traditional to
modern and funky, but with a bit of a lean toward the former. If you
visit Tokyo even once in a while and enjoy sake, this little handbook
will prove indispensable.

Most of the text is in Japanese, as the book is geared toward Japanese
people wanting to take overseas customers and guests out drinking sake.
However, there is enough English in it to ensure those that do not read
Japanese can find and enjoy all 40 pubs. The book is chock-full of
revealing photos that speak a thousand words each, showing the nature
and feel of each place introduced. It also includes an English chapter
on what is what in Japanese sake pubs, in terms of both food and sake.


NIHONJIN MO SHIRANAI NIHONSHU NO HANASHI, published by Shogakkan
This anecdotal read describes aspects of the sake world from a
foreigner's point of view, including the personalities, events, and
techniques that make the sake world so unique and special, things that
may be lost on those that are too close to the subject. Written in
Japanese.

Also worth searching for:
-SAKE: PURE AND SIMPLE (John Gauntner, Griffith Frost): A light, pure
and simple guide to sake.
-Sake, An Insider's Guide (Phillip Harper): A pocket sized,
well-written book by an insider; Harper brews sake at a Daimon Shuzo, a
sake brewery in Osaka. He is the only non-Japanese certified master
brewer in the history of the world. How's that for qualifications?
-Sake: A Drinker's Guide (Hiroshi Kondo): The original book on sake in
English, nice historic notes and good peripheral information.

-----------------------------------------------------------
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Sake World is distributed free via email only with the intent of
disseminating useful information about sake and the culture and world
that surrounds it. Information on sake, sake production, sake shops and
sake pubs, sake events and sake culture are included, targeting
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NOTE: Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to anyone even
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Questions and comments should be directed to John Gauntner, at the
email address above.
All material Copyright, John Gauntner & Sake World Inc.
1-4-4 Jomyoji, Kamakura-shi, Kanagawa-ken, Japan, 243-0003
http://www.sake-world.com

--
What a day this has been, what a rare mood I'm in.