Tell me what you know about sake. Japanese? Yes. Made with rice? Absolutely. But beyond that, many people draw a blank. First of all, sake is not a wine, nor is it a beer or a spirit. The way it’s made is closer to beer than any other drink, but the comparisons end there.
The world of sake is incredibly complicated, but you don’t need a PhD to enjoy it. It’s a beautiful, elegant drink that is a fantastic match with food and offers textures and flavours unlike any other. If you’re a fan of the umami-rich pleasures of fino or manzanilla sherry, sake could be your new favourite thing.
Sake
All Sake
Shichiken Junmai Daiginjo Sake 72cl
Shichiken Junmai Ginjo Sake 72cl
Sawanotsuru Sake 72cl
Sake at The Society
Buyer Victoria Mason is very excited by the arrival of sake at The Wine Society. She says: ‘The popularity of sake on the international stage has been on a steady rise for a number of years but has really taken off in the past three to four. London is now dotted with sake bars and there are exciting sake lists available at both Japanese, and more and more non-Japanese, restaurants.
'Sake is such a diverse and nuanced drink, with a long history, that ignites the same kind of enthusiasm and endless fascination as wine. Sake is also incredibly food friendly, made in a whole range of styles from dry to sweet, light to full-bodied, with a complex array of aromas and flavours, encompassing the fresh and fruity, and the deep and savoury. We know our members love discovering new worlds of taste, and we're excited to start this journey into sake with you.’
What does sake taste like?
Trying to generalise the taste of sake is not easy, given the diverse aromas and flavours across the many styles. Some sakes are abundantly fruity, with fragrant stone-fruit notes; others are light, clean and grassy; you’ll also find sakes that are sweet and rich with tones of honey and brown sugar, while a savoury umami character is often present.
Professional sake tasters adopt a system known as go-mi in which five characteristics are assessed: dryness (karami), sweetness (amami), bitterness (nigami), acidity (sanmi) and astringency (shibumi).
How to drink sake
Traditionally, sake is served in an ochoko, a ceramic cup with a capacity of 20-50ml, or a guinomi, a larger vessel that holds 90-200ml. However, if you don’t have either, a wine glass works perfectly well (unless you’re planning to drink your sake warm), and brings out the sake’s natural aromas.
Is sake better warm or cold?
It depends on the sake. More delicate sakes should be served lightly chilled (16°C is ideal), while fuller, stronger styles are at their best at room temperature or served warm. Cheap sakes are often served warm to hide any imperfections, but a sake served warm is not inherently inferior to one served chilled.
Sake food pairings
The first natural match with sake is sushi – sake’s clean, fragrant style is the ideal thing to complement its subtle flavours. But sake pairs with all manner of dishes. It’s a great match with cheese, it goes well with any dish with a nutty element to it, and it’s a clean, contrasting match for anything fried or grilled. It can also stand up to spicy food – something many wines struggle to do.
How long does sake keep?
If unopened, it’s best to drink your sake within 12 months. If you’ve opened the bottle, it will stay fresh and drinkable for up to one week. It’s slower to oxidise than wine, so don’t feel obliged to drink up any leftovers the day after opening.
How is sake made?
You need three things to make sake: rice, water and koji – steamed rice that’s been cultivated with spores of Aspergillus oryzae, similar to a starter culture, that converts rice starch into fermentable sugars. Sake is made with a special type of rice, too – sakamai – which is not the same as standard food rice.
In sake production, the rice grains are polished to varying degrees. The more the rice is polished, the cleaner the flavour of the sake; less polishing will give the sake more savoury characteristics.
The rice is first soaked in water then steamed to soften it. A portion of the rice is separated and inoculated with the starter culture. The koji is mixed back in with a larger quantity of steamed rice and water, along with lactic acid (which kills bacteria and prolongs the sake’s flavour), and yeast, creating a starter mash known as a shubo. The shubo then ferments for three to four weeks, before it is pressed to separate the liquids and solids.
The sake is filtered to remove sediment, then usually – but not always – pasteurised to sterilise the liquid. Unpasteurised sake is known as nama sake.
What are the different types of sake?
There are four main styles of sake, dependent on the percentage of rice polishing and whether alcohol has been added.
Daiginjo: the highest quality, with minimum 50% polishing ratio. Usually floral, and delicate with pure fruit notes.
Ginjo: premium sake with a minimum 60% polishing ratio. A little broader and more savoury, alongside citrus and tropical-fruit notes.
Honjozo: entry level but high-quality sakes made using rice polished to 70% and with up to 10% added alcohol – soft, easy drinking and less aromatic.
Junmai: Translates as ‘purely rice’, indicating sake made with nothing other than rice, water, yeast and koji (and no added alcohol).
There are two other styles worth knowing: nigori, which is unfiltered and often cloudy. The other is futsushu, the most basic type of sake, with no restrictions on rice milling, the type of rice used or the addition of alcohol.
We hope our Japanese sake guide has encouraged you to delve into the world of sake. It’s a wonderful drink with much to offer. Kanpai!
