SAKE BASICS
A Quick Look at Japan's National Beverage
By Nancy Huang

Until just recently, Americans had only heard of sake at their favorite sushi restaurants, where the piping hot beverage was served from some mysterious bottle labeled with cryptic Japanese symbols. Forget the Screaming Eagles and Château Mouton Rothschilds of the wine world—sake was nameless, just an exotic drink that accompanied your favorite sashimi.

Within the past few years, however, sake has broken off its marriage to Japanese cuisine and started to appear on wine lists of some of the country’s top restaurants. Here, sommeliers place it alongside their favorite whites and reds, proffering it to diners looking for something intriguing to complement their raw oysters or salmon salad.

Still, sake remains somewhat of a mystery to diners in the U.S. The beverage, although commonly referred to as “rice wine,” is actually not a wine at all. In fact, its production is much more similar to beer brewing than of wine fermentation, as its base is made from grain, not grapes. Sake first starts from rice kernels, usually polished (or milled) to a fine grain that is free of impurities like oils and proteins. The quality of sake is usually based on how much of the rice has been polished; daiginjo-shu, considered the highest quality sake, uses rice that has been 50 to 70 percent polished.

Once the rice is steamed, a mold called koji is added along with water and the fermenting process begins. Sake makers vary on methods, including adding alcohol to the rice mash, but Japanese law states that sake must be made from rice, rice koji and water.

High quality sake is almost as complex as wine, but with more subtle flavors. Experts often describe the beverage as fragrant, light, elegant, and fruity or dry—perfect for light dishes like seafood or salads. Although each brand has its own unique flavor, sake has the privileged quality of being delicate enough to adapt to many dishes; unlike wine, there are no “perfect pairings." Like wine tasting, however, the final judgment is always up to the drinker.

(Published: 01/26/06)
Photo courtesy of www.sake-world.com