In Japan’s long history, drinking culture is like a clear spring, flowing in people’s daily lives and festivals. Its origins can be traced back to the Jomon period to the Yayoi period, when the ancients had mastered the basic skills of brewing.
To this day, Japanese wine, especially sake, is still an indispensable drink in Japanese life, carrying countless people’s emotions and memories.
Mentioning “Japanese sake”, the word “sake” immediately comes to many people’s minds, but the two are not the same. Sake specifically refers to brewed liquor made from fermented rice. Only sake made using domestic rice and brewed in Japan can be called “Japanese sake”. In other words, if the raw material is rice from overseas, or if it uses domestic rice but is brewed overseas, it cannot be called “Japanese sake”. This regulation not only reflects the strict control of region and raw materials, but also highlights the unique cultural identity and quality pursuit of Japanese sake.
According to Japan’s “Liquor Tax Law”, the alcohol content of Japanese sake (sake) sold on the market does not exceed 22 degrees. In recent years, most products have been maintained at around 15 degrees, which is mild and moderate and suitable for daily drinking.
The secret of Japanese sake brewing
Entering the world of Japanese sake brewing, every step contains ingenuity and wisdom. From rice grinding to remove impurities, to rice washing, soaking, and steaming, to making koji, making sake mother, fermentation, pressing, filtering, heat sterilization, storage, blending, and bottling, every process is a respect and inheritance of tradition. . In particular, the “three-stage brewing method” precisely controls the fermentation process by adding steamed rice, rice koji and water in stages, making the wine’s flavor layered, delicate and elegant.
The variety of Japanese sake
There are many types of Japanese sake, and even the same brand has completely different flavors and aromas depending on the type. Among them, the two categories of “general wine” and “specific name wine” are particularly significant. Specially named sake is divided into eight categories based on the difference between raw materials and polished rice (that is, the ratio of polished rice to raw rice), such as Junmai Daiginjo, Ginjo, Honjojo, etc. Each category has its own unique charm. and flavor.
Junmai wine is famous for its pure rice aroma. It contains no added alcohol and retains the most authentic taste and aroma of rice.
Non-junmai sake is made by adding brewing alcohol to make the taste more refreshing and the aroma richer, making it suitable for tasters who pursue a layered texture.
The secret behind wine labels
Faced with a dazzling array of Japanese sake, how do you choose the one you like? Reading wine labels is key. The degree of Japanese sake, as an indicator to distinguish between “sweet” and “spicy”, is the first step in understanding the flavor of Japanese sake. Gankou wine has a higher sugar content and a mellow taste, which is suitable for people who like sweet flavors; Xinkou wine is relatively refreshing and has a heavier taste, so it is suitable for people who pursue a refreshing taste. In addition, understanding the four major types of smoked sake, cooked sake, refreshing sake, and mellow sake can also help us better grasp the flavor characteristics of Japanese sake and find the one that suits us best.
Find your own Japanese sake
Finding that touch of excitement among thousands of Japanese sakes may require some exploration and experimentation. You might as well start with the comparison between sweet and pungent wines, and gradually experience the different charms of smoked wine, cooked wine, refreshing wine, and mellow wine, and then explore in depth the subdivisions such as junmai wine and specific name wine. Every taste is a cultural experience and a journey of taste buds. In this process, we can not only find the Japanese sake that suits us best, but also deeply feel the breadth, depth and unique charm of Japanese sake culture.
Japanese sake is more than just a drink. It is the crystallization of Japanese history, culture, and ingenuity. Every toast is a tribute to this beautiful heritage. Let us enter this fragrant world with a heart of exploration and start a wonderful encounter between taste buds and culture.
