Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/780573
{ somm con recap } Saké is brewed from water, rice, yeast and a Japanese mold called koji that converts starch into sugar. As the koji breaks down rice starch into sugar, the yeast converts those sugars into alcohol at the same time and in the same fermentation batch. This unique parallel fermen- tation method enables saké to reach an alcohol content of 21%+, the highest among naturally brewed beverages. Saké rice is softer than table rice and 20–25% bigger, with a dense, high-starch core, called shinpaku. The most highly prized strain of saké rice is Yamadanikishi. For saké, the rice grains' outside layers of proteins and fat are milled away by polishing machines to isolate the starchy core. Highly milled daiginjo sakés are considered the best. Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo takes its name from Mount Hakkai and benefits from heavy snows in Niigata, a prefecture that lies in the northwest coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island, on the coast of the Sea of Japan. "Here we find lower-temperature fermentation, and the brewery is at a high elevation where the air and water are cleaner after the snows," says presenter Toshio Ueno, who was raised in Yamanashi Prefecture on Honshu, home to Mount Fuji (12,388 feet), the highest mountain in Japan. The flavor profile shows a soft, dry palate-feel with hints of spice, apples, toasted nuts and a lifted finish of pie crust. The rice is polished to 50% and the alcohol is 15.5%. Aruga Branca 2015 Issehara, a Japanese single-vineyard wine, also hails from Yamanashi, produced by Katsunuma Winery Co., Ltd. and made from an indigenous Vitis vinifera grape called Koshu. Although the berries are pink-tinged, it is used to make white wine. "Winemaking has been going on in Japan for 1,500 years," Ueno points out. The vines average 20 years and are grown in well-drained granite, dense basalt and sandstone soils at 3,600 feet above sea level, protected from weather by Mt. Fuji. The wine is aged for ten months in stainless tanks and 5% new French oak. High acidity and a lithe frame impart notes of lemon drops and a fragrant nose. Japan Prefecture: Niigata and Yamanashi Saké: Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo Wine: Aruga Branca 2015 Issehara Japanese Master of Saké Sommelier Toshio Ueno, VP and Executive Instructor of Saké School of America. PHOTO: MICHAEL MORSE PHOTO: MICHAEL MORSE PHOTO: COURTESY OF MUTUAL TRADING COMPANY 98 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017