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{ SOMMjournal.com } 73 douse with soy sauce as Concord grapes do with Cabernet Sauvignon. At the Shiragiku brewery in Okayama, stalks of rice, organized by variety, are displayed alongside saké bottles bearing the name of the rice variety from which it is made. Sixth-generation owners Shyzo Watanabe and his brother Kouzo are seeking to distinguish their brewery from the other 1,800 in Japan by focusing on single-variety saké. "This is where my pas- sion is," says Watanabe. Working with the region's agricultural research center, the Watanabes have revived indigenous heritage varieties. Omachi, an heirloom variety that largely fell out of production because it was less uniform and more difficult to grow than the common Yamadanishki (Omachi stalks are so long, they literally just fall over in the wind), is now used by several producers in Okayama. Saké made from Omachi rice is rich, dry and savory, reminiscent of a hay loft or a field of dried grass. In keeping with the notion of terroir, Takara uses a hybrid created by combining California long grain and Japanese short grain rice for Sho Chiku Bai, their California brand, rather than importing rice from Japan. "If you care about the rice, the quality shows," says Motai. "We are blessed by quality of rice and quality of water. It's all there and it's part of the Bay Area community." Like any good winemaker, a toji, or master brewer, talks about terroir, farming for balance and the importance of nurturing the land. Niichiro Marumoto, who makes the organic Chikurin saké, also in Okayama, has largely taken over his own farming in favor of buying rice from elsewhere. He believes that this estate-grown model ultimately gives him more control over the quality. When Marumoto talks about achieving the ideal balance of proteins and amino acids in a grain of rice, it's difficult to believe we are talking about something so small. A grain of rice is small indeed, but then each one will be milled, or "polished," down to as much as 60 percent of its original size. Increasing the concentration of certain types of starch and balancing the starch with the protein in the heart of the grain rather than farming for bigger and starchier grains as many large producers do, is Marumoto's mission. Omachi rice growing. Saké made from Omachi rice is rich, dry and savory, reminiscent of a hay loft or a field of dried grass. PHOTO COPYRIGHT©TONY MCNICOL Somm Journal June/July.indd 73 5/9/14 12:10 PM