Great Wine Values: TYKU Junmai Ginjo Sake
Sake is often called “rice wine” but this is misleading, since wines are fermented from fruit by definition.
The scent of Japanese sake will be in the air this weekend as the annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off its outdoor sake garden at Shofuso in Fairmount Park. Sake is often called “rice wine” but this is misleading, as wines are fermented from fruit by definition. Sake is its own distinct category within the larger family of fermented alcoholic drinks that includes wine, beer, and cider but that excludes stronger distilled spirits like vodka and whiskey. Most sake consumed in the United States is brewed in the U.S., often modestly priced “honjozo” style sakes designed to be served warm. Those imported from Japan tend to be more ambitious premium sakes or specialty styles, almost all of which are better appreciated chilled or at room temperature. Junmai is a style of premium sake that is a delicious starting point for beginners. These sakes are made with refined rice and are “pure” — meaning they have not been strengthened with distilled spirit, as with standard honjozos. Sakes that are designated “ginjo” must be made from rice whose impurities have been polished away, scouring each grain down to nearly half its original size. Only one in five Japanese sakes qualifies as both junmai and ginjo, a style that tastes best chilled, as with this dry, food-friendly example. It features a luxuriously creamy texture and delicate flavors reminiscent of poached pears and vanilla.
TYKU Junmai Ginjo Sake, Nara, Japan. $18.99 (regularly $22.99; sale price through April 28). PLCB Item #3345.
Also available at G’s Liquor Gallery in Gloucester ($19.99); Williamstown Super Buy Rite in Williamstown ($23.99); Wine Warehouse in Voorhees, Mantua, and Sicklerville ($23.99); Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. ($23.99).