For the love of saké

dbHK’s recent Saké & Terroir event highlighted the complex relationship that Japan’s beloved drink has with the rice, the water and the land where it is grown.

Sake plays an integral part in Japanese culture and like Champagne in France, no celebration or any social gathering is without it. It is like a silk thread, weaving itself throughout history and has been drunk by Emperors and farmers for over 1,000 years. Somewhat romantically, sake is a part of all seasonal celebrations in Japan; from the Hanami – the season of viewing Japan’s beautiful cherry blossom in spring to Yukimizake – watching and appreciating the snowfall and Japan’s powdery snow-covered landscape.

For a while, sake lurked on the fringes of modern-day drinking, tucked away and relatively unknown except almost exclusively by those who love Japanese food. However, over the last few years, sake has risen in popularity to the extent where sake-only bars have mushroomed in Hong Kong, New York, London and of course, Tokyo.

Currently, special designation sake or premium sake (collectively known as tokutei-meisho) accounts for about 30% of total sake production with the special designations listed below:

However, Japan’s new generation of master brewers (tohji) have realised the potential of premium sake and have been diversifying the sake-making techniques to produce a newer style with increasing acidity, less alcohol and a focus on a clean, mineral taste and more importantly, to open sake up to other cuisines, not just Japanese.

As defined by Japan’s Liquor Tax Act, sake must be made from rice, koji (a type of ‘filamentous fungus’ or mould) and water and plus neutral alcohol or sugars or other approved ingredients. Koji is essential for breaking up the starch into sugars for fermentation into alcohol by yeast.

Kazuki Usui, master brewer of Domaine Senkin

To encourage Hong Kong’s staunchly wine-loving public into thinking more about sake, dbHK recently hosted a masterclass at the China Club in partnership with Jebsen Fine Wines.

The first half of the masterclass focused on five examples of premium sake from breweries located in five different prefectures in Honshu (Japan’s main island), each with their own climates and water quality, and made with five different varieties of rice, polished to different rates. The second half introduced the sake examples from one particular brewery, Senkin Shuzo and its master brewer and CEO, Kazuki Usui who had flown in from Tochigi prefecture, also in Honshu.

Senkin Shuzo (Domaine Senkin) is the oldest kura (brewery) in Tochigi prefecture, dating to 1806. Two brothers who represent the 11th generation have been responsible for giving a modern twist to traditional sake and the elder brother, Kazuki Usui, a former wine sommelier is applying his wine knowledge to refine the sake style at Senkin and is a pioneer in believing that sake can express terroir – in the way that wine does.

Usui-san’s philosophy is that the sake rice and water need to be local to truly express terroir, and vintage characteristics are equally important, hence the vintage of the rice harvest is always shown on the label. The Usui brothers believe in wooden barrels for their top sake, in place of modern enamel tanks and use natural indigenous lactic acid bacteria and laborious mashing technique to produce rich and complex sake, evidenced by the Senkin Nature-Un, based on the kimoto technique of producing the seed mash.

To a spectacular degree, Senkin has also taken the seimaibuai to a record low with one barrel, at 7% (i.e. with 93% of the rice polished away) – much lower than their signature 19% – and far lower than the ubiquitous 35%.  Also, in a daring move, Usui-San has eschewed the official sake designation system whereby according to rice polishing rates, a sake would be rated Honjozo (minimum 70% RPR), Ginjo (minimum 60% RPR) and Daiginjo (minimum 50% RPR), and instead has titled his sakes with monikers such as ‘Classic’ and ‘Modern’.

The masterclass swiftly got underway with comments from the trade and consumer crowd about sake – how they loved it with Japanese food and how a great bottle had cemented a trip to Japan for them.

Interestingly, the consumer crowd admitted that they may order the most expensive, premium sake Junmai Daiginjo when in a restaurant without paying attention to a style such as Honjozo which is less expensive, but could pair better with food.

However, apart from those who worked on the floor in sake restaurants, the level of knowledge also didn’t extend much past knowing the styles of sake they liked – i.e. the lighter, more floral styles or sake with the earthier, umami notes.

The stunning line-up of sakes for the tasting

The list of the masterclass sakes were (including rice polishing rates RPR)

Flight 1:

1) Manotsuru Junmai Daiginjo, made with Koshitanrei rice: 35% RPR from Niigata Prefecture

2) Hakuko Junmai Daiginjo 50 Sarasoju, made with Yamadanishki rice: 50% RPR from Hiroshima Prefecture

3) Fukuju Junmai Mikagego, made with Yamadanishki rice: 70% RPR from Hyogo Prefecture

4) Takizawa Tokujo Honjozo, made from Hitogokochi rice: 59% RPR from Nagano Prefecture

5) Michizakura Junmai Aiyama, made from Aiyama rice: 60% RPR from Gifu Prefecture

Flight 2:

6) Tsuru-Kame 19, made with Kame-no-O: 19% RPR from Tochigi Prefecture

7) Senkin Issei, made with Yamadanishiki rice, 35% RPR from Tochigi Prefecture

8) Modern Senkin Omachi, made from Omachi rice: 50% RPR from Tochigi Prefecture

9) Classic Senkin Kame-no-O, made from Kame-no-O rice: 50% RPR from Tochigi Prefecture

10) Senkin Nature Un, made from Kame-no-O rice: >90% RPR from Tochigi Prefecture

Senkin is the only brewery to use the same water for both its sake production and rice growing. Water and its hardness levels – i.e. the levels of calcium carbonate and minerals such as potassium, magnesium and phosphates, is an integral part of what makes sake unique. Hard water is referred to as kosui and soft water is known as nansui.

Breweries will use water flowing from the mountains and lakes and it is often a badge of honour to claim the provenance of its water (meisui). Among sake brewers, water is more often referred to as tsuyoi mizu (strong water) and yowai mizu (weak water). This refers to how well the water promotes fermentation and as a general rule of thumb; hard water – kosui – is generally strong water.

For example, Ken Chan, Jebsen’s Sake Ambassador explained that in the first flight, sake number four (Takizawa Tokujo Honjozo from Nagano Prefecture) used the softest water and was light and delicate in flavour with high minerality and floral notes. Unlike wine, the aftertaste of sake (kire) is not supposed to linger on the palate but disappear quickly. Nagano Prefecture is also known for producing soft and light and fragrant sake, said Usui-san – in the same way that particular wine regions renowned for its certain wine varieties.

Rather than pairing sake number four with food which may have a high umami flavour and therefore would be overwhelming, it was most suitable for an appetizer, added Usui-san.

Conversely, sake number three (Fukuju Junmai Mikagego from Hyogo Prefecture) was made with the hardest water (known as miyamizu) and was structured and more complex and not so fragrant.

Guests also had the chance to try Senkin Nature Un – the last sake in the second flight which had a rice polishing rate of over 90% and made with natural lactic acid bacteria and natural yeast based on a 100 year old recipe. Guests remarked that it was balanced, delicate and clean and overall, it was extremely popular. Usui-san also mentioned that sake made in this style could be aged, much like wine.

After a quick break on the China Club’s balcony armed with a glass of their favourite sake, (with sake four, eight and 10 seeming to score highly), guests convened for the real sake test – to see how Senkin’s sake stood up to fine Cantonese cuisine.

The oiliness and saltiness of the fried rice with truffle also paired wonderfully with Modern Senkin Muku which had earthy and mushroom notesThe dinner menu was:

Suckling Pig with Senkin Issei made with Yamadanishiki rice, 35% RPR

Braised Abalone with Pomelo Peel with Kikusaki Nana made with Kame-no-O rice, 7% RPR

Braised Pork Sparerib with Citrus Fruit Paste and Young Ginger in Clay Pot with Modern Senkin Yamadanishiki, made with Yamadanishiki rice, 50% RPR

Braised Prawns and Bean Vermicelli with Black Pepper in Clay Pot with Senkin Tsuru-Kame 19, made with Kame-no-O rice, 19% RPR

Braised Chicken Nuggets with Scallion, Shallot, Chili, Basil and Ginger with Classic Senkin Kame-no-O, made from Kame-no-O rice: 50% RPR

Panfried Beef Short Ribs Flavoured with Plum Sauce and Strawberry with Modern Senkin Omachi, made from Omachi rice: 50% RPR

Fried Rice with Dices of Chicken, Shrimp, Barbecued Pork, Roasted Duck, Mushroom and Conpoy in Abalone Sauce, Scented with Black Truffle and Wrapped with Lotus Leaf with Modern Senkin MUKU made from Hitogokochi rice: 50% RPR

Egg Custard Tartlets with Senkin Ume-jiri – Senkin’s dessert plum wine

Senkin has produced only one barrel of the 7% rice polishing rate sake, Kikusaki Nana (nana meaning seven in Japanese) and half of this barrel was bottled for Jebsen Fine Wines under Jebsen’s own label and was the first time it was tasted outside of Japan.  With an extremely low rice polishing rate of 7%, it was the star of the dinner with some guests commented that it was elegant and complex with high minerality and acidity which paired excellently with the abalone, while others praised the Modern Senkin Omachi with the beef as Omachi rice lends a full-bodied, earthier, herbal style which stood up to the strong meat flavours.

“I’ve never examined sake in such great detail,” commented Roddy Ropner, founder of Wellspring Wines in Hong Kong and MW student. “Next time it comes to ordering sake in a restaurant, I’ll be inquiring more thoroughly into rice polishing rates and the water hardness levels… it was absolutely fascinating and sake really is a mix of art and science.”

Hong Kong has long been known for its love of wine and Japanese whisky but now perhaps with the help of Usui-san and Domaine Senkin; some of its wine consumers could be converted into sake enthusiasts.