Sake has absolutely nothing to do with wine, because sake, like beer, is brewed, but in an incomparably complicated process. Accordingly, the approx. 1,800 small and large producers of sake in Japan are not winemakers, but brewers, who together produce over 20,000 different types of sake: clear and cloudy, sweet, sour and dry, some with little and others with a lot of alcohol – and all with a seemingly unending range of flavours in which fresh and dried flowers, herbs and fruit, nuts, algae, grass and rice are found. Like wine, every premium sake has its own unique flavour.

Rice is the starting point for all types of sake. Not just any rice is used, but approx. 60 different, special types of rice are grown for the production of sake. Similar to grapes for wine, together with the terroir, or the soil, on which it grows and the climate in which it thrives rice gives sake a very specific flavour.

But it’s not just the type of rice used, but also the degree to which it is polished that determines the aroma and quality of the sake. The rice is polished to get at the starch in the core and to remove unwanted proteins and fats. What holds true here is that the more that is polished away, the lighter and cleaner the sake will taste. Thus, a polishing ratio (Seimaibuai) of 60 percent means that 40 percent of the rice kernel has been polished away (and was used as flour in, among other things, rice crackers).

Like with beer, the water used when brewing sake plays an important role. The hardness and mineral content of the water have a crucial impact on the taste of the ensuing beverage. For this reason, the centres of premium sake production are frequently located in areas that have very good rice and top spring water or crystal clear sea water. Since the 17th century this has included, for example, the cities of Toyama, Suwa and Ikeda.

After a multi-stage, five to ten-week fermentation and brewing process rice, water, the Aspergillus oryzae mould, lactic acid and a yeast concentrate create a variety of different sakes with an alcohol content of up to 20 percent. These are then stored in tanks for six to twelve months. For certain premium sakes (Ginjo) it is permitted to add up to ten percent distilled alcohol to intensify the aromas and increase shelf life.

In Japan sake is drunk as an aperitif, along with meals and as a digestif. Premium sake is served only cold at a temperature of 10 to 15° C, ordinary sake, however, is also served warm (up to 55° C). Traditionally, sake is drunk from small wooden, box-like cups (Masu), flat, saucer-like cups, small mugs or from glasses.