Sakaya NYC Blog

Interested in visiting sake breweries?  If you are, we have exciting news….

Our friends Etsuko Nakamura and John Gauntner (author of The Sake Handbook) have put together the sake-lover’s dream vacation!

Now, anyone can access the inner workings of the sake world. Visit Japan, start off with a bit of formal sake education by sake guru John Gauntner, then you’re off to visit  several sake breweries to see how sake is made while under the care of an experienced sake-savvy interpreter.  Some stays in ryokans (Japanese inn) and sake-focused dinners at izakaya (sake pubs) round out the experience.

This brewing season, there are two tours planned:

Tour I: February 23 to 27 in the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe) area

Visit sake breweries including those in the historic sake town of Fushimi (in Kyoto), one of the major brewing towns in Japan as well as Japanese gardens and historic Nijo Castle, built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Edo period shogun.

Tour II: March 15 to 19 in the San-in (Shimane/Tottori/Hiroshima) area

In addition to visiting breweries, this tour also includes a visit to the  Izumo Grand Shrine, one of Japan’s most ancient and important shrines, plus parks and art museums.

For more information, pricing and reservations please visit Sake Brewery Tour.  Participation is extremely limited this season for the two tours that are scheduled.

October is an exciting month for sake enthusiasts.  Nihonshu no Hi (Sake Day) on the 1st is when Japanese celebrate with  Hiyaoroshi, the  first release of once-pasteurized sake bottled in the spring. We’ll be offering two tastings for you to try it on its first availability in this country later in the month.

In the meantime, we’ll be reprising the popular Ume no Yado Yuzu-shu and Aragoshi Umeshu and debuting the new-to-our-shores Ninki ichi Junmai Ginjo on consecutive weeks.

Please join us for any and all as we celebrate the fall season at SAKAYA!

Thursday, October 1, 2009, 6-8pm

Sake Day Celebration Tasting

Saturday, October 3, 2009, 3-6pm

Daiei Trading Tasting

Umenoyado Yuzu & Umeshu (Nara)

Saturday, October 24, 2009, 5-7pm

Japan Prestige Sake Hiyaoroshi Tasting

Friday, October 30, 2009, 6-8pm

Japan Prestige Sake HiyaoroshiTasting

October 1st is Sake Day (Nihonshu no Hi) in Japan and we will be commemorating this most important of days with our second annual celebration at SAKAYA on Thursday evening, October 1 from 6-8PM.  In the spirit of this auspicious occasion, the festivities will feature “ample samples” of a selection of six of our favorite sake imported by Japan Prestige Sake and Nishimoto Trading Company, embodying a set of distinctly different styles from across Japan.

 The sake sampling season of September is in full swing!  With brewers descending on New York for their importer and distributor events, we’re excited about welcoming a full complement of them to SAKAYA for a line up of terrific tastings.  Please join us for as many as you’re able to fit into your schedule.

And don’t forget about Joy of Sake on September 24 where there will be over 270 sake to taste! Tickets may be purchased at SAKAYA for $80.

Friday, September 4, 2009, from 6 to 8PM

Daishichi Brewer Sake Tasting (Fukushima)

Daishichi Kimoto Classic Junmai, Minowamon Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo, & Daishichi Kimoto Umeshu

Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 3 to 6PM

Niigata Sake SENA Tasting

Kirinzan Junmai & Manotsuru Junmai Ginjo Genshu

Friday, September 18, 2009, from 6 to 8PM

Joto Sake Tasting

Yuho Junmai (Ishikawa) & Taiheikai Tokubetsu Junmai (Ibaraki)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009, from 6 to 8PM

Shochu Tasting by Satsuma Distiller (Kagoshima)

Satsuma Shiranami Imo (Sweet Potato) Shochu & Kuro Shiranami Imo Shocchu

Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 5 to 7PM

Nanbu Bijin Brewer Tasting (Iwate)

Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai

August is the height of tomato season so we’ve been indulging ourselves at every opportunity. Due to several factors including a wet June and July, there has been much discussion and angst about a blight affecting much of the tomato crop in the Northeast this year. The result has been a surge in price, particularly with heirloom tomatoes. Current prices at the Union Square Greenmarket range from $6 to $8 per pound. Because we look forward to this late summer treat so much and want to support the farmers in their hour of need, we continue to buy them but are more careful about weighing them before we buy.

However, even the high price has not discouraged us from purchasing our beloved summer favorite heirloom tomatoes. This year, we experimented with pairing our tomatoes with different types of sake. Since tomatoes have an abundance of umami, we thought that there would be a natural affinity for an umami-laden Yamahai junmai sake. For our choice of Yamahai, we decided on Kuroobi Do Do Yamahai Junmai from Fukumitsuya brewery in Ishikawa prefecture. Usually, we like to warm this sake to further awaken its earthy, rich, creamy character. But this particular food pairing, coupled with the August heat and humidity suggested that giving this brew a slight chill in the fridge was the way to go.

We were delighted but not surprised to discover that the Kuro Obi Do Do and tomatoes were a sensuous, palate-pleasing match. The pairing of the sweetness and slight acidity of tomatoes and the earthy flavor of Yamahai danced a seamless tango in our mouths. The mozzarella we had added to the salad also played perfectly off the lactic elements that are the hallmark of Yamahai sake.

So don’t wait for the fall or winter to drink Yamahai (or its cousin Kimoto) sake, its umami makes it a wonderful complement to some of summer’s best produce, locally grown tomatoes!

(For a complete selection of Yamahai and Kimoto sake please visit SAKAYA.)

With hot weather finally upon us we’ve scheduled a slate of tastings featuring sake that offer refreshing flavors to slake the summer thirst.

Saturday, August 8, 2009 from 4PM~6PM

Japan Prestige Sake Association Summer Namazake

Ohyama Summer Nama Tokubetsu Junmai (Yamagata)

Thursday, August 13, 2009 from 6PM ~8PM

Dassai 39 Sparkling Sake (Yamaguchi)

Thursday, August 20, 2009 from 6PM ~8PM

Kaiun Junmai Ginjo (Shizuoka) & Biwa no Choju Junmai Ginjo (Shiga)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 from 6PM ~ 8PM

Nishimoto Trading Sake Tasting

Kamoshibito Kuheiji Junmai Ginjo & Muroka Junmai Daiginjo (Aichi)

We look forward to seeing you at one or more of these events at SAKAYA this month.

Kanpai!

Rick & Hiroko

We are delighted that SAKAYA was included in Time Out New York’s cover story on the East Village.  Rick is featured in “Why the East Village?” by Pervaiz Shallwani.

We are delighted that the August issue Gourmet Magazine features Ume no Yado Yuzu-shu as one of their “Good Living Obsessions” and notes SAKAYA exclusively as the place to buy it!  We couldn’t agree with them more on this refreshing beverage as the perfect summer aperitif.   Please drop by and pick up a bottle, you’ll be glad you did.

Our apologies for the late posting of the July tasting schedule.  Still remaining at this point are the noteworthy U.S. debuts of the Tsuki no Katusura Junmai Ginjo summer namazake from Japan Prestige Sake,  Dassai 39 Sparkling Nigori, and Kikusui Organic Junmai.

 Please join us to enjoy these new arrivals and taste the latest offerings of the accompanying established favorites .  We look forward to seeing you at SAKAYA!

Kanpai!

Rick & Hiroko

Saturday, July 11, 2009, 3 to 6PM

Winebow Importer Tasting

Ichishima Futsu-shu & Dewatsuru Kimoto Junmai

Thursday, July 16, 2009, 6 to 8PM

World Sake Import Tasting

Seitoku Junmai Ginjo (Gunma) & Dewazakura Dewa San San (Yamagata)

Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6 to 8PM

Japan Prestige Sake Summer Nama Tasting

Ohyama Tokubetsu Junmai Nama & Tsuki no Katsura Junmai Ginjo Nama

Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6 to 8PM

Mr. Sakurai’s Sparkling Sake Tasting

Dassai 39 Sparkling Nigori

Thursday, July 30, 2009, 6 to 8PM

Kikusui Brewer Sake Tasting

Kikusui Organic Junmai, Kikusui Junmai Ginjo, & Kikusui Funaguchi

We were thrilled to receive a phone call from Kelly Choi, the host of WNYC’s “Eat Out NYC” telling us that she wanted to come to SAKAYA to do an interview about “how to navigate a sake shop.”

As agreed, she arrived with her camera crew at 11AM on May 20 and two hours later, we had wrapped the session which was to be distilled down to a two-minute segment.   It initially aired the following week (and may still be running…we’re not sure).  Please click here to check it out for yourself.

Our hope is that we were able to create some new interest in premium sake and that we offered some guidance to help make it a bit easier for viewers to explore and enjoy this exquisite beverage.

SAKAYA on Eat Out New York