Sip Somm 'SPRING NAMAZAKE' Flight - March 26th, 2021

It’s my favorite time of the year! The release of seasonal namazake! Namas are made in all four seasons, but the most exciting releases are in the Spring and Autumn. Some brands are year round, but these are brewed, bottled and shipped out late winter forgoing any pasteurization (most sake are pasteurized twice before release). They are limited quantities and refrigeration is a must, so supply and demand is a real thing! Spring namas are definitely the most sought after considering they are made to express the season itself with trees in bloom and warm sunlit days. It’s a welcome change after a long cold winter! Many spring namas have fruit forward flavor profiles with a hint of sweetness to bring out the amazing aromatics. I was so excited to taste through this year’s array of offerings. Some breweries I taste yearly and new ones occasionally pop up too.

The first sake of the flight is Sakai Shuzo’s Gokyo Arabashiri Junmai Nama Genshu from Yamaguchi, Japan. Arabashiri refers to the first pressing (sake is pressed in 3 sections) and you could liken this section to ‘free run’ in the wine world. No pressure is put on the sake for the arabashiri and it is very fresh. It also occasionally has a touch of spritz to it! Gokyo is one of my favorite spring namas hands down due to its ability to truly embody that freshness. The aromas this year were full of pineapple, bubblegum and citrus. There was less of a spritz than previous years and the alcohol sharpness stuck out a bit. I love to age Gokyo, so even though that’s not what the brewer intended, I prefer more softness to my arabashiri!

I usually buy two bottles yearly, one to open fresh and one to lay down. The richness of the sake develops over time and the flavors become more flavorful. It’s pretty amazing! It also seems counterintuitive to age a sake that is recommended to drink within 4 months of the bottling date and requires refrigeration. But if you age it at fridge temps unopened, you are perfectly safe (at least based on my sake industry friends experience as well as my own!). This sake is also a genshu with a 17.5% alcohol content, making it zesty and alive as well as it having a hot rawness that adds even more complexity to the brew. The price is $39 with an SMV +1 and 1.8 acidity.

Fukucho Junmai Ginjo Nama Genshu ‘Moon on the Water’ was raved about by the True Sake staff when I went to buy my yearly supply of spring nama! I was excited to find out what all the hype was about. The nose was very subtle, but the soft and well-integrated aromas with subdued alcohol content and medium + body was a match made in balance heaven. I got a bit of persimmon and savory tropical fruits on the palate, but this brew is all about drinkability.

This is high class sake if there ever was one! Miho Imada, toji and owner of Imada Shuzo Honten in Hiroshima was awarded one of the slots on BBC’s 100 Women of the Year for 2020. She is one of the most successful women master brewers in an industry that has only presently has about 30 women in the head role. She has also revitalized a lesser known sake rice called Hattanso, created her own hybrid yeast starters and has used white koji to create more acidity in her sparkling junmai called Fukucho Seaside. It’s 2021, so what better way to support women than to enjoy a bottle or two of Fukucho!

(This bottle is $46, but may be sold out for the year. Contact True Sake for more info).

Last but not least is a sake that hasn’t been imported for the past 6 years but is back in action! Kamikokoro Toukagen ‘Heart of God’ Tokubetsu Junmai Nama Genshu from Okayama. It was $39 and was in high demand, so unfortunately it is already sold out!

This sake had virtually no nose at first. I had to let it sit for a bit before it started expressing itself. Once it did, I realized it had the scent of water itself… the kind of aroma that can accumulate in a vessel if the water has distinct minerality. Slowly, more aromas arose. White cherries and poppyseed came into play, which was exciting. The sake is the sweetest of the three with an SMV of -8, making it slightly off-dry. The sake is made with yeast derived from Okayama white peaches! I didn’t get peach aromas outright, but the cherry notes seemed to represent the fruity esters. This is a fun brewery with a mascot known as Yoshimi Yoneno. She’s a cute piece of milled rice and adorns some of their merchandise. Check out this cool brewery when their products are back in stock!

Make sure to grab yourself some spring nama while they still last, bring it to the park, enjoy the shade of some cherry blossoms in perfect bloom while you enjoy the essence of Japan itself in liquid form! Kanpai!

Sip Somm 'Wines of Germany' Flight - March 8-12, 2021

This was a fun video considering the wine bug that bit me was a spätlese riesling by Maximin Grünhauser. It’s always fun to go back to your first love! Germany is well known for its white wines, particularly riesling, but is coming into its own with light bodied reds such as lemberger, pinot noir and more! This flight included 2 wines from the 2013 vintage, Darting Weissburgunder Sekt and Schnaitmann Riesling Götzenberg Grosses Gewächs. Weingut Aldinger Trollinger Trocken 2013 and the previously mentioned GG are both from Württemberg.

I was so excited to taste the Schnaitmann that I opened it about 3 or 4 days before I filmed the video. When I first opened it, it had significant petrol and lime aromas as well as some jasmine.

After opening up a day or two later, ripe pineapple and smooth crème notes were revealed on the palate. One of the most impressive things about this wine is the obvious character of ripe grapes, but with absolutely no sugar (in reality, it probably clocks in at 2-3 g/l). GG’s are required by the VDP to be dry wines from Grosse Lage (similar to Grand Cru) vineyards. Since the VDP is driven by quality and vineyard site, there is a tendency for the Prädikatswein classifications to be left off of the labels. For instance, If you want to know if your GG has grapes ripened to Kabinett level, unless they indicate it somewhere on the label, you will have to do more research. You could easily look up the Oechsle (measurement of the density of grape must) of the wine on a tech sheet, but this is less convenient for consumers. I myself am always looking for supreme Auslese Trocken styles (83-100 degrees Oechsle). This wine delivered the goods!

Darting’s Weissburgunder Sekt was made in the traditional method similar to Champagne. This is indicated on the label as, ‘Klassische Flaschengärung’ which means ‘classic bottle fermentation.’ The mousse was frothy, yet silky smooth and the palate was full of golden apples, lemon curd and vanilla pudding. Very pleasing!

Last but not least was the VDP.Gutswein red by Weingut Aldinger! This was a trocken style of the grape variety trollinger, also known in NE Italy as schiava. It was light bodied, but with a nice amount of concentration on the palate. Cherry and earth dominated, but the nose was a bouquet of purple and red flowers. Beautiful!

Sip Somm 'Ippodo Tea' Flight - March 6th, 2021

This week I took a break from booze and featured my favorite tea company called Ippodo Tea Co. They are located in the Nakagyo Ward, just south of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Japan. They have been in business for over 300 years. Rihei Watanabe opened a tea shop called Omiya in 1717, which was then renamed Ippodo in 1846 by request of one of their Imperial family customers, Prince Yamashina. The meaning of the name is ‘preserve one’ and that’s exactly what the Prince hoped and intended. He wished that Ippodo would forever exist to bring fine teas to its customers. It is still owned by the Watanabe family today.

In this video, I focused on their One-Pot Teabag series. They were easily purchased through Ippodo’s USA and Canadian online store. Shipping is free over $39 which is a nice gesture.

I originally tasted Ippodo tea at an exquisite minimalist restaurant called Kajitsu in NYC. They feature vegan Shojin Ryori cuisine originally developed by Zen Buddhist monks in the 13th century. I have enjoyed many interesting beverages at this restaurant (their tasting menu changes with the seasons), but one of my favorite discoveries is the barley tea they offer cold brew style. I was already a big fan of mugicha since being introduced to it iced cold by a friend during a hot New York City summer. The one at Kajitsu was from Ippodo and it was otherworldy. Rich caramel and toasted barley aromas pair with a broad silky texture. The tea comes in their One-Pot style as well. Silly me didn’t buy a bag of it for this video because I wanted to check out all of their other offerings. Only a few years back I was unable to purchase Ippodo tea unless I visited Japan myself or went to their location in NYC. Now with their online store, I can have their products delivered anytime which is incredible!

The Kuki Sencha tea was all stems, but still gave off an elevated sophistication this type of tea is associated with. It was mellow, with subtle leafy vegetal notes. The Gyokuro is a green tea picked from plants that have been grown under shade which maximizes umami. It definitely had a more buttery texture than the sencha, but had less character overall. It was very pleasing and easy to drink. I made all of these teas both hot and cold brew to taste the differences. The Gyokuro was more powerful cold, but more pleasing warm.

Next was the Kuki Hojicha, all stems but roasted to perfection. Based on how the hot vs. cold brews tasted I think this tea shows much better warm. The roasted wild tea flavor with a strong earthiness matches so well to a higher temperature and is a pleasure to drink.

The last tea I tasted was Iribancha, a locally famous Kyoto tea. It is made in the large one-pot style due to high demand. Based on the instructions on the back of the back, it seemed as though it wasn’t recommended cold, which is incorrect. After reading more about this tea on Ippodo’s website, they do recommend it chilled, but you have to brew it with hot water first. When I opened the bag, I couldn’t believe the intensity of the aromas. It smells just like tobacco leaves! Anyone who has an aversion to cigarettes may have a hard time with this one. It was extremely smoky and bonfire-like. I much prefer this tea served hot! The cold rendition reminded me of watery ashtray. This is by no means a review of low quality though, quite the opposite actually! For someone who enjoys this type of tea, I can guarantee that this is one of the best of its type. It had tons of flavor and aroma, it just doesn’t suit my personal taste. I recommend trying this tea at least once to experience a historical beverage from Kyoto that’s practically unknown to foreigners!

Sip Somm 'SPANISH REDS' Flight - February 8-12, 2021

FROM THE LEFT: Alvaro Palacios ‘Camins del Priorat’ Priorat, Catalonia 2019 - Bodegas LAN Gran Reserva Rioja 2011 - Envínate ‘Benje’ Tinto Red, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2019.

Wine #1: I tasted these wines in a different order from the picture on the right. I started with the Envínate ‘Benje’ Tinto Red 2019 from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. I was excited to try this high elevation, terroir-driven red from volcanic island soils. It is mostly the grape Listan Prieto (also known as Mission or País) blended with a bit of Tintilla. Unfortunately, this wine reeked of brettanomyces, a spoilage yeast which at certain proportions renders the wine practically undrinkable. There are small amounts of brett in the famous syrah wines from Cornas in the Northern Rhône and it is a highly acceptable characteristic. I’d even said it’s quintessential and preferred. With Cornas, brett adds muscle and complexity. With this wine, it was the opposite. The barnyard funk was extremely powerful.

On the palate, I could pick up some savory red currant and cranberry, but not much else. This wine would be a hit with natty wine drinkers paired with some snobbish conversation, fermented pickles and weird cheese.

Wine #2: Next up was Alvaro Palacios. He was born into a famous Rioja winemaking family of 9 siblings. He studied enology and worked for Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, France. He came back to his home country but was intrigued by the old vineyards of Priorat. This one was a blend of 35% garnacha, 24% syrah, 17% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cariñena, 10% merlot and 3% other varieties. It is a 2019 vintage, so it did need a bit of air. After sitting in the glass for about ten minutes, the wine started to express a lot of aroma on both the nose and the palate. Pretty notes of grilled black plum, violets and jammy purple fruits shined with a nice backbone of tar and leather. There were some grippy tannins and a good amount of acidity, which makes me think this wine could age beautifully for 5-7 years.

Wine #3: I am on the hunt for all types of different Rioja as I continue to study for my Stage 2 Masters of Wine practical exam coming up. Rioja is something I’ll get right immediately or totally screw up. Part of that has to do with the Rioja DOCa allowing a plethora of grape varieties in various percentages to exist in the blends. Tempranillo is always the primary grape and it can even be a 100% varietal bottling legally. But usually there is a proportion of garnacha, as well as graciano, mazuelo (same grape as cariñena aka carignan) and the lesser known maturana tinta (genetically identical to the grape trousseau from Jura, France but classified as a distinct Spanish variety). I rarely see the last grape mentioned in blends… I only know about it from Rioja’s consejo regulador website. The other issue with Rioja is that it can be a generic non-aged bottling, it can be crianza, reserva or gran reserva aging levels and it can be aged in new and/or used barrels which are usually American, French or a blend of both. All of these factors make blinding Rioja extremely difficult! This wine had 94% tempranillo with 6% mazuelo. The mazuelo gave a lot of color and purple-fruited power. The blend of American and French oak gave toasty, herbal (kind of dill-like) aromas, with vanilla and some honeycomb as it opened up. The tertiary aging aromas were delicate, but there. Mostly almond and briny olives were present. This 2011 bottling could probably successfully age another 8 years or so, but is drinking well now.

Sip Somm Sparkling Flight - January 25-29, 2021

From the left: Treveri Riesling ‘Demi Sec’ Sparkling Wine, Columbia Valley, Washington - Mio Sparkling Sake, Nada, Japan - Gruet ‘Sauvage’ Blanc de Blancs, New Mexico, USA.

Sparkling #1: I was happy to begin sparkling week with an outstanding rendition of riesling from Yakima Valley AVA in Columbia Valley, Washington. It is made by Treveri Cellars, one of the only sparkling wine houses in the state. Jürgen Grieb, head winemaker and owner, studied riesling winemaking and traditional method sparkling wine in Trier, Germany before moving to Washington in 1982. He has been working in the USA ever since and founded Treveri in 2010. They make a wide array of sparkling wines, but the riesling is my absolute fave. Pretty aromas of apples, flowers and citrus fill the nose, then the palate pleases with stone fruit (peach) and continues on with orchard notes (pear, apple etc). There is fresh acidity and lots of sweetness, but all the elements of this bubbly are perfectly balanced. This sparkling wine is only $17 a bottle and can be ordered directly from the winery. Pairings ideas include classic German dishes like schnitzel with braised cabbage or sausage and sauerkraut. For an American option, I’d do homemade mac and cheese! Speaking of cheese, a pungent Gorgonzola Dolce or a soft buttery La Tur would pair beautifully. For dessert, I’d match it with panna cotta, flaky apple tart or just drink it by itself! Try a bottle and see what you think!

Sparkling #2: MIO Sparkling Sake Sho Chiku Bai Shirakabegura from Nada, Japan was our second bubbly of the week. This is a very easy sake to find in stores across the USA, which is why I chose to make a video with it. Takara Shuzo in Fushimi, Kyoto is the mother company, but this sake is brewed in their facility in Nadagogo; a famous sake production region known for its mineral rich Miyamizu water. MIO is definitely a sake for beginners. It has an ample amount of sweetness, with aromas of fresh dough, rice and vanilla. The sweetness is balanced by a sour-like acid. There is a touch of fruitiness too, but it is hard to pinpoint specifically. The MIO brand like to market itself as a sake you can drink anytime, with friends on Zoom (pandemic friendly!), during sporting events and on glamping vacations. Mio is fresh and fun, with an alcohol content of only 5%. Its purpose is to grab consumers from other beverage categories and get them into sake. Taste the gateway drug known as MIO!

Sparkling #3: First off, today is Friday, January 29th and it is my 35th birthday! It is the last birthday I can openly admit to (it’s all downhill from here! …kidding). To honor the occasion, I picked a racy blanc de blancs from New Mexico called Sauvage. This wild, bone-dry sparkler exceeded my expectations! It is chock full of bright citrus aromas, with some very delicate white flower notes and a touch of toasted bread. The mousse is aggressive, but refreshing. It is classified as a zero dosage style meaning it has no added sugar before release. Therefore, its searingly high acidity was showcased splendidly. It really does taste like a bone dry blanc de blancs from Champagne proper! That could be because the Gruet family is originally from Bethon, France, just west of the Côte de Sezanne. This is such a great example of New Mexico’s potential. It gave me inspiration to go visit this small wine producing state and see what else its 50+ wineries have to offer! New Mexico is one of the first states to grow Vitis Vinifera, the vine species most commonly associated with wine production. In 1629, Spanish missionaries smuggled in Pais, aka the ‘Mission’ grape from their home country for sacramental wine. There is rich history here. One of the other cool aspects is that most of the vineyards are grown at very high elevation. The vineyards Gruet works with are planted between 4,245 - 5,110 feet. This kind of elevation provides hot days and cool nights which ripens grapes, yet maintains acidity. Their sandy loam soils promote drainage and sweeping winds that flow through the vineyards naturally keep pests at bay. Grab this sparkling in your local wine shop! It is available in every state in the nation and is super affordable for such incredible quality. Try it with oysters on the half shell!

Sip Somm: A New Tasting Channel for Wine & Sake

Hello Readers!

I know it has been eons since my last blog post, but I promise to keep the content flowing on my website from this day forward!

I am happy to announce the arrival of my new wine and sake tasting channel on Youtube! Guided tastings will be posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I will reveal the bottles a few days in advance with some advice on where they can be purchased (so you can taste along!)

Please follow me on Instagram at SipSommKJ and subscribe to my channel Sip Somm to be notified when new videos post! Cheers and Kanpai!