Yamamoto Honke was established in 1677 in the Fushimi Ward of Kyoto Prefecture. Fushimi is home to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Japan’s best-known Shinto shrine which serves as the headquarters for over 30,000 Inari shrines all over Japan.

Nigori, meaning “cloudy,” refers to a style of sake that is coarsely filtered, allowing a portion of the rice sediment to be left in the finished brew.

Asabiraki “Suijin” is one of the popular sakes produced by Asabiraki Brewery located in Iwate Prefecture.

As the Japanese culinary trend evolves and consumers become familiar with sake, sommeliers are increasingly observing the rise of the importance of “sake and food pairing”. As a wine sommelier, I would like to introduce comprehensive sake pairing ideas for wine lovers and sake beginners, with reference to widely-recognized wine theories.

Brunch is a most pleasurable time. In some places, it can begin as early as 9:00 in the morning and end as late as 4:00 in the afternoon, solving the question of what to eat in one extensive, relaxing meal.

May rolls along and we find ourselves continuing to do our part to stay safe and healthy by remaining at home.

So it’s been a month now. A month of isolation, a month of social distancing, a month of sorely missing all the creature comforts we took for granted not too long ago.

As sake attracts growing interest among international sommeliers, the idea of cheese and sake pairing has become a trendy topic.

This is a refreshing and elegant sparkling sake made by Nanbu Bijin Brewery located in Iwate Prefecture.

In Part 5 of her series on "Misunderstood Facts", Saki Kimura, a Sake Sommelier/ Food Journalist based in San Francisco, tells us about pairing sake with other types of cuisine.