My Father-In-Law and My Love of Sake

[Note:  This entry is in honor of Mari's dad, Kiyoshi.  He instilled a love of sake in me that shall not cease, and in respect of that, both Suigei and Kubota Manjyu are 20% tonight, July the 2nd.]

I developed my initial interest in Japanese food and sake while attending Georgetown.   It was the late ‘80s, and the sushi craze had started taking off in many East coast cities.  Given that I was studying International Affairs and Japanese Studies, I decided to spend my junior year abroad in Japan.

While I enjoyed sake quite a lot during that year, my introduction to the vastness and beauty of the sake world came from my father-in-law.  He served Kubota Manjyu, a superb Junmai Daiginjo that is very popular in Japan and in the West, at a luncheon introducing me to his family in Yokohama in ‘98.  The ritual of pouring sake for your guest/neighbor/friend before pouring your own, the clink of the small glasses as you kenpai, the satisfaction of the silky texture and feel with the aroma of citrus and herb….I was hooked.

After a less formal session at their home with another of his favorite sakes (Suigei, “the drunken whale”), I again was struck by the concept of sake as a daily table wine for Japanese, in the same way that wine is used in many European cultures.   The next day, I proceeded to buy a book by John Gauntner, “The Sake Handbook.”  John is the undisputed authority of sake in the English language, and enjoys a great deal of respect from and popularity with the sake brewers of Japan for his tireless efforts to inform and educate people about sake.

After opening Sozai with Mari-san, I decided to take John’s first level sake professional course.  It is accredited with the Japan Sake Brewer’s Association, and recognized as a premier sake education course in the industry.  I furthered my education by taking his second level course in Tokyo in February of this year.

Last Monday, John and twenty students in his current level one class were my guests at Nombe.  One circle completed.  Another already begun.