Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake: Rice, Water, Earth

James Beard Award winner, 2023

Longlisted for the Andre Simon 2022 food and drink book awards

This book, co-written with Michael Tremblay, is based on two years of research and writing, visits to thirty-five breweries across Japan and North America, and conversations with many more. It is designed to take the reader through the sake-making process, from paddy to glass. Readers will meet the farmers, brewers, and brewing families who practice this ancient craft, as well as others key to the process of sake making: the pioneers of new brewing techniques and yeast and rice varieties, and the merchants who trade in sake’s indispensable koji mold. The book includes visits with the former systems engineer who runs some of the most forward-looking sake bars in Japan, the professor of brewing and fermentation whose life mission is to discover exciting new yeasts, and the maker whose inspiration comes in part from the natural wines of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

The first half of this book tells the story of our favorite beverage from its elemental beginnings: rice, water, and earth. We travel back to the birth of ginjo in the early 1980s, when advances in rice-polishing techniques and yeasts ushered in a golden age of premium sake. We look at the different types of water used in sake brewing, a perennial favorite topic of master brewers. And we introduce you to brewers who are taking their cues from France and ushering in a focus on regionality. The second half of the book is devoted to the alchemy of magical molds and yeasts, the people who research or trade in them, and the master brewers—both men and women—who transform them, along with a few simple ingredients, into something magical. 

Readers new to sake can spend time with our Sake Primer to absorb the basics of sake’s history, how it is brewed, and its different components. More seasoned sake lovers can dive right into our stories. Each chapter includes a suggested sake-tasting flight to go with the theme of the chapter, so that readers can travel to the prefectures and breweries we describe through the bottles we recommend. One chapter is devoted to our favorite sake-bar adventures, and another to cherished recipes from the brewing families we visited, complete with their recommended sake pairings. We survey the rapidly growing international sake scene, and bring it all back home for a final kanpai toast. Whatever your particular sake interest, we hope you will find something to satisfy it in this book. 

 
 

Praise

The ancient Japanese tradition of brewing and drinking sake is rapidly gaining followers around the world. Just as with wine or craft beer, people want to understand where this beguiling beverage came from and how it is produced. Nancy Matsumoto and Michael Tremblay do a fantastic job telling the story of craft sake and the people who make it, shedding light on a growing international phenomenon.”

— Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Chef and Restaurateur

 

“Sake is not only a mysterious ancient libation, it’s a way of life for the extremely passionate few who produce this amazing beverage today. So to capture the true story of sake and all of the wonderful anecdotal tasty bits it takes equally passionate writers. Michael and Nancy are fearless in their pursuit of capturing the essence of sake, and are the best mouthpiece to tell its incredible story.”

— Beau Timken, author of Sake: A Modern Guide (Chronicle) and owner of True Sake, the first dedicated sake store outside of Japan

“Bringing clarity and intrigue to a subject so many of us wish we knew more about, this book is one of the very best I’ve read on Japan’s national drink. With incisive prose, a breezily accessible tone, and vivid graphics, it unlocks the mysteries of sake like few other books ever have. By weaving in fascinating aspects of sake culture and transporting interviews with renowned brewers, the book makes you feel like you are getting a glimpse into a secret, sacred world. It will forever change how you approach dining out in Japanese restaurants. Sake ignorance ends here.”

— Mark Oldman, award-winning wine author and founder of Bevinars

 

“This is not a book..." Unlike one of René Magritte's most famous paintings (The Betrayal of Images), where Magritte adds "Ceci n'est pas une pipe", the intention of the co-authors of this sake book, woven like a road-movie, which will be a landmark in the contemporary world of Japanese sake, is to show in the most up-to-date and natural way the complex and moving universe of Japanese sake. This book is more than a book. It is an analysis, like a scan seen from the inside, of this elixir "natural by nature.”

— François Chartier 
"Master Blender TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER Sake project, Miyagi, Japan" "Best Sommelier in The World (Grand Prix Sopexa 1994 Paris)"

“Sake literature lacks a benchmark, authoritative, yet accessible book for pros and generalists interested in this fantastic universe. That is until now. Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake is a great addition to the literature, able to transcend sake geekdom thanks to its strong cultural narrative. A must-read for Japan-lovers and sake-freaks alike! ”

— Pascaline Lepeltier, Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, Best French Sommelier 2018

 

“Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake is the complete sake book, one that offers everything you need to understand and enjoy sake. From its close connections to the land, Japanese history, traditions and culture, to the current scene and its wide-ranging points of view, it is your travel guide through the sake world. It is the koji—the essential blueprint—of sake knowledge.”

— Gen Yamamoto, bartender/owner, Bar Gen Yamamoto, Tokyo