Week 6, Wine Blog 1 (Takara Hana Sake, White Peach)

  Feb 26, 2023

                                           The Wine: Takara Hana Sake, White Peach flavor

Varietal:  Rice Wine, rice from Sacramento Valley  Region&Country: Berkley, California (Sake is originally made in Japan)

Year: N.V. | Price: $13.75

• Tasting notes according to Takara Sake website: "just-ripe white peaches in cream, full bodied, and sweet" (https://www.takarasake.com/sites/default/files/hana-white-peach.gif)
• Notes on sake tasting from Nippon: "identifying notes of apple, pear, dried herbs, grain, vanilla, cedar", "The flavor of good nihonshu is a balanced mixture of sweetness, acidity, astringency, bitterness, and (most importantly, perhaps) umami" Aromas should have "The fragrance of fruit, such as apple, pear, banana, lychee, and lemon, may combine with floral, herbal, grainy, or woody notes. Sake that has matured for three years or more can take on the fragrance of oranges, plums, or nuts. " (https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/gu002004/)
• From Wine Folly: Sake is involved in the rigorous testing to become a sommelier, and must be identified and understood the same way grape wines are. (https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/wine-sommelier-levels-what-they-mean/)

I have been told that we are allowed to do a couple non-grape wines per semester! I have never tried sake, but heard many good things from friends and family. I like that it has a lower ABV, since higher percentages tend to hurt my stomach. The nose was hard to read, but past the peachiness, it had a lovely heavy scent of cooked rice and mochi. Flavor wise, this one was very white peach forward as expected, which I loved, but I know there is more to sake than its added flavoring. It had light notes of wood, something fragrant like cedar, as well as heavy cream and honey crisp apples. The finish was sweet and creamy, but not too heavy. It had a very smooth texture and felt light compared to the way some grape wines sit when I drink them. I will definitely try this again sometime.

I did not pair this wine with food, since I wanted to experience sake without the interference of food for the first time, but it seems like an absolutely refreshing drink for heavy, umami meals like soup or beef.