The Cork Board
Welcome to The Cork Board, your site for information on the wines featured at our events (conveniently filed as “Events”) and for general ramblings by me, your humble Wine Education Officer, on interesting wines I've recently tried (filed as "What I am Thinking & Drinking").
As always, if you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions, drop me a line or click on "Leave a Comment", under the specific blog entry, for all to read. We'd love to hear from you!
Cheers,
John
Entries from September 1, 2007 - October 1, 2007
Back to School: ABCs of Wine
Friday, September 7, 2007 at 08:26AM Here are the wines we'll be featuring at this event. Note that there will be plentiful cold and hot apps. served from Sonsie's kitchen. We love Sonsie's Wine Room!
Pucela Viura/Sauvignon Blanc, Spain 2004
First Love, Semillon/Riesling/Viognier, Australia 2005
Morgon Cote du Py Potel-Aviron, France 2003
Las Rocas Garnacha, Spain 2004
Zuccardi Q Malbec, Argentina 2004 Quinta de Ventozelo Tinto, Portugal 2003
Quinta de Ventozelo Tinto, Portugal 2003
Notes from Sake 101
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 01:17PM On August 14th, 55 Uncorked explorers descended on O ya, one of Boston's finest new restaurants, for an introduction to the world of sake. Nancy Cushman, co-owner of O ya and resident sake expert, provided an overview of sake and then led the group on a tasting of a variety of different types of sake.
Nancy was kind enough to provide us with some notes from her talk so that we could share them with you, our loyal Uncorked membership.
Notes from a sake tasting:
Isn’t there just one kind of sake, the hot kind you get at the sushi bar?
No. Japan is the size of California, has 52 prefectures, and only one – Kagoshima - doesn’t brew sake. In all there are 1,400 sake breweries in Japan.
The US imports a mere fraction available, but it’s growing in popularity and thankfully a lot better quality sakes are being imported.
Most of us have been introduced to sake via hot sake at a sushi bar. That can be fine, but a little secret is that MOST hot sake is hot because the heat masks a lot of the impurities and off flavors of it.
What’s in sake?
Think: grapes make wine, rice makes sake
There are four basic ingredients in sake: Rice, Water, Koji, Yeast.
The rice used is called “sakamai” and it is different than table rice. It is taller, longer, bigger grains with concentrated starch in center, making it better for fermentation.
How is sake made?
Similar to wine AND similar to beer.
Rice is polished down to certain level/grade then the starchy center is converted to sugar by koji mold and the sugar ferments into alcohol.
The level of polish determines the type of sake:
- Junmai/Honjozo 70% or less
- Ginjo 60% or less
- Daiginjo 50% or less
What is the etiquette associated with drinking and serving sake?
Always pour for others – fun, social bonding, shows respect and sharing
Hold cup with two hands when being poured for – one holding, one under
Hold sake bottle with two hands when pouring
Finally, some general sake taste profiles and suggested pairings:
Daiginjo: delicate, light bodied, fragrant nose, fruit (tropical, apple) and floral. Pairs with lighter dishes and sashimi.
Ginjo: light to medium body, fruity or floral. Pairs with sashimi, nigiri, white meats, chicken and pork.
Junmai/Honjozo: medium bodied, more rice and sometimes earthy flavors versus fruit and floral. Pairs with richer dishes, wagyu, pork, chicken, braised/grilled foods.
Sparkling: light bodied, rice, sweet. Pairs with lighter dishes, sashimi, nigiri, salad and dessert.
Nigori (unfiltered): medium bodied, sweet rice flavor, coconuty. Pairs with desserts and nigiri.
Taru (cedar): medium bodied, cedar nose and taste, peppery. Pairs with richer dishes, wagyu, pork, chicken, braised/grilled foods.