June 9, 2002
John Gauntner reports on this year's National New Sake Competition in A taste of pure gold. The entries are specially brewed for the contest and not sold. Over 1000 breweries participated with gold being awarded to about 25 percent of the entries. Nagano prefecture beat longtime rival Niigata prefecture in receiving the highest number of golds.
May 11, 2002
Another wonderful article on sake from John Gauntner at The Japan Times. This time he explores the back-to-basics trend of muroka nama gensu (unfiltered, unpastuerized, undiluted).
February 4, 2002
The Japan Times ran a special section on sake in Sunday's paper.
John Gauntner takes us on the long journey from rice to ambrosia to explain how sake is brewed and what the different sake classifications mean.
He then details the troubled times currently suffered by today's sake producers in Sake's never been better--so why the poor business? In the last 30 years the annual consumption of sake in Japan has been halved as the consumption of beer, wine, and European spirits has increased. The only good news is that sake is becoming more available here outside Japan.
In Sake brewed with a feminine touch, Rob Gilhooly visits the Ichishima Sake Brewery in Shibata, Niigata-ken to talk with Japan's first licensed female brewmaster, Shiiya Kazuko. Ms. Shiiya, who is now 60, has been brewing sake for four decades.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
May 11, 2002
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Mmmm...sake.