About Japanese sake

What does Sake Meter Value (SMV) mean? Nihonshu-do (日本酒度) or Sake Meter Value (SMV) is the way to measure the density of Japanese sake. They can be heavy or light and are compared with water. In Japanese sake world, the specified temperature for water is set at 4°C and they’ve set to 15°C for sake, probably because in Japan, the room temperature is around this temperature.   A high SMV means that the sake’s weight at a specified temperature is lighter than the water at this specified temperature. If you have a low SMV, your sake is heavier. Understanding sake’s weight  Sake has a different amount of sugar so its weight will… Read More »Sweet or Dry Sake? How to know?

Do you need help in identifying your bottle of sake? A sake label is just as important as a wine label, you will see a lot of information that will tell you what kind of sake you should expect from (apart from its design).If you cannot read Japanese, it may be difficult to understand the quality of the sake but with our complete guide below, you will never misread a sake label anymore. Note: Labels can vary from one to another, so your label might not have all the information written below. Bring up your sake bottle and let’s check together! Collection of sake from Hyogo prefecture How would you… Read More »How to read a Sake Label?

Sake’s origins The origins of sake merge with the beginning of rice cultivation in Japan around 2,500 years ago. The earliest writings mentioning Japanese sake have been discovered in Chinese history books dating back to the 3rd century. It says that the Japanese enjoy sake and usually get together to drink it together at funerals. It was then necessary to wait for the 8th century and the “fudoki” to find new mentions about the production of sake. These reports shed light on the original production methods. In the 10th century, the book “Engishiki” commissioned by Emperor Daigo gives a more precise description of the sake production methods. The sakes were… Read More »Origins of Sake