#mapillustration #japanmapillustration #japan #sake #sakemap #foodillustration #foodillustration #editorialillustrator #editorialillustration #terroir #pairingwithsake #pairingwithwine
Last time I was at the liquor section in the Japanese grocery @Uwajimaya , one lady who was next to me asked which sake is good to try - at the moment, the sake section's staff looked too busy to take care of this customer - So I just said "I'm not an expert like the staff, but I can tell you which one I usually choose and will recommend some of my favorite sake for you."
We enjoyed chatting for a bit in a little corner of the grocery. We realized, me and her both like cooking and have a passion for food and drink. Since she has had amazing experiences about wine, I received a wonderful list of wine and cheese recommendations for helping her, and she chose one of my favorite sake for her seafood dinner. - I recommended "Tensei" Honjozo (English name : Endless Summer). It's crisp, light and a clean taste, I think that is a good pairing for Sashimi-grade tuna.
One of the impressive topics she talked about was the terrior of wine - that was a very trendy topic for me because my recent work article illustrations for the terrior story. It's written by Kathleen Willcox in the summer issue of FULL POUR Magazine.
She asked me curiously, "I'm wondering, does Sake has terroir like wines?"
Me : "Absolutely, yes. Every rice field is slightly different for sure, and they have each unique geographic factors. Also every Sake is made with different water, Koji and yeast, by each brewmaster and a different approach."
I'm thankful for her and her fun talk, the grocery discussion inspired me to draw a Sake/Breweries map of Japan.
I plan to visit my Japanese family this fall. So many things on my list to do/go, one of them is going to a Sake Brewery and join the brewery tour! However unfortunately most breweries are not open right now for the public at this moment July, 2023. (I almost forgot we are still at the end of a Pandemic...)
Hopefully this situation will get better before I arrive there!!
Fun Fact : Do you know how much Sake is in a common sized Sake barrel? It's about 19 Gallons (72 litters)!! Big'o party size for sure :)
Thanks for visiting my blog, hope you have a great summer with a good Sake!
July, 3, 2023