Wines have different colors, quality and flavor as well as the great regional aesthetic sense all across the world. In Asia Sake is the wine which is especially made in Japan from rice. It is the most popular beverage of Japanese people and wine lovers across the world.
Mostly, it is the conversion of starch to sugar which finally leads to alcohol. For the purpose of making a tasty sake, multiple as well as parallel fermentation of rice is needed. Sake which consists of high san-do is dry whereas sake with low san-do is sweet in taste. San-do represents the acid density.
Sake wine is found in many flavors like apple, grapes, melons, bananas, or even in spices, rice and chocolate flavor also. Sake is served in chilled way as well as at room temperatures. Similarly, heated sake is also served if the drinker demands so. Newly made sake is generally not so preferred by wine lovers, because it has some rough taste. Instead, matured sake is rich and mild in taste. Nevertheless, if the sake is over matured, then it once again tastes rough. For getting matured sake, nine to twelve months are sufficient. There are two prominent types of sake. First is ordinary whereas second is special designated sake. Ordinary is called as Futsu-shu while special is known as tokutel melshu-shu.
Once the fermentation procedure is over, pressing process begins where liquid is separated from solid. There are different methods applied after the fermentation which after different handling produces various kinds of sake. To name a few, Namazak is not pasteurized and comes with a shorter shelf life. Then Genshu, Nigorizake, Seish, Koshu, Taruzake, Shiboritate, Fukurozuri, Tobingakal are the other kinds of sake.
After opening the bottle of sake, it is best to consume it within two to three hours. It can be stored in the refrigerator, but should be finished within a day or two. Once you open the sake bottle , then Oxidization process get started immediately and it affects the taste. How long it lasts depends upon many things.
The Japanese beverage sake is often consumed at ceremonies. It is said that, even during the Second World War, the soldiers relished the great taste of sake. On the occasion of New Year, Japanese prefer the special sake called as Toso.
Curiosity is still there as to who and when this beverage was invented. Some of the views claim that it had originated in China and that too 7000 years back. While others felt it is the beverage of Japan. Sake has kept developing over the last 500 years, whereby new techniques experimented. Gradually, sake transformed and acquired a unique quality with better taste.
Basic grades of sake include Junmai, Honjozo, Futsu-shu, Genshu, and koshu. Junmai is having no additional alcohol and it is supposed to be the purest form of sake, whereas honjozo contains little bit of alcohol. It is made in Japan only. Futsu-shu is also termed as basic sake and it is mostly served hot. Genshu is the full strength sake while koshu is made through aging. Nama is the another form of sake which is unpasteurized and needs to store in fridge. Nigori is the sake which lacks filtration.
In short, sake is drunk like wine although produced more like a beer sake and most commonly eaten with sushi & fish. This Japanese beverage has acclaimed across the world.
