Akashi-Tai Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake 7% 72cl

Description

Akashi-Tai Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake presented in a full-size 72cl bottle. Sparkling sake is made in a similar way to Champagne and other traditional method sparkling wines, starting with a Ginjo Sake which then undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle.

If you don’t require a full bottle or just wish to sample this sake, it is also available in smaller 30cl bottles.

About Akashi Sake Brewery

Akashi-Tai Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake is made at the Akashi Sake Brewery. The brewery was founded by the Yonezawa family in 1886 in Akashi, a prominent fishing town in western Japan. The brewery’s location is ideal for sake production: it is surrounded by fertile soils perfect for growing rice and plentiful clean spring water, essential for crafting high-quality sake.

Akashi Tai is a small artisanal brewery, known as a “kura”, which would have previously mainly supplied the local population. However, since the new president, Kimio Yonezawa, took over, there have been some major developments. The brewery has expanded and modernised its sake-brewing activities. It now produces a wide variety of hand-crafted sakes. More recently, these have been joined by Hatozaki Japanese Whisky and 135 East Hyogo Dry Gin.

Akashi Tai Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake Production

Akashi Tai Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake is made using only locally grown rice from the Hyogo Prefecture. Ginjo is a premium type of Sake made with rice that has to have at least 40% of the outside of the rice grains (the bran) polished away. Junmai means no distiller’s alcohol is added, as it can be in other sake, like the Honjozo Sake, for example. This sake is made from Chiyonishiki rice (100% Hyogo produced Sake rice), with a rice polishing ratio of 60%.

The Sake undergoes a careful, low temperature fermentation which is followed by a secondary fermentation in the bottle with some more koji (the fungus used in the fermentation process) to produce the sparkle.

AKA “Happo-Shu”

Sparkling Sake is the fastest-growing category of sake sales and is known as “happo-shu” in Japanese. In Japan, Sparkling Sake is given to winning racing drivers in Formula Nippon motor-racing, in much the same way F1 drivers are given Champagne to spray around!

How to Serve Sparkling Sake?

Read my blog post about how to serve sparkling sake.