Sake in Portland with Marcus Pakiser & Midori Nakazawa

Sake On Air has taken the show on the road! Well, sort of. The gang isn’t all here, but Justin recently spent a bit of time in the Pacific Northwest and along the way managed to sit down with a few of the individuals helping to shape the future of sake in the region. While in Portland Oregon for the annual Portland Fermentation Festival Justin sat down with sake samurai and vice president of the sake category for Young’s Market Company, Marcus Pakiser, together with SakeOne sales and marketing manager, Midori Nakazawa. Portland is a city gathering the attention of the world for its approach to sustainable development, with it now regularly ranked as one of the best cities to live in the U.S. But what does Portland look like as a “sake city?” Does the local populace’s relatively high level of awareness in relation to food and beverage, as well as preference for “local” as well as “natural” (a word to tackle another day!) give it the potential to develop a unique local sake market that sets it apart from other major cities across North America? Its these topics and more that we delve into in this week’s episode of Sake On Air! A quick caveat about this week’s episode before listening: This was our first-time recording “on the road.” To make a long story short, our recording tools and methods for this (and a couple more upcoming shows that were recorded in the U.S.) were highly makeshift. As a result, the recording quality and volume has suffered a bit, but we hope that you’ll stick with us and that we were able to make up for it with some fun and insightful content. Let us know what you thought of this week’s show (and the show in general) by leaving a review for us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast streaming service. You can follow along with our adventures on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and our  YouTube channel. Send your thoughts and feedback to as at questions@sakeonair.staba.jp, or via the contact page on our brand new website. Thanks for listening. Kampai! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is a co-production between Export Japan and Potts.K Productions, with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” is composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.