Sake On Air

Explore the art of aging sake, from the challenges of categorizing 'old sake' to the revival of aged sake after a century. Learn about breweries shifting to Koshu sake, the complexities of marketing aged sake, and the unique flavor profiles created by time.

It feels like only the very recent past when opportunities for more formal sake education and certifications were few and far between, and when they were available, they were often infrequent and hosted in only a handful of territories, which made learning from knowledgeable industry insiders and professionals relatively prohibitive for most of the world’s growing number of sake-curious. Thankfully offerings from formalized organizations and institutions expanded, and a handful of ambitious sake pioneers helped increase both the frequency and quality of these much-needed places and spaces.This week’s guest, however, not only positioned himself on the front lines of the sake education movement as a certified instructor of the WSET sake curriculum while raising the bar for service night-in and night-out as the Beverage Director of Ki Modern Japanese + Bar in Toronto, he also established the world’s first core curriculum and certification focusing on the regional qualities of Japanese Sake with the Sake Scholar Course. His extensive travel throughout Japan and relentless dedication to furthering the depth of knowledge available to sake professionals led to him being anointed a Sake Samurai in 2018. In 2022 he (literally) wrote the book on sake, together with Nancy Matsumoto, providing the world with the James Beard Foundation Award-winning (and fantastic), Exploring Craft Sake: Rice, Water, Earth.This week we’re thrilled to welcome one of the world’s leading sake educators, Michael Tremblay, as he joins Justin Potts to discuss the nature of teaching, studying, learning, and growing together with the ever-expanding sake-inspired community around the world.If you’d like to follow along with Michael’s tireless endeavors you can catch him @mtrsake or @sakescholarcourse. If you have some of your own sake (or shochu) education experiences that you’d like to share with us here at Sake On Air, you can do so on Instagram, X, or Facebook, and you can reach us all directly with your thoughts or questions at questions@sakeonair.com. Thanks so much for raising an ochoko with us this week. There’s more Sake On Air headed your way again in just a couple of weeks.Until then, 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 brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew.

We’re getting back to basics this week in the world of shochu with one of our most popular shows from our back catalog: Shochu 101. Released back in December of 2018, Mr. Shochu himself, Christopher Pellegrini, walks us through the fundamentals that should help anyone new to the category better understand and enjoy Japan’s incredible indigenous spirit.As to why we selected this particular episode to dig out of the archives; we’ve got a feeling that shochu’s time is close-at-hand. This past year has felt like a significant shift for shochu, with California following up New York in amending laws related to the labelling and sales of Japanese Shochu, bartenders and mixologists further gravitating toward the exceptional koji-powered spirit, and maybe more than anything, producers in Japan really getting on board with a new shift in mindset surrounding the communication and marketing of their product, resulting in the types of industry connections and communication that shochu (and sake) have long missed out on – until now.So sit back, mix yourself a shochu cocktail (or a glass of oyuwari) and time travel a bit with the Sake On Air crew into the wonderful world of shochu.We’ve got more sake and shochu-inspired goodness headed your way again in just a couple of weeks. Until then, kampai! It was time to lay the groundwork for our up-and-coming explorations into the worlds of shochu and awamori. Welcome to Shochu 101 – class is in session.After picking the brains of a few bartending alchemists on the subject, we decided to put the Shochu Pro himself, Mr. Christopher Pellegrini, in the hotseat for 60 minutes in order to break down the fundamentals of both shochu and awamori. For those unacquainted the Japan’s indigenous distillates, this is a great place to start. Hopefully by the end we’ll have your interest piqued enough to inspire a shochu-filled holiday to come!What (can) shochu and awamori be made from? What are the 4 geographical indications for shochu and awamori and why? Is the word “honkaku” important? How did California pave the way for shochu’s market penetration in the U.S. while simultaneously setting communication around the beverage back a generation (or more)?A HUGE thanks to our listeners for all of your support in 2018. You are what make this all worthwhile and inspire us to do better each and every time in the studio. It’s only been about three months since we really got this show off the ground. We have a lot in store and we can’t wait to share more sake excitement in the coming year. As always, @sakeonair is where you can find us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and you can reach out to us at questions@sakeonair.com. Of course, a nice review is always welcome, as well. Sake On Air is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center located in Tokyo and made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with editing by Mr. Frank Walter. Our theme is “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

This week's episode of Sake On Air we dive further into the topic started with our post “Is wine the best way to promote sake?” last year. Arline Lyons, who wrote the post and has extensively researched the topic, takes a seat behind the mic and joins one of our regular hosts, Sebastien Lemoine to talk more about her findings. However, we thought it may not be a fair discussion without having someone join us to balance out the possible sake-heavy opinions and add some wine background to the round, which is why we invited Sarah Stewart to join us. With her extensive knowledge in both worlds - Sake and Wine, we felt she would be a perfect guest to further discuss why we should/or should not lean onto the wine world when we are trying to promote Japanese sake to new audiences.For anyone who is not yet familiar with Sarah and what she does, originally from Canada, but now based in the UK, aside from being a board-certified veterinary specialist, among the extensive list of her projects and qualifications, she is a WSET Certified Sake Educator at West & South London Wine School. Where she teaches WSET qualifications alongside her own original classes covering a wide variety of sake, wine and food pairing topics. She is also a Wine Scholar Guild Certified Instructor on the French, Spanish and Italian Wine Scholar courses, and teaches Academy of Cheese qualifications with a focus on cheese pairing with sake and wine, as well as judges for the International Wine Challenge - Sake Division and the UK's Great Taste Awards.Expect an engaging discussion, as the three take an honest look at the benefits of using wine terminology promoting sake, but also the problems in doing so, offer solutions, and possibly make you question the way you looked at the topic in the first place…If it did, then we would love to know all about it! Let us know what you think. You can find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook or you can email us questions@sakeonair.com. Of course, if you are also looking to find more sake, shochu and awamori-related information you can do so on all of these channels and don’t hesitate to share any other sake or shochu-related thoughts or questions with us. And if you like, rate us on the podcast service of your choice while you’re at it. We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.Until then, 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 brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

Many of our listeners are likely aware of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture back on New Years Day, 2024. While the most severe damage was unquestionably across the peninsula, the massive quake reverberated across neighboring prefectures as well, resulting in extensive, far-reaching damage that’s going to take a great deal of time to truly assess, not to mention recover from.Immediately following the earthquake news outlets around the world reported this tragic turn of natural events, however the true nature of the damage and devastation to the region didn’t really come to light until the days and weeks following the quake – long after international media stopped reporting and updating on the aftermath. To be honest, from what we’ve been able to see, although the instance of the quake made the news, most outlets never got around to addressing the realities of the actual devastation.Since January 1st there have been more than 1,000 aftershocks throughout the first week following the quake alone, with temperatures generally peaking in the 40s and dipping below freezing at night, interspersed with rain and snowfall. Along with the quake came fires and tsunami, as well, bringing with them a whole other level of devastation.Amidst this harsh environment, a vast number of locals and residents are now without homes and proper shelter, and still without running water, electricity, gas, and other daily fundamentals required for basic health, warmth and sanitation. Severe damage to the roads and infrastructure is making support and rescue services slow and limited, as each trip into the region needs to be carefully calculated. Many locals are stranded in temporary shelters or housing, attempting to sift through the rubble in areas without running water or electricity amidst the ongoing aftershocks. As such activity is incredibly dangerous, many have had no choice but to flee to neighboring regions with family or colleagues, making occasional calculated rescue efforts back home if or when possible. Many have given up altogether. For those of us personally and professionally involved in the world of sake, news of such extensive damage to the Noto region has been particularly devastating. Although small in terms of physical area, the impact that the Noto region, it’s brewers, breweries, craftsmanship, and wider culture has had on the sake industry is beyond significant; I’d go so far as to call it legendary.Ishikawa Prefecture has played home to several of the most iconic toji and breweries to grace the sake stage in recent history, developing brewing techniques that have proliferated across the country and standardized a lot of brewing practices for the industry. For what the region lacks in physical size, the Noto Toji Guild more than makes up for in member numbers and influence. Toji aside, the number of brewers from the Noto region working throughout Japan are more than you could easily count. Many of the traveling brewers from Noto were away brewing sake in other regions when the quake happened, left without a means to return home to check on their family, or returned home to find everything destroyed. Many no longer have a place to go home to.Of the 11 breweries that are considered to be part of the Noto region, none are in a position to resume production this year, and due to the extensive damage, many likely won’t be able to resume production at home for several seasons to come – if at all. Based on the latest official report from the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association, of the 33 member breweries in Ishikawa Prefecture, 24 of them reported damages, with 2 reported cases of severe damage. With the quake happening in January – peak brewing season – most, if not all in-tank product was lost, with completed, bottled stock largely destroyed. Not only are breweries unable to resume production, their short-term source of income – their sake – is also gone.

Junichi Masuda, 15th-gen kuramoto of Tokubee Masuda Shoten, talks about his family's legacy, the brand Tsukinokatsura, and future plans. Discusses brewery's ties to Kyoto, upcoming milestones, and balancing tradition with innovation in sake making.

This week we’re digging up a classic from the archives that we released back in April 2020. The theme of the week is kanzake, which felt appropriate as a majority of our audience is now officially rolling into the winter months.If you’re interested in more warm/hot sake insight, we highly encourage you to check out the special session we hosted from Sake Future Summit 2020 featuring the mission of the exceptional kanzake service team traveling France for their annual Kanzake Tour. We also did a little impromptu sake warming/sipping session for the camera back when we originally released this episode, which you can find here.Over the next few months, in addition to our regular bi-weekly programming, we’ll be occasionally dropping rereleases of past episodes on topics that we haven’t really discussed in a number of years and that we feel deserve a little extra bit of attention. If you missed it the first time, now’s your chance to get caught up!Thanks for loving sake and shochu. Have a happy and healthy holiday season and we’ll be back with more brand-new Sake On Air for you next week.Until then, Kampai! This week we’re tackling arguably one of the most misunderstood segments of the sake world:Kanzake, often simply referred to as, Hot Sake.For a complex web of reasons, the quality and general nature of hot (or warm) sake is still shrouded in generations of preconception and misconception. However along with an aggressive reexamination of “Why?” in relation to lost practices in food and beverage, kanzake is in the midst of a mini-resurgence, particularly in Japan. Over the past decade, not only the number, but the level of quality and creativity entrenched in dining and drinking establishments throughout Japan has grown dramatically. Even outside of traditional Japanese cuisine or izakaya dining, some of Japan (and the world’s) most lauded genre-bending restaurants have made elements of kanzake service not only a part of their beverage program, but a cornerstone to it. This week we have Justin Potts, Marie Nagata, Big Chris (Hughes) and Little Chris (Pellegrini) on the mics as we delve into kanzake history, experiences, terminology, service, and heating things up at home.For the already-converted, hopefully you’ll find some hot tips (!) to add to your arsenal. For those still on the fence or for anyone that’s previously been burned (!) by less-than-positive experiences, hopefully you’ll find reason to set out on another expedition of the kanzake landscape.Oh, and there’s a small supplement to this week’s episode over on our YouTube channel, as well! Help more sake-lovers find the show by reviewing and rating us on Apple Podcasts. Let us know what you thought about this or any of our shows to questions@sakeonair.staba.jp, or say “Hi” to the team at @sakeonair on  Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.If you happen to undertake any kanzake experiments at home, please do share the results and photos with us! Take care out there everyone.And don’t forget to 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.

With more travelers these days favoring unique experiences over a few days of leisure for their limited vacation days, Japan’s sake breweries have gradually been improving and expanding their offerings to both domestic and international visitors choosing to tick “sake journey” off their bucket list. An industry that’s largely sheltered itself from outside visitors for a significant chunk of recent history, many breweries are now for the first time figuring out how they can open themselves up to the possibility of tourism becoming a means of connecting with and growing their fanbase while developing a stable new form of reliable business.In a climate where tastings and tours are gradually becoming standard offerings at sake breweries throughout the country, Marika Tazawa went a step further and gathered the attention of the wider sake industry when she launched Kurabito Stay back in March of 2020. Kurabito Stay was the first sake tourism business to offer regular opportunities to, as the website states: “Become a sake brewer”, to anyone with the time and means to make it to the town of Saku in Nagano for a few days. Offering a range of two and three-day programs where participants stay at the brewery and take part in the various processes of making sake, for anyone wanting to get closer to and develop a more personal and in-depth understand of sake through experience, Kurabito Stay has become a no-brainer.Despite launching at the very beginning of one of the most challenging climates in recent history for tourism and travel, Kurabito Stay has now had over 400 participants take part in their range of sake-making programs from across the globe. Their success has demonstrated to the people and businesses of the region that there’s a unique appeal and potential in a synergistic relationship between sake and tourism for the future of rural Japan. With bookings now open for 2024 experiences, a new cycling program for visitors who want to spend a bit more time exploring the region, and a soon-to-be-announced second Kurabito Stay brewery partner prepping for their first programs (details in the show!), it seems that Kurabito Stay is indeed here to, well…stay.This week Justin Potts sits down with Kurabito Stay owner and founder, Marika Tazawa, to discuss all of the above and more. You can stay up-to-date with what’s happening with Kurabito Stay experiences and life in the Nagano town of Saku by following along on their Instagram, or get the latest tour information and availability on their website. Thanks for tuning in with us again this week. You can follow along with the team at Sake On Air also on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and you can reach us all directly with your thoughts or questions at questions@sakeonair.com. There’s more Sake on Air headed your way again in just a couple of weeks.Until then, 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 brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew.

Fabio Ota joins regular host Sebastien Lemoine to talk all things sake in Brazil. Fabio, a lawyer turned sake guy, is the CEO and creator of Megasake, São Paulo’s premier sake shop and distributor. He was named a Sake Samurai earlier this year as part of the 18h cohort, and holds 13 different sake certifications. Sebastien and Fabio get into the ins and outs of the unique nature of sake in Brazil, especially as it relates to the community of Brazilians with Japanese heritage. Although sake is made domestically in Brazil, premium nihonshu (sake made in Japan) has yet to make much of a splash. Fabio and his company are positioned to change that, especially in their work showing chefs how to add sake to their menus and how to pair sake with food. Fabio is also a masterful sake educator who has led courses on sake for over 1,800 F&B professionals and often hosts sake events in Brazil with other Japan connected organizations like the recent Festival do Sake that he held with JSS and the Japan House São Paulo. Give Megasake a follow over on instagram, especially if you live in São Paulo! https://www.instagram.com/megasake/ As always, let us know what you think about this week's episode and we would love to know about other people introducing sake and shochu in South America! If you’re looking for updates @sakeonair, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Don’t hesitate to also share any other sake or shochu-related thoughts or questions with the hosts at questions@sakeonair.com and rate us on the podcast service of your choice while you’re at it. We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.Until then, 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 brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

For many years a Sake Tasting Competition has been held for selected sake sommeliers from across the country in Tokyo to challenge their tasting skills and knowledge. This year the Brewing Society of Japan has released a special tasting kit, that can be bought by anyone (depending on the availability of it, of course) to help sake professionals and people who strive to learn more about how to evaluate sake, to test and train their tasting abilities.In this very special episode of Sake on Air, we decided to give it a try and with the help of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, we both got our hands on the sake-tasting kit and an invitation to the competition. So in this 2-part episode, we will share with you how both went. Along with some useful tips and knowledge on how to improve your tasting abilities and hone in on the skills needed to master them.In the first part of this episode, you will hear from Chris Hughes, Rebekah Wilson-Lye and Cindy Bissig about the tasting kit with some interview snippets of Sebastien Lemoine and Marie Nagata on how they got on. From a more simple just recognizing sweet vs dry, to determining which sake sample had higher Succinic acid along with a smell test. Spoiler alert, there were some surprising comments with the conclusion of Chris Hughes sharing that it was an incredibly humbling but super valuable experience, that he would love to have another go at one day and he is not alone in that.As we reach the 2nd half of this week's episode, we will focus on the “42nd Japanese Tasting Competition” that we joined. In which the best Sake Sommeliers from all around Japan come together to “battle” it out over two rounds, a written knowledge and a taste test. As well as, some helpful tips on how to get better at conquering similar tests and more insights from our hosts on sake competition, appraisals, and easy ways to replicate some of these challenges in the comfort of your own home or local Izakaya. As always, let us know what you think about this week's episode and your experience in sake tasting. We would love to know what other strategies people have in place to effortlessly asses a beverage (sake or not), so do let us know! At the same time, if you’re looking for updates @sakeonair, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Don’t hesitate to also share any other sake or shochu-related thoughts or questions with the hosts at questions@sakeonair.com and rate us on the podcast service of your choice while you’re at it.We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.Until then, kampai!