John Gauntner - Sake Handbook, the - 8

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Sake Handbook, the

Book: “The Sake Handbook”, by John Gauntner.

Review Title: “A fine beginner’s overview … Kanpai !”

The Sake industry has been undergoing dramatic changes in recent decades. In Japan, on a downbeat note, the overall consumption of sake has been steadily decreasing from it’s peak in the early 1970’s, due to a corresponding shift in consumer preferences towards beer, spirits, and soft drinks. HOWEVER, there’s two noteworthy trends of good news for consumers everywhere: (1) First, the past several decades have seen a dramatic leap forward in the overall quality and styles of sakes produced … which now include premium (junmai & ginjo) and super premium (daiginjo) grades that can be enjoyed chilled, like fine Western white wines (rather than traditionally tepid or piping hot). Previously, those styles were too labor intensive and expensive to make, but technological advances have partially mitigated that. (2) In parallel with this (and hot on the heels of the American Microbrewing movement), there has been a growing awareness of, and increasing interest in, premium Sake here in America, and in several other Western Nations.

Which brings us to this book - John Gauntner is perhaps the leading non-japanese expert on Sake. He’s a respected columnist in Japan, runs a website dedicated to sake (www.sake-world.com) and also circulates an excellent free e-newsletter about sake (which you can sign up for at his website). In this book, John gives English speaking readers an educational peek at how sake is made, along with an overview of the various types and styles of sake available. He also lists some recommended brands for interested readers to try, along with a list of sake purveyors, pubs and restaurants (mostly in Japan, but also in the USA) for interested travel-minded readers to explore.

VERDICT: This is a fine introductory overview of the world of sake for beginners, particularly the section on sake manufacture. However, the tasting notes given for the author’s recommended labels (added for the 2nd edition) are decidedly vague. Despite this, I highly recommend the book. Premium sake is a wonderful beverage that more of us here in the Western Hemisphere should learn about, and appreciate.

Footnote for those who are interested in reading a little further, I list some minor nits below. However, for those in a hurry, stopping here is fine.

Minor Nits:

• The author neglected to include a prefecture map of Japan. For wine aficianados, that’s like writing about French wine, and not including a map showing where regions like burgundy, bordeaux, pomerol and rhone are. Reinforcing the same omission, the author mentions (on p.78}, that the different regional Toji Guilds each excel at making certain types of sake, but then neglects to elaborate any further on the point.

• The book’s glossary is too skimpy. For example, it omits important style terms like nigori, genshu, and tokobetsu (they’re in the index, but not the glossary).

• His listing of 100 Recommended Sakes (p.85-191) are all in black and white, rather than color. They also frequently omit pronunciation information, and translation of Brand Names into English … which was a mystifying oversight given that this book was specifically targeted for English speaking Westerners. For example, the helpfully diagrammed label of of “Otokoyama” that opens the section omits a translation (according to a Japanese friend of mine, it’s “Man’s Mountain”), or pronunciation information (if I remember correctly, it’s something like “Oto-quay’ah-mah”). Hopefully, these omissions will someday be rectified in an expanded edition.

• The tasting notes for his 100 Recommended Sakes are, in most cases, disappointingly vague. In most instances, the furthest he was willing to go (in this particular book anyway) was to identify whether or not something is sweet, dry, fruity, spicy, fragrant, or sedate … and that’s IT. For those who wish to be mildly amused, here are 3 examples of spectacular vagary (don’t try this at home kids): (1) On p.87, he describes Dewazakura’s “Oka” Ginjo Nama Sake as having a “fruitiness that really jumps out at you”. My mind cried out to know if he was referring to any particular varieties of melon, pear, citrus, stone fruits, etc. (2) On p.89, for Hiraizumi Yamahai Junmai, he mentions a “unique fragrance” that’s supposedly atypical for Japanese sake … but he doesn’t say what it is. (3) On p.99, he mentions “an eye-opening flavor that’s not easily forgotten” for Eiko Fuji Nama Junmai, but he omits any specifics. Heck, I could use the same description for Laphroaig Scotch Whisky, and any aficionados would rightly abuse me for failing to mention peat smoke, iodine, or seaweed. Ditto for Spaten Franziskaner Hefeweizen (a German Ale), and not mentioning the distinctive yeast strain that produces a very prominent Clove phenol when it ferments wheat malt in the vicinity of 68F. I found the author’s retreat into the vague both disappointing and anti-climactic, after all the effort he went to in Part 1 to extol the wide variety of styles and flavors available. If this were a book on wine, I’d be equally tempted to chuckle at an author who neglected to identify the signature flavors of each of the major grape/wine styles (i.e., most Pinot Grigios have nuances of lemon, most pinot noirs share nuances of cherry, most red zinfandels have nuances of raspberry jam, most sauvignon blancs have nuances of lime, kiwi and grassy/herbal notes, etc.). I’m sure he had his reasons … perhaps his 2nd edition edits were rushed by a deadline, or perhaps he’s so friendly with so many Toji (brewers) that he felt the need to keep his tasting notes overly conservative. Who knows ?

Again, despite these nits, I highly recommend this book. It's worth the cover price.

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