Momokawa Heart and Soul Saké
Saké is often called rice wine, but this is a misnomer. While it is an alcoholic beverage made by fermentation, the production process more closely resembles that of beer, and it is made from grain (rice, of course), not fruit. To make saké, the starch of freshly steamed glutinous rice is converted to sugar and then fermented to alcohol. Once fermented, the liquid is filtered, heated, and placed in casks for maturing. Sakés can range from dry to sweet, but even the driest retain a hint of sweetness.
This saké is a domestic product from SakéOne saké brewery in Forest Grove, Oregon. The company began as a saké importer in 1992, and in 1997 they expanded the operation and began brewing their own saké.
In premium saké, water composition matters a great deal. SakéOne’s founder chose Oregon because he believed that the best-quality water for saké brewing is in the Northwest. The other crucial component is rice, and for this bottling SakéOne selected Yamada Nishiki from Arkansas.
Momokawa Heart and Soul Saké
The producer states that “Heart” refers to the center of the rice grain, or shinpaku. The “Soul” refers to the dedication of the saké brewing team who created this hand-made saké. It is a full-bodied Junmail* Daiginjo** with a slightly yellow hue. It opens with a nose of melon and lychee. These continue on the palate, plus a bit of apple. The overall balance is quite good.
The ABV is 16%, and it has a mid-scale SMV*** of +1.5, but it seems drier. The rice has a polish of 40%, so 60% of the rice has been removed. Serve chilled.
SakéOne also offers: Yomi, g, Momokawa, and Moonstone.
Yomi was the first canned sake available in the United States. Yomi is junmai ginjo saké, with a lower acidity and a medium body. It is 13% ABV.
g saké is genshu, undiluted sake. There are two varieties of g saké, g fifty genshu and g joy genshu, which have different taste profiles. Both are 18% ABV.
Momokawa Pearl Saké is a rich, full-bodied Junmail Ginjo Nigori that is quite sweet. Momokawa Ruby Fields is a rich, full-bodied moderately-dry saké. Momokawa Silver is dry and crisp. Momokawa Organic Nigori is lush, smooth, fruity, and floral.
Moonstone is SakéOne’s premium junmai ginjo saké .
*Junmai is pure rice wine, with no added alcohol. Until recently, at least 30% of the rice used for Junmai sake had to be milled away, but Junmai no longer requires a specified milling rate.
**Ginjo designates that at least 40% of the rice has been polished away. If a bottle is labeled just Ginjo, distilled alcohol was added; if it is labeled Junmai Ginjo, no alcohol was added.
***The SMV (Saké Meter Value) measures the density of saké relative to water, and is the method for gauging the dryness or sweetness of saké. The higher the SMV, the drier the saké. The range is from -15 (sweet) to +15 (dry),
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