Genshu Archives

Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America Saké. <a href="#taste">Click here for tasting notes. </a> — Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America Saké. Click here for tasting notes.

Tsubaki Saké is named for the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America (aka Tsubaki America Jinja), the first Shinto shrine built in the mainland United States after World War II. It was erected in 1986 in Stockton, California, and moved to its current location next to the Pilchuck River in Granite Falls, Washington, in 2001.
Continue reading “Tsubaki Saké”

A Note About Vintages

Although you will see vintage dates throughout Winervana, I don’t put too much importance on them. Major producers these days strive for a consistent style, and largely succeed. (Especially in California, aided by the usually even climate there.) For instance, when shopping for a particular wine, if you have a choice between a current release and one that’s a few years old, there will certainly be differences in price and the character of the wine. But upon release, those two examples of the same wine are likely to be quite similar, especially for New World producers, who often enjoy more reliably consistent weather than Old World producers do. (Of course, global climate change may disrupt things for everybody.)

Wine Enthusiast has an interesting post about this here.