On a chilly February morning at Nemoto Shuzo, a centuries-old family-run brewery about 90 miles northeast of Tokyo, I tasted truly wonderful sake for the first time.
Having grown up in Japan, I was, of course, familiar with sake—rice wine; but it was invariably the mass-produced variety, usually served warm to mask its harshness.
What I drank at Nemoto Shuzo was something else: the unfortified version (junmai-shu) of a high-quality artisanal product. It was cool, with a rich, fruity flavor and a slightly acidic tingle. It was a revelation.
