When most people hear about Sake they think about Japan or the United States.  But in Canada there is one Sake Winery breaking ground on Granville Island. Beginning in January 2007, Japanese-born entrepreneur, Masa Shiroki, opened up shop.  Osake is reported to have been the first sake made in Canada.  And at the artisan studio, Osake has the first “fresh premium” Junmai Sake (Namazake) of its kind produced in Canada.  Handcrafted and unlike premium sakes imported from Japan which are typically produced once a year in wine, Osake is made in small batches several times a year in cycles.  These cycles roughly correspond to the changing seasons.   This allows Osake to explore and produce versatile wines that complement the seasonal foods of local West Coast cuisine. 

The sake is fermented from top-quality Japanese sakamai, hand-pressed and hand-bottled.  Osake is left unfiltered to optimize its fresh, delicate, fruit-like aromas and flavours.

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Venue: Hotel Louis C. Jacob in Hamburg, Germany

Before the tasting begins we are served 1999 Giulio Ferrari from magnums as an aperitif. This sparkling wine from the Trentino Region is based on Chardonnay. The wine is superbly balanced. It is rich, bright gold and has a creamy vibrancy on the palate. Exceptionally satisfying.

The 1999 vintage in Tuscany is not considered top-notch, so I am curious to see how these famous wines developed over the last decade.

The group of tasters assembled is relatively small – about 30. Both Piero and Ludovico Antinori are there.

“We are happy to have both brothers together,” says Anton, our host from the Ariane Abayan wine importing company. He goes on to add: “This tasting is for fun – no need to make comments just a few ohs and ahs will suffice.”

We taste the wines blind.