Arizona Sake Tasting Notes

Atsuo Sakurai requested that we bring ripe peaches and some cheese to taste with his sake. Peaches with sake sounded inviting and delicious. But who knew that cheese and sake could be paired?

We had ripe yellow organic peaches that paired deliciously with both Sakurai’s Junmai Ginjo signature sake and the Desert Snow sparkling nijiri. The slight acidity of the peach balanced elegantly with the smooth sweetness of the Junmai sake. The sparkling Desert Snow undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, yielding a delicate effervescence. Its fine bubbles reminiscent of good Champagne added a festive note to the ripe peaches.

For the cheese pairings we had selected Humboldt Fog, a truffle-infused goat Brie, Emmental and a buffalo Fontal.

The Emmental, while smooth and earthy, was too hard and dense with the delicate quality of the sake. The favorite was the Fontal; its earthy, buttery taste and delicate creaminess were a perfect complement to the signature sake. The fluffy light texture and smoothness of the Humboldt Fog also paired very well. The truffle-flavored goat brie was not a success. Sakurai suggested that a blue cheese would have also been a good choice. Lots of flavor to explore here!

Navajo Junmai Ginjo

This native “tea-brewed” sake is a unique offering from Arizona Sake. Created at the suggestion of his Navajo father-in-law, Sakurai’s Junmai Ginjo is infused with Navajo tea, a wild, stalky plant found in the desert washes and side roads of northern Arizona and the Colorado Plateau.

The tea, which is brewed from the dried stems and small flowers of the plant, yields a robust but smooth infusion with notes of grass, marjoram and green tea. The infused sake has a pale green tint and a tangy herbal edge quite distinct from the signature sweet, delicate Nama Junmai Ginjo.