"A Visit to Umenishiki -- Home of Good Beer and Sake" PAGE5
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Tasting Three of the Finest Sakes with the President
After the brewery tour, we visited "Space Yu" on the 4th floor of the head office. Space Yu is an art gallery with a sake refrigerator and tasting facilities. Today's exhibit was "Great Photographers." Many famous photographers' original prints, including Robert Capa's "Death of a Republican Volunteer" and Robert Mapplethorpe's "Thomas" were on display. To our pleasant surprise, Mr. Koichiro Yamakawa, president of Umenishiki met us here with his wife. "Let's talk while we have a drink" he said. So we went over to the bar counter. Mr. Yamakawa might've noticed our greedy glances towards the sake refrigerator. He casually took out three bottles of the finest Umenishiki-brand dai-ginjo sake and placed them on the counter. "Please, drink as you like" he kindly said. "Wow, really?" we joyfully replied. Mrs. Yamakawa even prepared some mineral water so that we could thoroughly enjoy tasting. We first poured "Hime-no-ai Genmi" into our glasses [sake meter value (SMV): +4.0/acidity: 1.1]. It uses 25% polished Ehime-grown Matsuyama Mitsui rice. It has a brilliant aroma and a clean smooth taste. Next, "Kyukyoku-no-sake" (SMV: +5.0/acidity: 1.1). Made from 30% Yamada-nishiki rice. The bottle label is signed with the famous toji (brewmaster) Mr. Fukuhei Yamane's signature. A masterpiece of pride and confidence. Its aroma is more subtle than the "Hime-no-ai Genmi" but has more body. But still smooth. Ecstatic. And "Omachi Ichinyu" (SMV: +4.0/acidity: 1.1). Made from 30% polished Omachi rice. This is good too. Strong but smooth. All three have pleasant aftertastes so you will never get tired of drinking them. You can drink glass after glass without appetizers. What's this? Excellent! Seeing us sake amateurs empty our glasses so happily, Mr. Yamakawa does not ask us the senseless question of what we think of the taste. He entertained us with a wide range of topics and interesting conversation from photography, which is his hobby, to how to settle the bill in overcharging bars. We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Yamakawa, and everyone whose help we received in this report. If you want to know more about Umenishiki, visit the following Web sites: Sake Kingdom: Sake Brewery Journey: Umenishiki Yamakawa Co. home page (Japanese only) The Umenishiki Yamakawa Co. home page (Japanese only)		" Gallery Yu " Hours: 9-12 am, 1-5 pm Closed on Sundays, holidays and 2nd and 3rd Saturdays Reservations required (tel: 0896-58-1211) Umenishiki proudly presents (from left to right): Omachi Ichinyu, Kyukyoku-no-sake and Hime-no-ai Genmi -- recipient of 23 Gold Awards from the National New Sake Competition sponsored by the National Research Institute of Brewing. Photography being Mr. Yamakawa's hobby, he shows deep interest in our camera. "What mm is this camera?" This picture is taken from Mr. Yamakawa's business card