The Zero Tele News 24 site reports on where former Japanese national football team player and sake promoter Hidetoshi Nakata thinks is the best place for sake – Fukushima.
Nakata made the statement on 23 December 2017 at the Tokyo International Forum, during a talk show at the FUKU FES 2017 Fukushima promotional event.
The event also had an area where sake produced by more than 20 Fukushima breweries could be enjoyed.
You might be tempted to write the statement off due to the nature of the event, but the former footballer is a huge sake fan (including being involved with the premium sake Kit Kat) and has visited over 300 breweries in 47 prefectures.
The article quotes him as saying “the level of Fukushima sake is incredibly high, even when you compare it to the rest of the country. Rather than (very formal) junmai daiginjo, I think their (more rustic) junmai that you can drink with meals is excellent. The image I have of Fukushima sake is something you can drink with a meal.”
Fukushima prefecture is home to around 70 breweries, and Nakata has visited around 20. When asked how the prefecture could promote itself, he analysed the situation. “Every Fukushima sake is different. There are such a range of climates (in the one prefecture, that breweries are exposed to) and the water is of course also different (giving different flavours). It’s an onsen area too, so breweries and onsen could work together to offer something together. It would be good if people knew how to pair sake with food.”
Links
- Original article (Japanese, Zero Tele News 24, 23 December 2017)