<table border="0" align="right" width="260"><tr><td><img src="http://www.ozekisake.com/image/IMG_0863.JPG" border="0" align="right"></td></tr></table>I won't claim to be much of an expert on sake, and most often in the sushi bar I'll go with green tea or possibly a quality artisanal beer. Tonight, though, checking out a nice new downtown sushi bar (named Caviar, which seems a mite odd), I was intrigued to notice a good choice of sakes, sought the server's advice and ended up with a shared 375 ml bottle of a California-made sake.
<B>Ginjo Premier Ozeki Sake</B> ($12.95/375 ml restaurant price)
Served cool, not warmed, in glasses that resemble small shot glasses. It's a very clear, colorless beverage, clear as water. I find the scents intriguing and am convinced I can pick up a distant hint of something that reminds me of uncooked, washed white rice with a back note of fruit ... plums? Hard to tell. It's smooth and clean on the palate, with that same elusive fruit flavor that's warmed (but not hot) with 16 percent alcohol by volume. I find it pleasant, not unlike a dry white wine; a bit simple maybe when sipped alone, but to my mind it makes almost a stunning match with a fairly broad range of sushi items, both <i>nigiri-zushi</i> (tuna, mackerel, red snapper, yellowtail, octopus and flounder) and assorted rolls including an offbeat "white dragon roll" with asparagus and avocado inside, thin-sliced jalapeño topped by a square of yellowtail on top, briefly seared with a blowtorch to crisp the top without cooking the fish.
Ozeki Sake USA is located in Hollister, Calif., which I guess makes it a neighbor of Calera Wine Co. It appears to be the U.S. presence of a Japanese sake brewer, and the Website claims it was the first quality sake brewer in the U.S., established here in 1979. The Japanese company is 291 years old!
Here's a link to the US factory Website:
http://www.ozekisake.com/
