C3 - Sake Labelling Terms - completed Flashcards

1
Q

How much of Japanese sake production is classed as ‘premium’?

A

Approximately one third - and this percentage is increasing.

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2
Q

Premium sake can only be made of what?

A
  • rice, water, yeast, kōji and possibly jōzo alcohol.
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3
Q

What is the Japanese term for premium sake?

A

tokutei-meishō-shu

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4
Q

How many grades of premium sake further divided into?

A
  • Eight
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5
Q

How many grades of premium sake are called tokubetsu?

A
  • Two
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6
Q

What is futsū-shu?

A
  • Basic sake
  • Two thirds of Japanese production
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7
Q

Does the term futsū-shu usually appear on a sake label?

A
  • rare
  • brewers usually use a brand name instead
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8
Q

What might be added to a futsū-shu, in addition to the rice, water, yeast, kōji and jōzō?

A

Amino acids (for umami)
Sugar
Acid
Less tightly regulated

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9
Q

How does futsū-shu differ from tokutei-meishō-shu in terms of regulations?

A
  • Less tightly regulated
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10
Q

Definitions of ginjō

A
  • rice polished to 60% or less remain
  • most of the protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals are polished away
  • leaving almost pure starch.
  • Light body,
  • lower acidity
  • lower umami
  • fermented in extremely low temperatures
  • low temperature and low nutrients put the yeast under stress
  • produce aromas and flavours of green apple and banana
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11
Q

Definitions of daiginjō?

A
  • an extreme version of ginjo
  • rice polished to 50% or less remain.
  • Very pure and delicate.
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12
Q

What must all eight categories of premium sake show on the label?

A

The polishing rate

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13
Q

What are the eight grades of premium sake?

A
  • Daiginjō
  • Ginjō
  • Honjōzō
  • Tokubetsu honjōzo
  • Junmai daiginjō
  • Junmai ginjō
  • Junmai
  • Tokubetsu junmai
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14
Q

What effect does the addition of distilled alcohol have on the sake?

A
  • Very little
  • it does not increase the alcohol
  • Subtly enhances aromas
  • Can make the sake slightly lighter in body

For futsū-shu, it increases volume and reduce the cost

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15
Q

What is the Japanese term for distilled alcohol?

A

Jōzō arukōru

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16
Q

True or false?
If distilled alcohol is used, it does not need to be listed on the label.

A
  • False.
  • Distilled alcohol must be listed in the ingredients on the label
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17
Q

What is arukorū-tenka?

A
  • Alcohol addition - often abbreviated to aruten
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18
Q

What is aruten?

A
  • abbreviation for arukorū-tenka - alcohol addition.
  • Aruten is the term used to describe sake make with the addition of jōzō, and as opposed to junmai.
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19
Q

What is junmai?

A
  • Premium sake made without the addition of distilled alcohol
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20
Q

Why doesn’t the addition of distillers alcohol increase the alcoholic volume?

A
  • Because the sake is watered back after the alcohol addition.
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21
Q

What is honjōzō?

A
  • Premium sake made from relatively coarsely polished rice (70% or less) with a small addition of distilled alcohol
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22
Q

How does honjōzō taste in comparison to junmai?

A
  • Similar to junmai: rice/cereal, earthy/spice flavours, but slightly lighter in body
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23
Q

What does tokubetsu translate to?

A

Special

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24
Q

How can sake qualify for the labelling term tokubetsu?

A

Three ways:
- Be polished to less than 60%
- Be made only from sake-specific rice
- Include some other process that the brewer has arranged to be legally recognised.

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25
Q

True or false:
- Sake made from rice with a polishing rate of 71% or more and the addition of distilled alcohol cannot be called honjōzō.

A
  • True.
  • Honjōzō must be polished to 70% or less.
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26
Q

True or false:
Sake made from rice with a polishing rate of 71% or more cannot be called junmai.

A

False.
- There is no stipulated polishing ratio for junmai, although unpolished rice is rarely used.

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27
Q

True or false:
Tokubetsu sake can only be labelled as such if it has a polishing rate of 60% or less.

A

False.
- A polishing rate of 60% can be one way to qualify for use of the term tokubetsu, but there are also other factors that can qualify the sake to use the term.
- sake specific rice
- a legally recognised production process

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28
Q

What is the required polishing rate for honjōzō?

A

70% or less

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29
Q

What is the required polishing rate for junmai?

A

There is no minimum polishing rate for junmai

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30
Q

What is kimoto?

A
  • An older, slower method for the fermentation starter.
  • Produce higher acidity, and more depth and complexity.
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31
Q

What is yamahai?

A
  • A simplified version of kimoto not using poles on steamed rice to make paste.
  • It also produces higher acidity, and more depth and complexity.
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32
Q

What is muroka?

A
  • A sake that has not been fined with active charcoal to remove colour.
  • Muroka sake is typically pale lemon-green or lemon in appearance
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33
Q

What does the labelling term nama mean?

A
  • A sake that has not been pasteurised.
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34
Q

What is nama-chozō?

A
  • A sake that is stored unpasteurised but is pasteurised at the time of shipment.
35
Q

What is genshu?

A
  • no added water before bottling.
  • These sakes can be a little higher in alcohol but the brewer can also manage the fermentation so that it finishes in the normal range of 15-17% abv.
36
Q

Of the terms nama, nama-chozō, genshu, muroka, kimoto and yamahai, which are legally defined?

A
  • Nama
  • Nama-chozō
  • Genshu
37
Q

Is yamahai a legally defined term?

A

No

38
Q

Is kimoto a legally defined term?

A

No and it is the old school method crushing steamed rice into paste

39
Q

Is nama a legally defined term?

A

Yes

40
Q

Is nama-chozō a legally defined term?

A

Yes

41
Q

Is genshu a legally defined term?

A

Yes

42
Q

Is muroka a legally defined term?

A

No

43
Q

What is kake (or kake-mai)?

A

An abbreviation of kake-mai.

  • The rice used for the steamed rice that is not kōji. - Once cooled, it is moved directly to the fermentation vessel.
44
Q

What is the Japanese term for ‘sake meter value (SMV)’?

A

Nihonshu-do

45
Q

True or false:

On a label, Japanese laws allow producers to express abv as a range, rather than an exact figure (ie. 15-16% abv)

A

True

46
Q

What is kōbo?

A

Yeast

47
Q

Is taru-zake a legally defined term?

A

Yes it is sake matured in Japanese Cedar

48
Q

Is koshu a legally defined term?

A

No, although legislation determines how age statements for koshu can be expressed

49
Q

Is nigori a legally defined term?

A

No

50
Q

Is kijōshu a legally defined term?

A

No though it is a highly sweet sake made with special process

51
Q

What does the labelling term nigori mean?

A
  • A sake that has been roughly filtered, or is a blend of roughly filtered and clear sake.
  • The sake is cloudy because it has suspended particles of rice.
52
Q

What does the labelling term koshu mean?

A
  • These sakes are aged for an extended period.
  • They are often gold or amber in colour, and have complex aromas of honey, toast, nuts, dried fruit and pickled vegetables.
53
Q

What does the labelling term kijōshu mean?

A
  • Nearly all sake have some unfermented sugar, but kijōshu have so much residual sugar that they can be described as sweet or luscious.
54
Q

What does the labelling term taru-zake mean?

A
  • A sake that has been aged in a Japanese cedar barrel and picked up distinctive aromas.
55
Q

Is there a widely used Japanese term for sparkling sake?

A
  • Not really. There is in Japan of course, but in export markets, effervescent or fizzy sake is simply called sparkling.
56
Q

Is the nihonshu-do an accurate indication of sweetness?

A
  • Not really - it’s a rough indicator.
  • It is a measure of the relative density of sake in comparison to water. Both alcohol and sugar contribute to density.
57
Q

What does a positive value on the nihonshu-do mean?

A

A normal to drier style sake.

58
Q

What does a negative value on the nihonshu-do mean?

A

A sweeter style sake

59
Q

What likely a sake with a nihonshu-do value of -30 to -100 be labelled as?

A

Kijōshu - it is a sweeter style sake

60
Q

What is the ‘most normal’ range for sake on the nihonshu-do scale?

A

-2 to +8

61
Q

What is the average nihonshu-do value?

A

+4
This is equivalent to approximately 17g/L

62
Q

What does a nihonshu-do value of +4 correspond to in grams per litre?

A

Approximately 17 g/L

63
Q

Is it common to have a SMV value higher than +10?

A

Not really - these sakes would be marketed on their dryness.

64
Q

What is the compulsory information legally required on a sake label?

A
  • the product category (either sei-shu or nihon-shu, both mean sake)
  • alcohol content by volume (%abv)
  • total volume of the container
  • raw ingredients
  • date produced
  • brewery name and address (and country of origin if not from Japan)
65
Q

What is sei-shu?

A

The Japanese word for sake

66
Q

Which western year is Heisei 30?

A

2018

67
Q

What is the brewing year or BY that is indicated on some labels?

A
  • 1 July to 31st June

This is because sake is produced throughout the winter which crosses two calendar years.

  • Thus if 2018 is Heisei 30, a sake made in January 2019 could also be labelled BY30
68
Q

What are some optional labelling terms that could be used for sake?

A
  • Rice variety or varieties
  • Age statement
  • Production locally
  • Terms indication production method or style
  • Medals and awards
69
Q

What does the labelling term ki-ippon mean?

A
  • A junmai sake that has been entirely produced at a single site.
70
Q

Is ki-ippon a legally defined term?

A

Yes it is a junmai made entirely at one site

71
Q

Are production localities legally registered as a Geographic Indication?

A
  • No.
  • The location generally indicates the location of the brewery rather than where the rice was grown, although these are sometimes the same.
72
Q

Sake can be divided into which two categories?

A

basic sake and premium sake

73
Q

Six of the eight premium sake grades are defined according to which two aspect?

A
  • the polishing ration of the rice (seimai-buai)
  • whether any distilled alcohol (Jōzō arukōru) was added before filtration
74
Q

Definition of sake called tokubetsu

A
  • the use of a particular polishing rate
  • The use of certain production processes.
75
Q

Minimum percentage of kōji used in premium sake

A

15%

76
Q

What is the production share of the four ginjo grades account for in Japan?

A
  • just over a third of the premium sake made in Japan.
77
Q

How junmai or honjōzō is made?

A
  • rice polished coarsely to more than 60% remain
  • more flavour: from proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals
  • more nutrients to the yeast, so the fermentation is faster and warmer
  • lower levels of fruity aromas
  • fuller-bodied
  • more rice/cereal and earth/spice flavours
78
Q

How is the junmai or honjōzō labelled?

A
  • No separate labelling term, if the label without mentioning ginjo or daijinjo, then it’s likely to be in this style.
79
Q

What is the legal labelling term that indicates distilled alcohol has been added?

A

There is none.

80
Q

SMV value higher than ?? is unusual? Such sake will be often marketd based on their dryness.

A

+10

81
Q

What is the term “date produced” on label means?

A

this is a translation from Japanese and generally refers to the date when the sake was bottled for sale, or a release date

Hence the “date produced” won’t tell you how old is the sake, only which date it is released onto the market.

82
Q

Which terms indicating production method or style have a legal definition?

A
  • nama
  • nama-chozō
  • genshu
  • taru-zake
83
Q

Which terms are not legally defined but still can be used on a label?

A
  • kimoto
  • yamahai
  • muroka
  • nigori
  • koshu
  • kijoshu
84
Q

Which commonly used terms related to pasteurisation and filtration fractions or methods are legally undefinied?

A
  • nama-zume - pasteurized 1 before bulk storage
  • hiya-oroshi - nama zume sold seasonally
  • arabashiri - free run liquid from filter
  • naka-dori - middle fraction in filtering
  • naka-gumi - same as above middle section
  • fune-shibori - traditional filtration using bags
  • to-bin gakoi - bottling that uses middle section from drip filter