L-R: Me, Miho Imada and Kayoko at the shop in summer of 2024 Miho Imada has been brewing sake at Imada Shuzo since 1994 after taking a crash course in sake brewing at the National Research Institute of Brewing of Japan....
Shirataki Shuzo makes sakes that embody the tanrei-karakuchi (light and dry) style of Niigata. You may recognize their Jozen line of sakes by their iconic faceted bottles. They sparkle...
Honeybee on a plum blossom in Oakland on a spring day. Photo by Yoko Some of you may know that I am a beekeeper. I’ve been keeping bees for about 10 years...
Visit the Amabuki Shuzo weekdays 9a-12pm, 1-5pm. Photos courtesy of the brewery. Both bottles this month for Sake Gumi are from Amabuki Shuzo, a brewery in...
Entrance to the brewery in Saga. Photos courtesy of Amabuki Shuzo It’s clear that whenever Amabuki comes...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout the country. Join today! Natsuzakes (summer sakes) typically get released starting in June, and satisfy thirsty sake lovers through the hottest months in...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout the country. Join today! These days, there has been a bit of buzz about blending for sake, with the emergence of bottles blended by legends of the wine world in Europe and Canada....
L to R: Troy Nakamatsu and Russell Wolfe of Sawtelle Sake, James Jin of Nova Brewing Co., Brandon Doughan of Brooklyn Kura Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! I am a...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As a beekeeper, I think about female-led organizations often. In particular, I find inspiration in the queen bees of my hives, leading their workers into the seasons. Although she is...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As we celebrate 10 years of Umami Mart, I want to reflect on the notion of 実家 (jikka, or hometown) and pair sakes from my own hometown, with dishes from our...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Organic, biodynamic, slow, and natural – these are buzzwords that are often used when talking about farming or wine. But how do we talk about these methods in sake-making? I've always...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As the bears start getting ready for hibernation, the bees hunker down in their hives to stock up on their stored honey, we start hanging up our hoshigaki and...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! This month we bring in exclusive bottles from your favorite brewers! These are sakes from breweries that are consistently best-sellers at Umami Mart since we started selling sake in...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Who doesn’t love bubbles? For the little ones, there are bubble baths, root beer floats, and gleefully blowing and chasing bubbles in the park. For us adults, bubbles are...
Kurabito (worker) at the Akita Seishu Brewery Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! This month, Kayoko and I are collaborating on the theme for Sake and Shochu Gumi, highlighting shuzo (alcohol makers) who make...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! It's the summertime, and I always look forward to having grilled foods this time of year. From St. Louis BBQ to yakitori draped in tare (sweet and...
Sunset in Karatsu, Saga Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! The last time I went to Saga was in 2016. There was a lot happening in my life and it was the perfect place to...
Join us June 24, 2021 at 5:30pm on Zoom! Pairing Sake + Cheese with Kevin Corcoran CCP Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! This is our sixth annual Sakqueso! I look forward to this theme...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As a bartender for several years, the most common response when I would ask, “What kind of wine would you like?” would indubitably be, “Something dry.” We get this at our...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout California. Join today! Happy NamaFest! Coming out of the long brewing season that starts when rice is harvested in the fall, brewers typically release namazakes (unpasteurized sakes) in early spring. These...
