Cellar Notes

Sake

By Al Spoler,

Hugh Sisson

Published January 8, 2023 at 6:36 PM EST

Empty sake bottles lined up outside a restaurant in the Daikanyama area of Tokyo.

If you're feeling a little jaded, why not try something truly exotic: Sake!

Price key: $=less than $20 $$= $20-40 $$$=$40-60 $$$$=above $60

Quality key: * = decent wine ** = very good wine *** = superb wine ****= elite

VALUE = exceptional quality for the money

Joto Junmai Sake ** $

(Fruity, plummy aromas, very clean flavors, rather mild)

Joto Daijingo Sake *** $$ WINE OF THE WEEK

(Pale color, intriguing nose of apples and sage, complex flavors)

Hanna Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake **1/2 $ VALUE

(Sparkling sake? You bet! Pale pink in color and truly exotic)

All of these wines can be purchased at Kenilworth Wine and Spirits.

Cellar Notes

Al Spoler

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.

See stories by Al Spoler

Hugh Sisson

As General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Hugh J. Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sissons, located in Federal Hill. A fifth generation Baltimorean, Hugh has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing.

See stories by Hugh Sisson