Word: sakes
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...Joto Sake now boasts 150 restaurants and retailers that offer its 10 brands from six Japanese producers. Sales doubled in 2006 from 2005, and Sidel expects to break even this year with revenue of a little more than $1 million. "Sake is transitioning from the image of being cheap, hot and in a little carafe that gets you hammered to one of a fine wine with a lot of complexity, flavor and craftsmanship," he says...
...craftsmanship and authenticity are exactly what sake drinkers seek. "People want authentic experiences," Sidel says. "When they buy sake, they want a piece of Japanese culture." Not being able to read the label, however, is like walking blindfolded off a flight to Tokyo: you may have arrived, but you won't get very far. For Americans, part of the intimidation factor with sake selection is not only lack of exposure but also those pesky Japanese characters. Even after four years of college-level Japanese, Sidel couldn't read the labels, so he has tried to carve out what he calls...
...Sake buyer Paul Tanguay says more information in English on the label is key to U.S. sales. And he's one to be heard. Having worked with every distributor in the U.S. while he was the beverage director of Sushi Samba restaurants nationwide, Tanguay is a formidable player in the popularization of the drink and imported sake's upward trajectory. "So much of what goes into developing brands in this business is distribution," says Sidel. "This is true of management of any luxury good or product--who is buying it, who is drinking it--and that is determined by distribution...
Tanguay plans to continue educating sake drinkers as Vine Connections' national sake ambassador. "Paul will add significantly more bandwidth," says Lehrman. "He brings a lot of experience from the buyer's side." Tanguay says growth in sake consumption may not be evident in places like New York City, but it's definitely heading inland from the coasts...
...restaurants revamp their sake lists for increasingly refined palates, it is clear that demand for premium sake goes well beyond Asian food. "Sake has the ability to be molded to what you want--to adapt to the flavor of the dish," says Tanguay. "You can't do that with wine." Haute-cuisine restaurants--from New York's Per Se to Chicago's Charlie Trotter's to Rubicon in San Francisco--are increasingly looking to sake pairings to satiate--and educate--diners. This fall, in the custard-colored dining room of Chanterelle, an icon of French cuisine in Manhattan, the restaurant...