sake tasting
Fri 25 & Sat 26 July
6pm - 8pm
Sushi Ninja, New Plymouth
$45 per person
Sake tasting on Friday 25 & Saturday 26 July at Sushi Ninja
For sake fans, there’ll be a special sake and otsumami (small plates) menu at Sushi Ninja between 6pm - 8pm on Fri 25 & Sat 26 July.
$45 per person to enjoy five different styles of hand-made sake, including otsumami (snacks platter).
You’ll also need to book a table. Sushi Ninja’s regular dinner menu will be available too, if you’d like to stay for a full meal.
The set sake course will feature five different styles of hand-made sake from the Nakano Brewery.
Styles will range from full-bodied and umami-forward junmai-shu to junmai-ginjo with fruity aroma. There’ll also be a nama zake (completely unpasteurised sake that’s fresh and lively), which is a rarity in NZ. Plus there’ll be friendly guidance on-hand as you move through the different styles.
umeshu tasting
Saturday 26 July, 1pm - 4pm
Liquorland Fitzroy
594 Devon Street East, New Plymouth
Taste and learn about umeshu (plum wine).
There’ll be different styles of umeshu that you can compare, contrast and learn about.
Pop into Liquorland Fitzroy anytime between 1pm and 4pm on Saturday 26 July.
All from the award-winning Nakano Brewery in Japan.
The Nakano Brewery
The Nakano Brewery is an award-winning sake and umeshu producer, located in Wakayama, just south of Osaka.
The sake is all hand-made and full of umami (the “fifth taste sensation”). The brewery’s tōji (chief brewer) trained in the Noto school of sake on the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s north coast in Ishikawa region. His specialty is clean sake that’s full of umami. The brewery makes a full range of styles from fuller-bodied (more typical of the region) to drier styles (more the tōji’s specialty).
Wakayama is Japan’s top region for producing ume fruit. The words “Wakayama Umeshu” are a protected brand, much like Champagne is in France. All of Nakano’s umeshu are made using fresh Ume plums, which maximises the sweet ume aroma. Local farmers deliver the fruit to the brewery on the same day they’re harvested.