Sake for Wine Lovers #4 — Aging Journey Tasting

Sake for Wine Lovers is an ongoing series for those who already love wine—and are ready to see sake through a new lens.

Each edition explores a different theme, focusing on style, producer, pairing, and more.

Edition 04 — Aging Journey Tasting

What happens when sake ages?

While many sake are enjoyed relatively young, some continue to evolve—gaining roundness, deeper umami, caramel-like tones, nuttiness, and a longer, more layered finish.

In this edition, we explore aging step by step: from fresh sake, to lightly matured autumn releases, to bottles aged for years, and finally to long-matured sweet and oxidative styles.

You will experience in real time:

🍶 how fresh sake differs from lightly matured sake
🟤 how aging deepens aroma, color, and texture
🧀 why aged sake can work beautifully with cheese and savory dishes
🍯 how sweet aged sake opens a different, dessert-like dimension

We will also compare dry and sweet aged sake in a way that feels intuitive for wine lovers, using familiar reference points such as oxidative and long-aged wine styles.

By the end of the session, you will not just know whether you like aged sake—you will understand how and why it develops.

• Fresh / light seasonal maturation / early-stage comparison within the year (3 bottles)
• Dry aged styles, from around 5–10 years to 10–20 years (2 bottles)
• Sweet aged styles, from lighter maturity to deeper long-aged complexity (2 bottles)
• Oxidative wine styles for comparison (1–2 bottles)

Please note: the final sake lineup may change depending on bottle availability and tasting condition, but the structure and theme of the workshop will remain the same.

🍶 A guided tasting focused on sake aging and maturity
🧀 A pairing plate centered on cheese and carefully selected ingredients
📖 A wine-friendly explanation of sake aging, aroma development, and structure
👥 Time to connect with fellow wine and sake lovers
🎟 15% discount on featured sake and ochoko

This session focuses on tasting, comparison, and discovery—rather than formal theory alone.

No prior sake knowledge is required—just curiosity and an open palate.
Seats are intentionally limited to keep the experience interactive and personal.

Please let us know in advance about any dietary restrictions or allergies.

The workshop is guided by Kazumi, born and raised in Japan and now curating wine and sake experiences for wine lovers in Amsterdam. Through firsthand brewery visits and direct interviews across Japan, she brings each producer’s story, sense of place, and stylistic intent into the glass in a way that resonates with anyone who already thinks in terms of structure, texture, and terroir.

Kazumi holds the WSET Diploma, WSET Sake Level 3, French Wine Scholar, and the JSA Sake Diploma.

Instagram: @kazumi.sake.wine

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Host or Publisher Kazumi Uejo (Grape and Rice)