FAMILIES OF Japan

Commonly known as sake outside of Japan, nihonshu, or rice wine, is brewed using rice, water and white koji mold. While traditional wine is produced by fermenting the sugar naturally present in fruit, sake is made with a process that is more similar to that of beer's. Sake, which plays an important role in many Japanese social and business customs, can be served hot or cold and is typically filtered, although some unfiltered varieties are also popular.



For more information on Dreyfus Ashby's Hakutsuru sake, see the family link at left.