Most have been in the same family for generations. Their rice wines, known as jizake, are produced in small quantities and are normally sold only within the district. May. Increasingly, however, the boutique brands are being made available in cities, typically through small distributors. Yotaro bistro owner Sato Kazuo sells jizake from 50 different brewers he personally selects. His regulars talk passionately about their choices, much the way the French or Italian might about wine.
Discussions extend to which brews go best with which foods.
Generally, dense sake is enjoyed with red-meat fish, meat and salted squid. The lighter, more fragrant varieties are consumed with tofu dishes, vegetables and white-meat fish. Jizake-tasting sessions resemble those for wine. Each glass comes with a set of notes that may detail the name of the brewery, the type of rice used, where the water is from, the alcohol content and perhaps even the name of the brewmaster. Sake making goes back 2,000 years.