Noguchi Naohiko - God of Sake

Recently, we were watching NHK World and saw this special episode on Noguchi Naohiko, a 93 year old sake brewer. Any time we hear of people who are older than we are and still working, we are inspired! Even at 93, Noguchi is still involved in sake making. I found this photo of him on the online publication, Imbibe, where the title of the article was "75 Person to Watch".¹

Noguchi has been making sake since 1949. He became a Master Toji (sake brewmaster) at the age of 28 and is credited with reviving the Yamahai style of sake brewing. Yamahai along with Kimoto describe historical methods of brewing sake using natural lactic acid bacteria in order to begin the sake making process. The difference between the Kimoto and the Yamahai historical sake brewing process is that the Kimoto has a step called yama-oroshi which entails the grinding of steamed rice and koji rice with a paddle called a kai before insertion into a tank to develop into yeast starter. It’s hard work that requires stirring the rice every two to three hours for an entire day. The Yamahai process omits the yama-oroshi step yet still produces a deep, rich flavor.
Noguchi is known as the "god of sake". The Noguchi Naohiki Sake Institute was founded in 2017 with the goal of training a new generation of sake masters.
The episode about Noguchi inspired us to look into purchasing some of the sake he made. My husband was able to purchase this 2023 Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute. The back label explained that this sake is a Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu meaning that it is unfiltered, unpasteurised, and undiluted. The rice, water and yeast are all local. We paired the sake with a salmon dish. I tasted a lot of umami in this sake which made it a little different from the typical light, fruity sakes that we have with sushi. Indeed, the recommendation is to have this sake with oily fish and big, rich dishes. The alcohol content of this sake was a surprising 17%. As the sake warmed it became mellower, releasing more of the floral aromatics. I felt privileged to have tasted a sake made by Noguchi Naohiko, God of Sake!
References:
1. Imbibe, Imbibe 75 Person to Watch: Noguchi Naohiko, January 2, 2026.
2. SakeTimes, SAKE 101: Kimoto and Yamahai, May 27, 2021.
3. Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute.

Valentine's Day Dinner and Wine

Here is a somewhat belated post on what we did on Valentine's Day. We typically celebrate Valentine's Day with our Greek friends, it was a regular event that alternated homes as we each tried to outdo the other with the meal and the wine. One year, our friends invited us to their home and called it "Chez Finesse" and had a high end restaurant style menu. But this year they had another engagement so that left us to fend for ourselves.
My husband decided to make duck with fig sauce. I love duck! Growing up in Hawaii, there wasn't much of a chance to eat duck so I wonder where my love of duck came from.

Duck and pinot noir is the perfect pairing and on Valentine's day, my husband descended into his cellar to bring up this 1995 Dominique Laurent Clos de la Roche. It is now 30+ years old! We think it might have lost some of the lush fruit flavors, but it was redolent with spice and a slight raisined fruit flavors with a strong acidic finish. Because the duck had a sweet fig sauce, it paired very well with the wine.
I learned more about Dominique Laurent online. Dominique Laurent is a pastry chef turned negociant. The key to his success is that he searches for vineyards cultivated by skilled vignerons, with a particular emphasis on old vines. Laurent's philosophy is that the right type of barrel is key to the elevage. He selects Troncais wood and personally oversees the air-drying process.
Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Vintage 2026: February

Hello! I have been offline for a few weeks. The big thing about this vintage so far has been the snow that we have had. In my last blogpost I wrote that we had not seen such cold and snow since 2015. On January 26, we had between 10-12 inches of snow along the shoreline which has not melted due to the extremely cold weather that we have had.
As I write this, the weather forecasters are calling for a "bombogenesis" of snow and wind to arrive on Sunday into Monday bringing between 10-20 inches of snow and wind gusts of 50 mph! This is what the forecasrters predict:

I will remember the winter of the 2026 vintage as an uncharacteristically cold and snowy one!

Vintage 2026: January Weather

This has got to be the coldest winter that we have experienced in a long time. The winter weather reared it's head on December 14, 2025 when we had our harvest party. There was a mix of rain and snow and it put a slight damper on our party turnout.
In mid-January there was a slight uptick in temperatures that our weather forecasters called the January thaw. Even though the temperatures were around 40 degrees, the windchill brought the temperatures into the 20s. This warm spell was followed by a wintery mix of rain and snow on January 18 that brought more snow overnight into January 19, giving us snow that we had to shovel!
This week we are facing a huge snowstorm heading our way on Sunday and Monday. In talking to friends we think that we have not experienced this type of weather since 2015. I actually blogged about it in Vintage Notes 2015.
Let's hope that when February comes, Punxsutawney Phil will come out of his home at Gobbler's Knob and give us some good weather news!

Kizakura Junmai Daiginjo Sake

Last year we went to Hawaii to celebrate my mother's 96th birthday and at that time we went to some sake stores in search of sake to bring home with us and scored a few bottles.
A few nights ago, our friends invited us for dinner, which was a delicious harissa coated salmon that he paired with a Chateau Beaucastel. There was salmon leftover so he gave that to us.
How does sake and salmon come together? In the back of my mind, I recalled the stacked tuna dish that I had in Hawaii and wanted to recreate it with the salmon. I made sushi rice on the bottom, shredded the salmon, put avocado and green onions on top. Then I asked my husband if we had any sake to pair with my concoction and he thought that we did and retrieved this Kizakura Junmai Daiginjo sake and salmon.

The pairing was a good one. This sake is made from 100% Yamadanishiki rice at a polish ratio of 50% and is 16% alcohol! We drank the sake in mini glasses and savored it along with the sushi rice salmon stack. Maybe another trip to Hawaii to purchase more sake is warranted. Actually, this sake can be purchased online!

2023 Yi Yook-sa Wine

Last year (sounds so long ago!) our friend came back from Korea with a gift of wine. He is interested in growing grapes and making wine in Korea.
This wine came from a winery near where our friend intends to put in a vineyard. The winery is called Yi Yook-sa and also goes by the number 264. The two names are to celebrate the famous poet, Yi Yook-sa and the 264 is the poet's prison number.
The wine is made from the Cheongsoo grape, which was developed in Korea. The Cheongsoo grape is a cross between the 'Siebel 9110' and 'Himrod' varieties. The 'Siebel 9110' is a French-American hybrid grape variety and the 'Himrod' is an American grape variety, known for being seedless.
The wine was beautifully floral on the nose and it reminded me of the aroma of Gewurztraminer. The flavor was very tropical with a good balance between the fruit and acidity.
We hope our friend does realize his dream of planting a vineyard in Korea. We'll be rooting for him and hoping to taste some of his Cheongsoo wine!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!
We typically begin the year taking a break in January and February from vineyard duties and then begin work in the vineyard in March. That was true in 2025.
Here are the vintage notes for 2025:
Vintage 2025: It's March and That Means It's Time to Prune
Vintage 2025: April Showers!
Vintage 2025: May Day!
Vintage 2025: June Update
Vintage 2025: Flowering
Vintage 2025: It's July!
Vintage Notes 2025: The Auxerrois is at Veraison
Vintage 2025: Labor Day Activities
Vintage 2025: Auxerrois Pressing and Statistics
Vintage 2025: Chardonnay Harvest and Pressing
Vintage 2025: Chenin Blanc Harvest and Pressing - Part 1
Vintage 2025: Chenin Blanc Harvest Part 2
Vintage 2025: Red Harvest
Vintage 2025: Late Harvest Noble Rot Chenin Blanc
Vintage 2025: Last Harvest of 2025
All in all, while the weather began with a cold spring that turned into a very wet late spring and early summer, by late July and August the weather turned into one of ample sunshine which was good for ripening grapes. While the vines seem to still be recovering from the 2023 February freeze and May frost, the quality of the harvest was outstanding!
A big take home lesson from 2025 for us, is to be more on the ball with pruning so that our canes are laid down earlier. That will give us more time to begin mowing sooner and avoiding the manual weed whacking that my husband endured during the growing season.
If you are interested in what our various vintages were like, please check out this link to Vintage Notes
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!