I’ve been a wine nerd for many years, originally studying for my WSET quals with Master of Wine Nick Adams in the UK and working in pubs and clubs (yes with tails and ears at one point!) and loving voyaging through all the many grapes, lands and cultures that make up the world of wine.
Working in the beautiful Martinborough vineyards gave me a unique chance to understand what most of us want when we choose a drink to celebrate an occasion or relax after a hard day at work. Increasingly we don’t want to drink heaps, instead we search for carefully chosen, health promoting, top quality, taste and aroma experiences that deliver a better life for us all.
When I dove into the world of sake, I quickly became aware that there was some seriously horrible stuff on the shelves in NZ, old, out of date, machine made and low quality so no wonder sake had a poor reputation here and all my whanau thought I was mad to try and turn that round!
Kiwi’s know their wine and applying that knowledge is a great way to enter the world of craft brewed sake (and yes it’s not vinified like wine but brewed like beer) so selecting sake that we can make sense of here meant finding those small artisan breweries (Kura) that make their sake like we make our wine, organically, small batch and hand made using natural yeasts (often from flowers).
We travel to Japan to meet the families that choose to make sake like this wherever they are located from Kyoto to Akita all the way down to Hiroshima, we are focused on giving choice to you, so we constantly search for the rare and fine meaning we offer an interesting range of experiences that you won’t find elsewhere. Kiwis are often surprised when they are given a zesty yuzu infused sake or a glass of sake bubbles and that really makes my heart sing, for that feeling of intrigue and curiosity in a novel moment is what makes life so fabulous!
Want to know more? Travelling to Japan? then book a bespoke sake tasting adventure, a perfect gift for that someone special or treat yourself!
Kampai