飲食店は数あれど、これほどマニアックでおいしい日本酒を数多く提供しているところはないと称される、白金高輪のダイニングバー「GONZO」。マスターの浅井剛一氏が、日本酒の歴史と文化の話を交えつつ、ホテル・レストランでの提供方法までご紹介していきます。第一回は日本酒ブームと現代の日本酒について説明します。
There are many restaurants, but there are none which provide such delicious and numerous kinds of sake, which can please enthusiasts, as the dining bar "GONZO" in Shirokane Takanawa,Minato-ku. Mr. Gouichi Asai, the master of GONZO, will talk about the history and culture of sake, and introduce how to provide sake at hotels and restaurants. The Sake Boom and modern sake are reveled in this first issue.
浅井 剛一（あさい・ごういち）
1977 年東京生まれ。2004 年10 月、日本酒に合う肴、料理に合う酒をテーマとして白金高輪にGONZO をオープン。2006 年に唎酒師取得。
GONZO 東京都港区三田5-21-7
℡ 03-3449-5500
Goichi Asai
Born in Tokyo in 1977. In October 2004,GONZO was opened in Shirogane Takanawa, a theme for Sake marriage dishes, acquired sake taster in 2006.
GONZO 21-7, Mita 5, Minato-ku, Tokyo
℡ 03-3449-5500
■新酒/ しぼりたて
■ Shinshu/ Shiboritate
(Sake nouveau / Fresh sake)
12 月ごろから新酒のリリースが増えてきましたよね。「新酒」や「しぼりたて」の文字を見ると飲まなくちゃ！という気分になりますし、今年の新酒はどうかな、という期待感にあふれます。「新酒ってどういうことですか？」と、お店で新酒を扱い出すとよく聞かれることがあります。実は新酒には決まった定義はありません。なので、明快な言い方はできませんが、おおまかにはまず、毎年7 月1 日に醸造年度が変わります。今年造り始めたお酒は平成29 年度醸造となります。最近は日本酒でもBY（BreweryYear）表記で裏ラベルなどに29BY とか2017BY などと書かれています。7月1 日以降に造られたお酒はその年のお酒になるので、新酒と謳うたっても良いのでしょうが、日本酒の原料はお米ですのでその年のお米がまだ出来ていません。
We start seeing new sake in shops around December. A “Shinshu” or “Shiboritate” sign urges us to taste some, and fills one with expectations for the level of Shinshu.
When I serve Shinshu at my bar to my guests, I often encounter a question like “What does Shinshu mean?” The truth is there is no fixed definition of Shinshu. Therefore, I cannot give a clear answer, but a brewery year roughly starts from July 1st every year. The label Heisei year 29 is given for sake which brewing started this year. Recently the brewery year can be found on the back of the label, in the form of “29BY” (Brewery Year) or “2017BY”. It is acceptable for sake brewed after July 1st to be called Shinshu, but the rice of that year, which is a basic ingredient of sake, is not harvested at that time.
Gohyakuman Goku (a famous sake rice) is an early rice which is harvested early in September, but the harvest of Yamada Nishiki (the most cultivated sake rice) starts in October.
Sake cannot be brewed in August or September if those kinds of sake rice need to be used. Because the cold weather is a must for sake brewing, I believe it is impossible to brew sake in the hot weather unless the whole Kura(sake storehouse) is refrigerated. That is why sake brewery starts around the time when new sake rice is harvested,which is in the beginning of fall after the hotness weakens, or in some areas in the middle of October when the coldness gets harsh. New, fresh and tasteful sake finally becomes available as Shinshu around December in each Kura.
