For the past couple of years, we’ve taken a look at the Texas wine industry. (And don’t worry, we’ll continue to do so.) This week I’d like to introduce you to a different kind of Texas wine that you can’t get from grapes. Instead, it’s made from 100 percent organic Texas rice. Yes, rice. Fans of sushi and Japanese cuisine are likely familiar with saké, a Japanese wine made from fermented rice. But did you know that this clean, off-dry beverage also goes well with Tex-Mex and barbecue? (gasp!)

A few weeks ago, Texas welcomed the first official Texas saké to the market made from organic rice from Wharton right in the heart of Austin at the Texas Saké Company. Owned by certified saké professional and self-proclaimed saké enthusiast Yoed Anis, the company is officially the first ever kura, or saké brewery, in the state as well as the first completely organic saké kura in all of North America.

But let’s start with talking a little about what saké is, and what it isn’t.

Saké is a Japanese rice wine made in a similar way to wine and beer in that it is fermented rather than distilled like spirits such as vodka and whiskey. And much like wine and beer, it can take on a variety of different flavor characteristics from cantaloupe and coconut to pear and lemongrass. Saké is differentiated into a number of different grades based on the level to which the grains of rice are polished for the purest rice taste. The higher percentage of polish, the more premium the saké. Great saké is usually dry with just a bit of sweetness balanced with acidity.

A few common types to recognize on a drink menu:

Junmai – The first of the premium grades of filtered saké made purely from rice, water, yeast, and koji (the fermenting mold used to brew saké). Jumnai is clear and tends to have a full-bodied flavor with hints of apple,  peach, or pear.

Ginjo – A more premium grade of filtered saké. The rice must be polished down to 60 percent of the original grain for production. The result is a cleaner, more delicate feel with crisp tropical flavors.

Diaginjo – A step up from ginjo, this premium grade of filtered saké requires a 50 percent polish on the rice. These sakés require a great deal of care for production and are therefore priced higher and enjoyed as a sipping beverage rather than with food.

Nigori – This style is distinguished by its milky presentation. Nigori is unfiltered leaving rice sediment in the final product that gives a sweeter, off-dry taste.

Saké is not a party shot like Jägermeister intended to be consumed as part of a “bomb” when dropped into a pint of beer. (Even if they push “saké bombs” at popular Sushi party dens like DK Sushi in South Austin, I promise the traditionalists are all snickering at you when you do it.)

And contrary to how most Americans have been programmed to order it, you should not drink good saké hot. While you can absolutely heat it up and serve it like hot tea, it is traditionally only done so with less premium grades and only during the colder months of the year—much in the same way we serve hot cider or wassail during the holidays. The message to take away from this is, if you’re drinking hot saké with your sushi, you’re drinking the cheap stuff the restaurant is trying to get rid of.

Instead, treat yourself to the elegance of this beverage and drink it cold! Premium saké should be enjoyed chilled, like a nice white wine. This allows you to distinguish the different flavors and aromas that are drawn from the polished rice and select water used during production.

While saké is often served in small ceramic cups, called ochoko, it is also traditionally served in a masu, or small wooden box. In some Japanese restaurants as a show of generosity, the server may put a glass inside the masu and pour until saké overflows and fills both containers.

Anis prefers the masu way of serving not only for the generous custom, but because he believes that when you’re paying as much as $10-$16 a glass, you should get at least a 5-6 ounce pour. I for one, agree with him.

Originally from the Galveston area, Anis, 28, developed an early fascination with Japanese culture. In 2006 he made a pilgrimage to Japan to experience the food and drink lifestyle and quickly fell in love with saké. He visited a number of kuras across the country and began toying with the idea of making his own saké back in Texas. After all, one of the state’ most prized agricultural products is rice. (The Japanese even attempted to cultivate Texas rice in the early 1900s.)

“It’s funny because a lot of Texas beverages like beer and wine may be made in Texas, but a lot of their ingredients don’t actually come from Texas,” says Anis. “Everything I use to make my saké comes directly from this state. We’ve been growing rice here for more than 100 years and it plays well to the land and ecosystem here. My saké is a purely Texan product.”

After taking a few years to tinker with his own home brewing system, Anis finally found the perfect recipe to showcase Texas rice in the very first Texas saké. In August 2010 he opened the Texas Saké Company and just last week, he began distributing his Texified rice wine to restaurants. First in line to carry his sakés include Austin’s own Japanese cornerstones Uchi and Uchiko as well as the Shoreline Grill and Fleming’s Steakhouse. Other Texas restaurants will likely see these sakés soon and within the next six months or so, Anis plans to release his product for retail sale.

The first two releases from Texas Saké Company include the “Whooping Crane,” a clear, filtered saké made in the junmai style with hints of pear and ripe apple—a great fit for sushi and seafood. The second is “Rising Star,” a nigori style saké offering a sweet flavor that Anis suggests would go well with savory flavors such as bacon—of course, everything goes well with bacon!

And while Anis certainly hopes to simply introduce Texans to the beauty of saké outside of just the Asian setting, he really has more Texas-sized ambitions.

“In the next 30 or 40 years, I hope to have saké as the National Beverage of Texas,” says Anis.

Here’s hoping he makes it!

Kampai!

- Jessica Dupuy

Tagged: Fleming's, Jessica Dupuy, Shoreline Grill, Texas Sake, Texas Sake Company, uchi, uchiko, Yoed Anis