Well that's true. There are some varieties which actually require a kind of mold bloom ( I forget the exact name, but it's known as the "noble rot") on them to make the kind of wine they're used for. There must be some amongst the hundreds and hundreds of varieties that grow well enough, or they wouldn't have a native wine industry at all. :)

Oh, and I found a list of vintners: Vineyards Japan, Wineries Japan - Japanese wines, wine cellars, winemakers, wine producers, wine exporters Japan

I used the search button instead of making a new thread :D

I've had Sake before at other peoples houses. Comes nice and warm in a nice little cup. But I've recently been bought a bottle of Hakutsuru and I've no idea what to do with it lol.


Is it a decent tasting one?
How do I "prepare" it?

I'd say it depends on the type of sake. I think that's the junmai sake so better than table sake and cooking sake, from what I know of the brand, but there's different classes of junmai so it's hard to tell just from the picture exactly what the quality is. I'd hazard probably mid to low grade junmai (which is reasonable quality) so I'd suggest serving it moderatly chilled. I think typically, the lower quality the sake, the better it tastes warmed, but some brands are different and personal taste varies.