Izumo Fuji Junmai Ancient Shrine (720ml)

Izumo Fuji is produced by the Fuji brewery, founded in 1939 and still run today by the third generation of the Imaoka family in the town of Izumo. Izumo is home to Izumo Taisha, an eighth century shrine widely considered the oldest and most important in all of Japan. Each October, known as the Month of the Gods, Shinto deities are said to gather there from across the country, drawn by the shrine's power of en musubi, the tying of bonds. The sake's name pays tribute both to this sacred site and to Mount Fuji, Japan's most enduring symbol.

The Imaoka family brews entirely by hand, without modern machinery, steaming rice using traditional Japanese equipment and pressing the finished sake through a fune, or wooden vat, a slow and gentle method that preserves delicate flavors other techniques can strip away.

The result is a violet scented sake with plum notes on the palate, soft and expansive in texture with an umami richness balanced by a ricey dryness. Underlying hints of toasted rice and tropical fruit round things out. Serve it chilled, at room temperature, or warmed alongside Japanese stews or grilled steak.