Sake is an incredibly unique, enigmatic, and versatile beverage that can compliment food just as wonderfully as wine.

Mentioning “sake”, most of us will picture our imaginations together with the old Kyoto architectures, ladies in kimono, the fresh and delicious sashimi, with the scents of woods, rice-made alcohols. Surprisingly, they can go very well with local delights, evoking great deals of mouth-watering sensations that we have never been trying or imagining it! Can’t wait to KANBAI the shot of the well-chilled sake with the irresistible sumptuous feast:

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Bordeaux’s second growths—traditionally a haven for Bordeaux drinkers who are wary of first-growth prices.

To give you an idea of the variances in price between the First Growths and Second Growth Bordeaux at the time, First Growth Bordeaux wine was trading for more than 3,000 French Francs per barrel. While Second Growth Bordeaux wine was selling for an average of 2,500 and 2700 French Francs per barrel. If only the spread was that close today!

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Pauillac is the home of Cabernet Sauvignon based wines, with elements of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot.

Pauillac has been hailed as a legendary AOC having 3 Premier Crus (First Growths) out of the 5 in Bordeaux namely Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild. Other than that, there are 15 other Grand Crus Classes within its boundaries.

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Lynch Bages,

Having a long history in Bordeaux takes its name from the local area where the chateau is located in Bages.
The vineyard of what was to become Lynch Bages was established and then expanded by the Dejean family who sold it in 1728 to Pierre Drouillard. In 1749, Drouillard bequeathed the estate to his daughter, Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Lynch. This is how the estate came to belong to the Lynch family, where it remained for seventy-five years and inspired the name Lynch Bages. However, it was not always known under that name.

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As one of Italy’s most famous wines Sassicaia was first available on the commercial market in 1968. Since the very first bottle was sold back then today almost forty years later the wine stands today as Italy’s testament to the world of its ability to produce fine wine.

To understand what that means, it’s worth heading back to the Italian wine scene in 1968, the inaugural vintage of what was to become the first, and is still arguably the best known, Super Tuscan. Most Italian wine at that time was either consumed locally or shipped off in bulk to the rest of Europe where it was blended with weedier examples that needed some beefing up.

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It is the only brewery in Japan to adopt the most luxurious and meticulous brewing method.
Producing only one tank per week and only the highest class of sake.

The name Katsuyama literally means “Mt. Victoria.” The word katsu means victory, or outstanding excellence, while yama (mountain) indicates greatness, or a large immovable presence, making it a highly auspicious name.

Established in 1688, Katsuyama is a sake brewery with a tradition of well over three centuries. It was created to brew the top-class sake enjoyed exclusively by the feudal lords of the Sendai Domain, founded by Japan’s most famous military commander and respected samurai, Date Masamune, and one of the three major fiefdoms of the era.
To this day, Katsuyama carries on the reputation and tradition of its origins as a brewery for the lords. Brewing only junmai-shu,the true mainstream sake, it is also the pioneer in creating sake with clean umami that goes well with any cuisine, a trend that is starting to take hold in the world of sake.

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Valandraud is the home property of Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud.
Château Valandraud is the achievement reached by a wine obsessed couple, Jean Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud.

Once having succeeded in establishing a wine merchant company in Saint Emilion( still up and running), their wish was to own a vineyard and make their own wine. Before they became Bordeaux winemakers, Jean-Luc was a successful Bordeaux wine merchant. That was the year when he and Murielle bought a small, 0.6 hectare plot of vines situated close to Chateau Pavie Macquin and Chateau La Clotte in St. Emilion. This was soon followed by another purchase further east, in St. Suplice, where they obtained 1.2 additional hectares of vines.

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Merlot is a red wine variety, indigenous to the Bordeaux region.
It is the predominant variety in most wines from Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, the area in which the variety originated. The variety is now widely planted in wine regions across the world.

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If you’re new to the world of Scotch, here’s what you need to know in order to start enjoying the most manly of spirits.

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Elusive, elegant and expensive, there is no better time to indulge in great white burgundy than during the summer.

Chardonnay is originally from France’s Burgundy region, where the best white Burgundies are powerful and rich, with complex fruit flavors and notes of earth and minerals. More affordable Chardonnays from Burgundy-for instance, those simply labeled Bourgogne Blanc-are crisp and lively, with apple and lemon flavors.

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