On a recent balmy evening, representatives from nine sake breweries in Yamagata Prefecture, clad in understated kimono, bow modestly onstage amid the glow of pink and lavender lights. The bling-drenched ballroom also boasts gold-covered walls and a bold red carpet adorned with a dizzying pattern of colorful fans.
It is, at first glance, a somewhat incongruous juxtaposition, until I remember that I am at a sake-centric dinner in the extravagant Wynn Palace Cotai in the semiautonomous city-state of Macao, far from the austere mountains of Yamagata Prefecture.
Kenichi Ohashi, Japan's only certified Master of Wine, informs the audience that the group of brewers collectively received 17 trophies and gold medals in the 2018 International Wine Challenge (IWC) sake competition, and notes that the Yamagata region has garnered the highest number of awards in the 12 years since the sake division was first introduced in the prestigious competition. My dining companions, wine writers from Hong Kong, murmur appreciatively as they sip soft and fruity Kumano no Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo with bites of marinated salmon in dashi gelee.