THE JOY OF SAKE RETURNS TO NEW YORK

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Joy of Sake 2010 - 329 Sakes + 13 Top Restaurants

America’s Largest Sake Celebration Returns
to New York City September 23rd
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The Joy Of Sake

The Joy of Sake returns to New York on September 23 for a magical evening of sake tastings and delicacies from New York’s finest restaurants. 329 labels from every region of Japan will be available for tasting at this ultimate celebration of the art of sake brewing. Among the acclaimed restaurants participating are Bond Street, 15 East, Geisha, Sushi Samba, Sakagura, En Japanese Brasserie, oms/B, Matsugen, Hibino, 1 or 8, Tanuki Tavern, Woo Lae Oak and Zengo. With high demand for tickets, the venues have steadily grown in size, reflecting the popularity of both the event and sake itself. In New York, the tasting now takes place at the wonderful new event venue 82 Mercer, 82 Mercer Street, New York NY 10012 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Tickets for this extraordinary tasting are $90. The Joy of Sake offers a rare opportunity to sample outstanding labels in peak condition (freshness and proper handling are key to sake quality once bottled), many of which are not otherwise available in the US. Attendees will be able to sample the full spectrum of sake styles in the junmai, ginjo and daiginjo categories, including recipients of silver and gold awards from the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, a rigorous blind tasting conducted by judges from the U.S. and Japan every year prior to the Joy of Sake events. The diversity and complexity of premium sake compares favorably with that of wine, and it pairs easily with a variety of cuisines, from Asian and Japanese to Contemporary American and French. As interest in Japanese cuisine has exploded in this country with America’s focus on healthier eating, Japanese restaurants have grown in number, and many of them make the annual top 10 lists in respected food & wine media. Sake continues to be one of the fastest growing segments of the beverage market, with imports of Japanese sake doubling roughly every seven years. The Joy of Sake anticipated and aided the awakening of interest in sake in America with its first public tasting in Honolulu in 2001, held in conjunction with the first U.S. National Sake Appraisal. The Joy of Sake traveled to San Francisco for the first time in 2003 and to New York in 2004. The recent tastings in Honolulu August 19 at the Honolulu Academy of the Arts and the September 9 tasting in San Francisco at the acclaimed Yoshi’s San Francisco were unqualified successes with attendees tweeting friends to come and join them. Joy of Sake has even been the setting for romance. Two years ago a lady from Akita Prefecture volunteered to be a volunteer at the event, and in the course of explaining about sake to the guy something clicked. Now they are going to get married in a couple weeks. The truth is, it's really easy to meet people at The Joy of Sake. You just turn to the person next to you and ask how they liked the one they just tasted. Under the radar, Joy of Sake is highly rated among single scene connoisseurs in New York. Ticket sales and sponsorships will support the efforts of The Joy of Sake, a not for profit organization whose mission is to foster appreciation for the traditional art of sake-brewing. It provides opportunities for people outside Japan to obtain authentic knowledge about sake through seminars and tasting events. This event will also benefit City Meals on Wheels. Information on this year’s Joy of Sake, as well as a video of last year’s events, may be found at www.joyofsake.com. Tickets are $90 and may be ordered on-line or through the local sake hotline in New York (212-799-7243).