Do you like Japanese food but wonder why a country that produces such interesting and delicious food would create an alcoholic beverage served hot ae coffee to go w ith their meals9 If your impression of sake is that the only possible reason to dr ink it is because it is sim ply what one does at the local sushi b a r. but is in gener al a barely tolerable beverage then you have tied the tru ly American experience of sake With par Axis to the editor . whose loyalty to Budweiser I can comprehend on neither a p o litica l nor aesthetic level, the sake served in this country is the tarste erjjivelent of our country's famed k mg of Beer s At the Momokawa Sake T w , Inq Room n Forest Orove, rig h t off Hiqhway 8, you can develop an appreciation of the rice wine I earn a bit about Japanese culture and have a damn fine time while you are at it Momokawa, which means "peach riv e r* , opened operations about 18 months ago in Washington County and they have big plans for the future At this point they have a small, fr lendly tasting room ( open 1 2 -5 d aily) and their business offices in this state They are s t ill im porting their sake from Japan at this point, bu, are test mg rice crops in Boardman. M yrtle Pom, and Hermiston and are expecting to open their brewery w ith in the next 18 months Thetr b re w e ry-to -b e ts actually a structure already It is a conversion that captures, in microcosm, the conversion that Oregon as a whole is undergoing Momokawa is located d irectly across the street from a lumber m ill, b uilt three years ago for the processing of old growth tim b e r, which they are turning into their brewery The use of the in fra stru ctu re of an incr easingly outdated and destructive industry to facilitate the emergence of a business that is part of one of the state's increasingly product ive and clean industr les is one of the better karm ic maneuvers I have witnessed in quite some time The thing about sake is that there's much more to it than you might expect In Japan, where sake is more than just any old dr ink. there are over 2 ,4 0 0 different brewers and 10,000 different types of sake Sake, like beer and wine, can range from the absolute worst, foulest stuff, to very intense, satisfying and expensive brews Going to Momokawa can give you the opportunity to take a break from the one type of sake you most like ly have been drinking, to tr y a small var lety of excellent wines If you have never had a chance to tr y sake this is the best place around to introduce your taste buds to a different experience Momokawa s tasting room serves 4 of the 5 sake that they sell in Oragon Silver D ry. Silver Sweet. Black. and Gold The other var lety, Momokawa Daigmjo, goes for $50 a bottle so if you want the best you have to break out some dough The other sakes, however, should more than give you an excellent introduction to high quality rice wines One thing to remember while tasting is that most sake has an alchobol content of 151 or more, meaning it packs quite a wallop Dan Denny, their brewmaster and our chatty, knowledgeable and fr im d ly pourer on this day, was more than generous w ith the quantities he put in our glasses - - so if you re d rivin g you might want to consider putting a bit of each taste into the dump )ar While this may be a large social te w pas in Japan, careening off the road while try in g to avoid those polka-dotted flyin g lizards is probably a bigger one, all things considered Momokawa makes only premium sake Unlike the advertising ploys many industries employ, this is no, a gimmick There are specific guidelines as to wha, can be called premium or super premium sake Premium sake refers to the polish" of the ric e gram The outer husk of each grain of r ice oontains fatty acids and various im purities th a t, when mashed into sake, significantly affect the quality and taste The more polish the rice has means a greater amount of the rice has been milled away, and thus the higher the quality the sake w ill be Momokawa s sakes range between 4 51 6 5 1 polish which puts them in the super -premium and u ltra -p re m iu m categories The effect that the polish has on the sake is immediately apparent For one thing you drink Momokawa s sake chilled, much like you would white wine, no, ice cold, but cool Of the 4 sakes the, you sample only the Black do they recommend heating, and then to only about , 0 0 ‘ F. rather than the 135*F- 140*F that ,s common ,n restaurants Soke is not supposed to be heated to these hiqher temperatures bu, w ith cheap sake, the heat masks the inconsistencies in the flavor I have had Black warm and chilled and I preferred it chilled, bu, with food, especially spicy dishes, warmed sake could be a better compliment The folks a, Momokawa are on the ball enough to assume tba, people know less about sake than, w e ll, almost anything Upon getting yourself to the tasting counter they give you a page that gives you an idee of what flavors you can expect and look for in each sake, how the dryness and sweetness interact in sake ( The Sake M eter) and a general run down on what sake is al, about Sake is an acquired taste, so have an open mind about what you are taa,mg I found, ha, as the tasting went on down the line I was able to appreciate each new taste in the different types a little b it more I suggest going through the tasting in order , and then gomq back 1 0 v r m i n i b & e . i m frUM* * »-*< I411 r.kOyn> 1 tv j i thus s ir dies tu P« *»'.-/ btsf. u A n e t**b e s te t ' tifw ‘-r t'«'.)ti*The4u’ ,,uD throuihnwt tt#» >tabl»s/wn®n, thanot> ¿ t <•*) beg.nr " X j'if 1- ifteredrespectfully ? v . .»» «»•»ly»'and ■'n'T’,« Jrjn’ n ii ¡uuk '■!*) di Jkh. SfuwíASod ii* legwit EV liuti*} the to taste the firs t two again to see if your reaction the second time around is different than the fir s t I, seemed to me that once I realised that "dry" and sweet" mean very different things to sake than they do to wine, I was able to appreciate If# sate for who, it wos rather than try in g to apply standee ds that didn t re a lly fit Momokawa'» tasting room, though sm all. is very nice, as are the people who work there the m ixture of Japanese and American cultures in some of the items they have for sale is somewhat humorous Oolf s h irts v id hats adorned with "Momokawa Sake" In Japanese charactera seemed to be in the mar ke, ing w ee between Nike sh irts and those fancy sh irts with an Italian word on them that people don I bother to f '^ r e out the meaning of before the/buy ( I have a fr lend who wore one of those shirts and was told by a woman in a bar tha, the tr anslat ion of the word on the s h ir, meant "Almost a m «T Bu, that is a completely different story ) They also have some authentic Japanese art and pieces that are fascinating, even in their s im p lic ity The cypress boxes, which are the traditional cups (called "m a a u jfo r sake drinking, are an excellent example of this sim plicity These cups are light, have Japanese char acters bur ned into them and add a woody flavor to the sake These are available individually or in a g if, box tha, includes 2 cups and the sake of your choice A, many traditional sushi bars, regulars sign their own cup and leave it a, the bar so they can use it over and over again For those aaektng something a bit more fancy, permanent ( and wasfuahle). there are porcelain versions of these cups as well At the very least take home a bottle of their sak e to t r y w ith some of vour own home cook inq This is good etiquette at any vineyard where you do a tasting This type of sake goes with more than Japanese food so ask them lor a few suggestion on some foods that would compliment your choice Their prices are completely reasonable, starting at about $8 a bottle w ith discounts for case pur chases They also have small 375 ml bottles for just over $4 so you can take home a variety pack This may be a good way to go for indivi&jels with no friends or social life to speak o f, because sake, like good wine, has a relatively short life span once opened Momokawa has plans not only to expand across the street but is ,n the process of turning its corner of Fores, Orove into a Japanese cultural center Plans for the construction of a bed and br oak fas, done in authentic Japanese style complete with public hot baths - - and a Japanese restaurant are already underway They hope to have this completed by 1996 or 1997 In the immediate future they have a Grand Opening celebration planned tha, promises to be on the wonderful and completely bizarre side In May they w ill have a wnrkend that w ill include fond, discounts on sake and a sumo wrestling tournament as part of a day of festivities This "tournament" is open to any member of the public w illm q to don one of those inflatable sumo suits and belly buck w ith some other equally addled individual For more information give them a cal, a, 3 5 7 - 7056 In the quickTy growing universe of Oregon wineries Momokawa Sake has created a niche for themselves tha, is distinct Although sake may no, be what springs to mind when thinking about our wine industry, it is definitely becoming part of the business and adds a d ive rsity to any tour of the areas wineries Expand your horizons and take an opportunity to try what w ill soon be one of Oregons newest and most interesting beverages $ 44 » Oí* L a u rels Cannon Beat h W ine Shop 2a) > llenilmh (s o )) 4 )a iaaa OOOD BUSIN , SS AND 0001) I 0 0 0 by I loi v Au»-1< sdma.h«i - Her t«.v R«»>ar dies} •>, the pr «'K m ' -x-vi*e X tiling wf i h jne is m bu ,:iic „ w ith uf fur • ther t whicr 1 t>• nn’ «di,M » these business** . IF they VP orci.- "’ U, h ,jr «• Tfy ar *■ The to w n « , a ir» tur . c > buck -.tnp here per son loves wh0t the bU'.lltP r < whii and maintain*, « i intense enthusiasm fr* ihe pi iduvt a p ru re „i ■ .r. t, has gt eat tun i Thethm gwh t , beirigpr ndurndur fiered i* vxnMhino the» a IM ’’ ,u .l« (iH ,/consumer r « i i i , want Aiidnot aniydrHhPy a t r ’ t andiee; w t r 'in q 1’ - ' 11 .-y tel I t'.T»*« . it . xjl it w *' if I m«*i Jfi «id aCver tising) he tr.ir«) whi. n is b< ing h oflucod or ■ffered i fx x ittn u illy '.m p r j v a d it s g u '- a li’ r ■*. rn iin ’ ain«i at the nigf**-' level and it »■ fc’ lv « ed ,0 the i uStome, .'urn .urner w >th • u rp r’ se t thu oorittnuafTy exceeding .•if»- i a'inns I •» MORE COOKIES Cinnamon Roda. Pizza by the Suce, Muffin« Espresso, and Cookies 239 N HEMLOCK Ph. 430-2032 i f — ■ ■ i . i w X The buck - stops here personrhsose* and ujrrnundBd bv v »nlunten w j j , / » iirs- wf a’ 'fie, are doir«j rt"J maintain a high 't e r * * nf enthusiasm M irin g on fhe^e'-ommonjitie , plunked m y v 'll i igT ’ d w n f f.< tr< ear ty bjn> n in • fir rnlddie of RON r AUl SCharcuter ie This reminded me of mgn\ bistro-; m Par is - «sttfxwMTfi it r- noisier than m T h e high ■sellings end hard,loor generate an Jigf-’ ly unrnmfar table dm Although d ’• a (|W, jtmospher p ti x t lus, .n a p r ivatc rover jtsnn nr d r.y p i'w into a qnod «4 Th» AfWl rfldOhlftM 1 lv 1 «♦ i Vi a notable rwd uf a p p rfr «! »'order ing 1 rot, is ’ •■»'w oe he*'» e i ' M i 1 Ct ? ! " / ■’ S' be*nr» 11 AM w ill un’ e . , • • • ! * a leap.« ♦* y*** «J1W .n.r.y,« «/)iy rilMVit in a il lemdfy x»t way ' ’ # , * » i ‘ X ! i- ,v i ’ tr » ‘ ive a ,! * » v e marc • a 1 I p , >- ■ ! 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" s incredible dt ‘f e .and pr i-.in»- irwjr n)t»tnis availatur thi .mqhrMjt tfi»- ’ n itiiw c ' A eU tu br lb whdl w»-re )';nq ’•••rp Th»» i~ are 'ew * " 'ha’ r,ave » « us the < arme .1’ ,re n pi uduct that «.i .) • . ,ht- d er bu .me ir» ». i«.-»* /«*■ r - •m i >nu P«1 w i’ k' U t'Jiif» tt.jt I !./»<• t‘*»' W ithusl'.if five six seven yoars Tr ¿ ts v e ry .nc-irnmno ,»■ Tm f./»1 inTir.tr / ’ !.j;nta r , dll tv, uuf.tai, w ltti Sly . u • • • r y ' por ’ yt, sr- ' want h- grow hut ■ ).f i 1 e / it 1 ■ x re hevnnd a f/nr.i a ’ , err- ’ ryx Jfi.y» /x il •» ’ I waich»d Run Paul r '# head’d hs»J ,r»tns i .1, tipfi ite i ix-it be .id j l tbi» Kid w tr (Tily q rfie ,*! a , at'le h.i, e? ■ -.1» h.tf py ,0 chat with him » v»-' «I nth»/ • Te ••* a •' 'i. j« ee’ i y v>,] • f«iA i t >■ hi A t. t was 1 r .t* .r al ’ I.*'!' ■ c M; •••, ’ • • • V " ■' »( •*. ctose to ht$ customer s 1 r»iA T,.*i«- / e 1 . tiTi»* >•’ ng Aha' it i- ’ ha* '• r n ie t and maintain* 1 ’.'ra p 's,u , busme. My point t r e . , « the most part very -.traiijhthirwqrd and simple And they ■/»•nt tobe m fu ll npe« atmn a’ Ron Paul *. , 141 N f Bruadwjy t r * r Iloyd W llargaarr |ij.» » | Nw P»n ' .f)y , I'm* h vwl j a ** i enter 1. r. 14! Srd ’ H y le l s*. v„..j continental bi ► ■.» fast