Sake and Cheese Pairing Evening with West London Wine School

Looking for something different to enhance your cheeseboard? Why not pair with sake instead of wine! Join us at West London Wine School for an evening introduction to sake and artisanal cheese pairing. Matching sake with cheese is actually much easier than wine, thanks to the power of umami (savouriness, the "fifth taste"), fermentation (both cheese and sake are naturally fermented products) and lactic acid (the main acid in both sake and cheese). We will share some simple tips and tricks to wow your guests and amaze their tastebuds, while introducing you to some more unusual styles of sake including yamahai and bodaimoto that feature oodles of umami and lactic acid thanks to their historic artisanal production methods. We will also sample a rare red sake made from red rice, and a sake made to a historic recipe from 1703! Our sake tutor Sarah (also an Academy of Cheese Associate, currently undertaking her Level 2) will cover the basics of sake and cheese production, styles and information on each producer along with general food and sake pairing principles. You'll pick up lots of useful information to take away to help you choose the perfect sake and food accompaniment and find out what you like. This evening also makes the perfect gift for the foodie in your life! On the evening we will try six different cheeses across a range of styles (white mould, washed rind, blue, Alpine, hard etc), and six sake:

• Yamatogawa Shuzo Brewery (Fukushima Prefecture) - Waning Moon Junmai
• Tsuji Honten Brewery (Okayama Prefecture) - 1859 New Mountain Junmai Bodaimoto Omachi
• Hayashi Honten Brewery (Gifu Prefecture) - Hyakujyuro Jidai Yamahai Junmai Ginjo
• Ota Shuzo Brewery (Shiga Prefecture) - Kokoro Junmai Nama Genshu
• Mukai Shuzo Brewery (Kyoto Prefecture) - Ine Mankai red sake, make from red rice
• Konishi Shuzo Brewery (Hyogo Prefecture) - Genroku Redux, made using a recipe from 1703