Sakepedia: A Non-Traditional Guide to Japan’s Traditional Beverage

by Jeff Cioletti

The comprehensive guide to drinking sake, from production to palette, and traditional sake drinking culture from past to present, this is the book for sake connoisseurs and sake beginners alike. Author Jeff Cioletti, a certified Kikisake-shi - or “sake sommelier,” extensively studied the art of sake in Japan where he was able to delve into well, all things sake!

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2019

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this out on impulse at the library, having only tried.. 3 sakes? Ever? But I already knew I thought the flavors I encountered were interesting (and tasty) and just had no idea how go about trying more when I didn't understand the terms on bottles or... anything about the beverage beyond that it's made with rice, and that hibachi restaurants often serve it hot.


This book quickly and efficiently brought me up to speed, and conveyed a LOT about the history, culture, and production of sake. It went above and beyond with profiles of American brewers, great places for sake tasting across the country, and tons of sake recommendations. I have already checked to see that the places nearest to me mentioned in the book are still around.
I may never be able to pick up on notes of 3 year old gouda or have an inkling of what sake pairs well with raw oysters, but I do think just trying to pick out flavor notes like that can be kind of grounding and fun to try- like picking out the different instruments in a song.
I have next to no wine knowledge, maybe in part because it's a very snobby world and I found it hard to beat the $3 sangria my local Walmart had to offer anyways. But sake is much lighter and I think I am well on my way to becoming a sake nerd now.


I should note though, that several pages in this book just... stopped. There's clearly information missing that didn't get printed. Each one is at the end of a page or paragraph, and I'm kind of sad that I have no idea if I missed the end of a sentence or an entire page of what should have been there. The page numbers don't skip so there must have been multiple deletions. Ah well.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just browsed this title. Cioletti's writing style has some appeal but is not compelling. He goes into serious detail about the history and modern ways of making sake. Cioletti also gives brief but informative descriptions of cities and towns famous for their sake, and reviews of various sake types.

For hardcore sake fans or those intensely curious about the beverage. I might go back to this for recommendations for specific sake to drink.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both entertaining and educational, and I found myself wanting to go track down some of these sakes the author describes. The resources here are 7 to 8 years old, though, so a lot may have changed (pandemic reasons, etc). At the very least, it gave me some verbiage to use when I talk about what I'm tasting.

[Genevieve]

Just never got around to finishing it, taking off my "reading" shelf as haven't picked it up in a couple years