On Rice Wine

So I'm not sure how I haven't gotten around to this topic yet, but today I'd like to talk a little about Japanese Rice wine (AKA - Sake). A few years back I discovered the glories of Sake while dining at a Sushi restaurant in NYC. I became more than a little obsessed, bought a set of tiny cups, started drinking it at home . . . the whole nine yards. It's wine, but it's not like wine-wine. You know? I'm fairly certain that anyone reading this post is probably familiar with the lovely drink but if you're not, I thought it would be nice to provide a definition courtesy of Wikipedia.

Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice. It is also referred to in English as "Japanese rice wine," but the characterisation implied is not accurate. Wine is made from the single fermentation of plant juices (other than sparkling wine, which can be a double fermentation to create the carbonation). Sake is produced by multiple fermentation of rice, which is similar to the way beer is produced.

So it's called wine . . . without actually being wine. Interesting.