Autumn excites chocolate lovers. The summer heat that melts the sweet stuff in our hands also coats a silky, dark brown bar, left to sit, in a bloom of white dust. But let the cooler weather set in, and we gravitate towards chocolate, just as a greater variety of cheese beckons.
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Celebrated wine aficionado, Ron Kapon, who is known in wine circles as the Peripatetic Oenophile — the traveling wine expert — answers questions that Cheese Connoisseur readers have asked.
Cheese Connoisseur: What is sake?
Ron Kapon: Sake or saki (pronounced sah-keh) is a naturally-fermented alcoholic beverage made from a combination of rice, water, yeast and koji.
Because sake is fermented, not distilled, it is not a spirit. It is more akin to beer than wine, as it is produced from rice, which is a grain, rather than from a fruit. However, flavor-wise, sake is closer to wine than beer.
The season of cheese boards and fruit and fromage/wine pairings is here…but the platters may be a lot smaller than usual. After all, with COVID-19 sweeping the nation, many will bunker down alone or with their immediate families at home as they read of hospitals nearing capacity and governors pronounce new restrictions on gathering. There...