Ever picked up a bottle of wine hoping for one experience only to get something totally different? When I started drinking Sake, I had a throw it to the wind attitude about what sake I bought just making a mental note of which sake I enjoyed. what sake was sweet or dry the mental notes grew and I made many mistakes buying a bottle of something I would hope for a nice crisp dry sake and wind up with a fruity sweet one. Later as I started to really read the labels on the Sake, I noticed that most Sakes had a reference number on them ranging from -20 to +20 but usually only between +5 and -5 with a few 9’s sprinkled into the mix. It was around this time that I got serious into Sake and decided to look up what SMV stood for.
Ever picked up a bottle of wine hoping for one experience only to get something totally different? When I started drinking Sake, I had a throw it to the wind attitude about what sake I bought just making a mental note of which sake I enjoyed. what sake was sweet or dry the mental notes grew and I made many mistakes buying a bottle of something I would hope for a nice crisp dry sake and wind up with a fruity sweet one. Later as I started to really read the labels on the Sake, I noticed that most Sakes had a reference number on them ranging from -20 to +20 but usually only between +5 and -5 with a with 9’s sprinkled into the mix. It was around this time that I got serious into Sake and decided to look up what SMV stood for.
Yet SMV is more of a guidepost then a hard rule, I have had many a sake which with a high SMV that tasted light and sweet and although less I have had lower SMV sakes that were dry and sharp. A better way to gauge the taste of sake is by taking Acidity into account but the is another post altogether. So the next time you want to pick up a bottle of Sake and you have an idea in mind of what level of sweet or dry you are in the mood for, flip over the bottle and like for those 3 letters S.M.V
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