Sake Fest 2017 is coming!

The 7th annual Sake Fest 2017 is coming Wednesday June 21st – and this year boasts a larger venue at the Oregon Convention Center. Held from 5:30 – 9 PM for the early admission ticket holders ($75) or 6:30 – 9 PM for regular admission ($55), the event boasts the ability to sample from among over 140 varieties of saké, plum wine and beer as well as bites to try your hand at pairing food and sake.

This is a very unique event as usually you don’t get a chance to speak directly with sake distributers (representatives include those local in Oregon, in the US, and from Japan) and sample and compare among so many at once.

A ticket to Saké Fest PDX experience is full access to all food and all saké sampling stations – even rare & premium saké varieties, and includes a sake tasting glass. There will be 22 sake breweries and distributors offering multiple sakes at each station, which is a huge diverse variety to explore.

My advice to remember what you enjoy is to take photos of the sake. Don’t worry about being an amateur- the names and locations and types are still a jumble of syllables for me too.

The ones I liked the most I often would go back and sample a second time, even a third time, trying a pairing with a different food item.

Food pairing partners this year at Sake Fest includes 17 partners, both returning from last year and new, and the list includes

• Ajinomoto Windsor Foods
  
• American Local Restaurant
  
• Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grill
  
• Bamboo Sushi
  
• Batch PDX Chocolates
  
• Behind the Museum Café
  
• Biwa Restaurant
  
• JFC International
• MIHO Izakaya
  
• Noraneko
  
• Saucebox Restaurant
  
• Sho Japanese Restaurant
• Shurky Jurky
• Uwajimaya Store – Beaverton
  
• Whole Foods Market Pearl
  
• Yakuza Lounge
  
• Zilla Sake House
  

Unfortunately I already have a work trip at this time, so I’m going to miss Sake Fest 2017, but I think it’s a wonderful event and encourage you if you have any interest in sake to give it a visit!