In search of sake: Kyoto

The Guardian, 22nd November 2011

Henrietta Lovell runs the Rare Tea Company but her secret obsession is sake. On a tour of Japan sake expert Rie Yoshitake introduces her to three brewers in three different cities who explain the ancient art of sake making and the culture from which it flows. In the first of our three part series, they visit Kyoto, the old imperial capital of Japan.

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In search of sake: Kanazawa

The Guardian, 29th November 2011

Henrietta Lovell’s secret obsession is sake. On a tour of Japan, sake expert Rie Yoshitake introduces her to brewers in three different cities who explain the ancient art of sake making. In the second of our three-part series, they visit Kanazawa, a city where tradition and innovation walk hand in hand.

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In Search of Sake: Miyagi, Japan

The Guardian, 6th December 2011

In the final part of our series Henrietta Lovell and Rie Yoshitake travel to Matsushima Bay where she has ‘the perfect sake moment’ as she dines on the famous – and enormous – Matsushima oysters washed down with local sake. Three weeks after this film was shot this area was devastated by the Japanese Tsunami.

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Hanami: a Japanese cherry blossom picnic

The Guardian, Tuesday 11th May 2010

Henrietta Lovell meets sake expert Rie Yoshitake and Ken Okaniwa of the Japanese embassy to learn about the traditions and powerful significance of ‘hanami’, the annual traditional cherry blossom viewing picnic. Kampai!

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