Costco Advent Calendar Wine #9: Ryokō Futsu-shu Sake (Japan)

Let me begin by saying that I am sorry for my sake ignorance. I do not know very much about sake, nor have I yet learned to appreciate it.

Sure, I’ve sipped premium versions at trade tastings and such, and I’ve approached them with the same curiosity I’d extend to any other beverage. But at this point in my wine journey, I’m still the “hot $3 house sake with California roll” type of very occasional sake drinker.

This bottle comes from the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar. If I hadn’t committed to reviewing all the advent calendar wines, this lone sake would have met a different fate. (Being used to marinate a chicken, probably–or being passed along to that one friend who’s always talking about their 2010 trip to Japan.) Now, it’s standing here as Bottle #9, a vexing obstacle to be vanquished on the road to #10, the Côtes du Rhône.

Ryokō Futsu-shu Sake is made in Japan’s Kyoto prefecture. “Futsu-shu,” I learn, is the general term for table sake. It’s sometimes translated as “ordinary” or “not-special” sake–a lower-grade brew that is also the most widely consumed style.

I don’t have any proper sake cups, so I grab a white wine glass. It’s almost colorless. I swirl. It smells like…cooked rice and alcohol? Is this what it’s like to come up blank on a wine tasting? I feel a sudden empathy for my non-wine friends, how they must feel when I’m yammering on and on with a Bordeaux tasting note and they’re staring into their glass and thinking, “Shut up Michelle, this tastes exactly like red wine.”

Maybe it’s not supposed to be chilled? I let it rest while I cook. At room temperature, it has faint aromas of malt husks and grass, with a little peachy sweetness. Green melon and squash, too. Each sip evaporates into a clean, dry, slightly grainy finish with some acidity (not as much acidity as any wine–but some).

I’m still not a sake fan, but its flavor isn’t objectionable. Although a glass on the side doesn’t seem to add much to the food, it refreshes the palate between bites–comparable to a mildly-hopped light beer.

Anyhow, those are the uninformed perceptions of a confessed sake n00b. While I was out of my comfort zone, I busted out a new kitchen tool (a cast-iron grill pan) and experimented with making some vegetarian “yakitori.” A couple of tablespoons of sake in the basting sauce imparted a floral, lightly fermented aroma to the tofu and brown rice.

Wine: Ryokō Futsu-shu Sake (Japan)

Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar Number: 9

Grade: B

Finish the bottle? No–but a sake drinker might enjoy it with dinner. It seems basic but well-made.

Further reading:

Sake Street: What is futsu-shu?

I’m tasting all 24 wines in the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure calendar! See previous reviews here.

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.