Kome Collective: Grit, Gumption, and Generations of Ginjo!

The sake scene in the US has never been as exciting as it is now, and that is in spite of Americans drinking less, the constantly changing landscape of tariffs on imported sake, and challenges our producer partners face in Japan, from the surge in rice prices to combating climate change. I can’t overstate how gratifying it is, as a sake importer who’s been around for a quarter of a century, to see how much the industry has expanded in that time and to have been a part of that evolution.

Vine Connections, our parent company, was founded in 1999 on a mission to re-introduce Argentine wine to the US audience. VC was quite ahead of its time then, as Argentine wine’s image at the time was value-driven wines for a weeknight at home and certainly not wine to be celebrated in the country’s best restaurants. The underdog mentality worked, and the proof is in the pudding, as many of the US wine industry giants now boast impressive Argentinean wine portfolios. Naturally, the next mountain to climb was JAPANESE SAKE! Sort of…

I’d venture to say it’s an understatement to estimate that at least 75% of this savvy newsletter readership have at least read something about sake penned by John Gauntner, Sake Evangelist, Sake Dad, Sumo Savant, and Relentless Cleveland Browns Fan. John-sensei moved to Japan in the late 1980s, and it wasn’t long before he was looking for ways to bring sake to friends in the US on a greater scale than the free space in his suitcase. He was auspiciously put in touch with our owner, Nick Ramkowsky, and in that same “ahead of its time” energy, Nick doubled down and decided to bring in enough to sell a modest amount to his existing consumer base. Because, dear readers, where there is Malbec there must also be Ginjo. Right? Right?? 

I’ve been a buyer of these sakes since the early 2000s in my restaurant roles when I first met Nick, and a student of John’s since 2008 when he first taught his Sake Professional Course stateside. My joining the team to lead the portfolio was a very long conversation, and I gained a ton of industry experience in other organizations as that conversation evolved. Getting to curate the future of an already impressive sake portfolio with my mentor was already a dream come true. What really changed my life was 2020, the first year we sold more sake than wine as a company. I had such an incredible amount of support that year to reposition ourselves as a SAKE FORWARD organization and to reshape our identity not as the sake arm of a wine importer but as a true SAKE IMPORTER.

Kome Collective, at face value, is a curated portfolio of sake producers, but is also so much about the team behind it. 2020 was also the year that DILA LEE, our TURKISH TORNADO, joined our small team. Dila became fluent in Japanese while living in Turkey, had worked in some of the most prominent destinations for sake in the US, and her personality reached far beyond the limits of an iPhone screen during the early days of Covid when we were first introduced. I remember my husband coming downstairs in our small apartment after my first FaceTime call with Dila, saying he was exhausted just listening to us talk but that we were probably going to take over the world together. We are so lucky to call her ours. 

After working alongside, sometimes rivaling and always admiring the one of the Best in the West that is JENN ROSS, we were also lucky enough to get her to join the team in 2024! Many of you have had the pleasure of learning from Jenn, I’m sure, whether it was her time as Washington State Sake Specialist for Youngs Market, Western Regional Manager for Joto Sake, or Regional Manager for Soto Sake. Jenn is the glue that holds us together, and we are so grateful for her guidance!! Jenn is also a big bottle broad – you’ll quickly find yourself talked up from a 180ml of sake to a 1.8L or even a keg. Sake is for sharing!!

You’ll meet the core KOME CREW at SAKE DAY this year, along with our stellar local correspondent, BELLA PEARSON. Bella was introduced to us by the one and only Tamiko Ishidate (2022 SAKE DAY INTERNATIONAL SOUL OF SAKE, not that she needs any introduction!), and it’s been such a great journey with Bella ever since. Bella is a true sponge for knowledge, especially when it comes to sake, and will give you some true PRO TIPS when it comes to drinking sake in the great outdoors, below in this newsletter.

Sake Day is almost here, and the Komé Collective crew is ready to bring the party to San Francisco! Come find us at our table, where the full squad will be holding it down: Monica Samuels, our Sake Samurai and President; Dila Lee, our Turkish Tornado and Director of National Accounts; Jenn Ross, our West Coast glue-holder; and Bella Pearson, your Northern California sake spirit guide and pro tips provider (see her camping pairings below!).

We’ll be pouring two sakes you won’t want to miss. First: Black Samurai, our collaboration with the LA Clippers power forward Rui Hachimura, made in his hometown of Toyama with the masterminds behind Masuizumi — equal parts athletic precision and Japanese craft. And second: get ready, because Sake Day attendees will be among the very first people in the country to taste Fukucho “Seahorse” — an entirely new approach to sake making developed by the legendary Miho Imada in partnership with the National Research Institute of Brewing in Hiroshima. It arrives in the US next month, and you’re getting the first pour. Come find us, raise a glass, and stay for the announcement — because we have some very exciting news to share about one of our own.

And speaking of exciting news…