This week John Gauntner takes over as master of ceremonies, as Rebekah Wilson-Lye, Chris Hughes and Justin Potts combine forces to help flesh out an all-important and ever-evolving element of sake that sits at the core of some of the most important conversations: rice types.

Aside from just the distinction between sake rice and standard rice varieties used in sake production, the team discusses influence on the beverage’s character and profile, regionality, agricultural challenges, issues of access and economics, current trends, and more.As with all of our episodes, we can’t cover everything in 60 minutes. Following the recording we discussed the possibility of putting together a number of different shows based on the relationship between rice and sake, from historical, to agri-specific, to entire shows examining single varietals. If there’s a specific topic that you’d be excited to hear us discuss, please let us know! You can send your ideas, feedback and words of encouragement to [email protected] Follow along with our day-to-day shenanigans via @sakeonair on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you’d be so kind as to leave us a review along with a few kind words on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever it is you get your regular dose of Sake On Air, it would mean the world to us. We’ve got a handful of announcements coming very soon – stay tuned! As always, thanks for listening, and Kampai! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is a co-production between Export Japan and Potts.K Productions, with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” is composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.