Hachinohe is a city in Aomori Prefecture, northern Honshu. As Steve Miller would probably put it, there are a couple of things there that one might want to reach out and grab, after making payment, of course. One is a visit to the Nebuta Museum, which is conveniently located near the main station. It is dedicated to the spectacular Aomori Nebuta Festival. The other is V1116, which is a nihon-shu made with Danish wine yeast and produced by Hachinohe Shuzo, famous for the Mutsu Hassen (陸奥八仙) Brand.
The best way to describe this is as a wine-like nihon-shu. There seems to be a growing number of these, and this is one of the better ones, to be sure. It is pale yellow in color, with quite a bit of sophisticated sweetness. According to the product description on the back label, there is supposed to be some sourness. However, we would describe it as being slightly tart. The nose is both sugary and fruity, and the mouthfeel is silky. The ABV is a relatively low 13%.
V1116 is quite appealing and is a prime candidate for bridging the gap between the wine world and that of nihon-shu. And Hachinohe Shuzo has more than enough muscle in the marketplace to pull this off. Abracadabra, reach out and grab it, after making payment, of course.
Drinking Japan 