Though heaven knows I've been to a lot of Japanese restaurants and recently traveled to Japan, I realized how little I know about sake. Happily on my return from the trip my travel agent introduced me to Michael J. Simkin who is a representative of Uka,  a top sake brand which, interestingly enough, grows its rice in California. It is then sent to Japan for processing owing to a special kind of water there which is essential in producing its quality. He agreed to write a guide to sake with answers to key information to know and interesting facts such as there's a sake brewery in Miami. Here it is and as they say in Japanese to toast (cheers), 'Kampai". And if you're thinking of traveling to Japan, look at the end of the post for links to my blogposts on travel to Japan.