Todd Van Horne's guest appearances

Todd Van Horne

Sake On Air

Seek Sustainable Japan

Stephen Lyman

Justin Potts

Christopher Pellegrini

Hannah Kirshner

Robert Yellin

Philip Duff

Chris Moore

James Reynolds

David Douglas

Daniel Moore

Paul Martin

James Clark

Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Chris Hughes

Paul Walsh

OwlTail

Umeshu might be one of the most universally pleasing drink categories on the planet. Its characteristic sweet and spunky qualities can be served up any myriad of ways and seem to tickle just about everyone’s taste buds no matter how you spin it. However, while the style may seem relatively straightforward, the category is anything but. The content of this show tends to stick very close to the core categories of its namesake: sake and shochu. However, when it comes to umeshu, in order to fully understand the depth and breadth of what’s out there, we have to open up the conversation to the wider world of drinks and spirits. To help us unravel its nuance and mysteries, this week we’ve recruited Todd Van Horne. Having a long history in Japan, focusing primarily on food and fermentation, he’s found himself smack in the heart of Japan’s “ume country” – Wakayama – where he wound up working with an ume producer creating, blending and transporting umeshu to the global market. The number of non-Japanese taking up roles as sake brewers here and there is on the rise, but in the world of ume and umeshu-dedicated individuals, Todd is indeed an outlier. From the significance of ume in the Japanese diet, to the beverage’s historical position as a do-it-yourself creation, this week your hosts Rebekah Wilson-Lye, Christopher Pellegrini, and Justin Potts join forces with our special guest to try and cover all you’ll need to know to start discerning what questions to ask about that next bottle of umeshu that you encounter in the wild. Please help new listeners discover Sake On Air by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever service you depend upon for your podcast enjoyment. Reach out to us at questions@sakeonair.staba.jp with any thoughts, feelings or kind words about the show. You can follow us on  Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as well, and if you’d be so kind, don’t forget to subscribe to us over on YouTube. Thanks for listening this week, and thanks for choosing sake and shochu. Kampai! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake &amp; Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake &amp; 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” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

Umeshu might be one of the most universally pleasing drink categories on the planet. Its characteristic sweet and spunky qualities can be served up any myriad of ways and seem to tickle just about everyone’s taste buds no matter how you spin it. However, while the style may seem relatively straightforward, the category is anything but. The content of this show tends to stick very close to the core categories of its namesake: sake and shochu. However, when it comes to umeshu, in order to fully understand the depth and breadth of what’s out there, we have to open up the conversation to the wider world of drinks and spirits. To help us unravel its nuance and mysteries, this week we’ve recruited <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOZOhfcguo0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Todd Van Horne</a>. Having a long history in Japan, focusing primarily on food and fermentation, he’s found himself smack in the heart of Japan’s “ume country” – Wakayama – where he wound up working with an ume producer creating, blending and transporting umeshu to the global market. The number of <a href="http://sakeonair.staba.jp/2020/10/30/kurabito-life/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">non-Japanese taking up roles as sake brewers here and there</a> is on the rise, but in the world of ume and umeshu-dedicated individuals, Todd is indeed an outlier. From the significance of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_mume" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ume</a> in the Japanese diet, to the beverage’s historical position as a do-it-yourself creation, this week your hosts <a href="http://sakeonair.staba.jp/hosts/rebekah-wilson-lye/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rebekah Wilson-Lye</a>, <a href="http://sakeonair.staba.jp/hosts/christopher-pellegrini/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christopher Pellegrini</a>, and <a href="http://sakeonair.staba.jp/hosts/justin-potts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Justin Potts</a> join forces with our special guest to try and cover all you’ll need to know to start discerning what questions to ask about that next bottle of umeshu that you encounter in the wild. Please help new listeners discover Sake On Air by <a href="mailto:leave%20us%20a%20review%20on%20Apple%20Podcasts">leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts</a> or whatever service you depend upon for your podcast enjoyment. Reach out to us at <a href="mailto:questions@sakeonair.staba.jp">questions@sakeonair.staba.jp</a> with any thoughts, feelings or kind words about the show. You can follow us on  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sakeonair/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SakeOnAir?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sakeonair/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> as well, and if you’d be so kind, don’t forget to subscribe to us over on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmb8VZTXolI&amp;t=2s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. Thanks for listening this week, and thanks for choosing sake and shochu. Kampai! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the <a href="http://www.japansake.or.jp/sake/english/about.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Japan Sake &amp; Shochu Makers Association</a> and is broadcast from the <a href="http://www.japansake.or.jp/sake/english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Japan Sake &amp; Shochu Information Center in Tokyo</a>. The show is a co-production between <a href="https://www.export-japan.co.jp/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Export Japan</a> and <a href="https://www.potts-k.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Potts.K Productions,</a> with audio production by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/frank_eats_food/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frank Walter</a>. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by<a href="https://www.forsomethingnewmusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> forSomethingNew</a> for Sake On Air.

Understanding Umeshu with Todd Van Horne

Todd Van Horne is a Japan-based entrepreneur who worked as an Ume plums and Umeshu plum-liqueur salesman based in the Wakayama region. Originally from Portland, Todd ran a restaurant and has a deep understanding of Japanese fermentation and Koji as well as Ume. In this video he shares his insights into how the products are grown, processed, and sold across Japan and how the effect the business has on community, environment and economy. We also talk about the history, heritage and sustainability challenges and successes in the industry.

Todd Van Horne is a Japan-based entrepreneur who worked as an Ume plums and Umeshu plum-liqueur salesman based in the Wakayama region. Originally from Portland, Todd ran a restaurant and has a deep understanding of Japanese fermentation and Koji as well as Ume. In this video he shares his insights into how the products are grown, processed, and sold across Japan and how the effect the business has on community, environment and economy. We also talk about the history, heritage and sustainability challenges and successes in the industry.

Famous UME Growing Region for Umeshu+Umeboshi | Todd Van Horne