Japanese brewers are pushing their traditional sake into newer territories, hoping to save a legacy. By Palak Sharma
Now that Japanese food has become a mainstream choice in metros, the Japanese are now depending on our own tradition of rice wines to promote their sake in the country. Essentially to save a cultural legacy by tracing a similarity to our own.
Though part of a 2,000-year-old tradition in Japan, sake’s survival now depends on the export market simply because the aspirant Japanese are taking to their own variants of beer, whisky and new world wines.
By 2014, the domestic consumption of sake had shrunk to 557,000 kilolitres. In the 1980s, there were an estimated 3,500 breweries which have now shrunk to a 1,000-odd. The drink’s exports, by contrast, have doubled in the past decade to a record 19,737 kilolitres in 2016 with the US accounting for about a quarter of the total, followed by Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea. This is where the emergent Indian market comes in. The Sake Samurai Association, fearing that the pride of the Japanese people is in danger of being lost from home ground, have come together to restore the pride of sake and spread its culture. They are hoping international approval might just raise its domestic stock.
Rie Yoshitake, UK representative of the Sake Samurai Association, has been living in England for the last 30 years and has served a major part of her life in the wine trade. In the last 12 years, she was crucial in expanding the outreach audience within Japan and other potential countries. ‘‘When I joined the association, Japanese food was gaining popularity in America and was skyrocketing in England. We introduced sake in various parts of Europe which gradually picked up and over the years made sure that they developed a palate for it as an essential part of a Japanese meal. The interesting part is that the consumption of sake is elevating because of the informative sake tasting sessions that I have been organising in the past years and still continue to do.’’
Japanese brewers started exporting sparkling sake to European countries and it became a bestseller there. Yoshitake believes that when one plans to introduce a new concept to people, it is still easier to promote it in comparison to a traditional drink that has various taboos and misconceptions attached to it. Says she, ‘‘For the last 30 years, we have innovated and have been creating a premium sake called ginjo that consists of a pleasant fragrance coupled with light, aromatic and fruity flavours. It is a different drink from the old world sake that holds a different texture and heritage.’’
She has been working towards enhancing dynamic flavours and bringing back this traditional drink. Prior to refurbishing the lost identity, substantial quantity of the drink was imported overseas. But it did not set a benchmark as it became rotten and was next to oxidised, which people further disguised by warming up.
Indeed the samurai of taste, Yoshitake, apart from dynamic infusions, is also doing educative tours globally. “Sake may have been in India for a long time but people do not necessarily know about it. Sake needs something to change and survive and I sense that ecosystem here where people appreciate soft and subtle drinks. We are going to introduce a modified version for your palate. We are not saying this is the best drink there is but we want you to choose. luckily, we have immense variety in sakes that distinguishes it from other wines.’’
The biggest hurdles in promoting sake in India include transport logistics and duty fees. ‘‘Many people have given up retailing after facing challenges on getting in imported products. It is tough to promote it in India the way we like,’’ she says.
Thus, she has a different sales pitch. An interesting part is that sake does not fight with food, unlike wine. Wine has a different taste and acidity which does not go well together with every food. Sake, on the contrary, is rather competitive and can go well with any type of food. The drink comes in many flavours like plum, dessert, strawberry and orange and contains 80 per cent water.
The earliest references to the use of alcohol in Japan mention sake as a drink consumed frequently. Bamforth, a journal on alcoholic beverages, unveiled in 2005 the probable origin of its making from rice, water and koji mold.