Sake Pros launches a campaign to demystify rice wine in the UK

LONDON – British companies are proposing innovative solutions to try to broaden the appeal of sake to European palates as Japan seeks to increase sales in developed markets around the world.

For many Britons, sake is an acquired taste and is only consumed with Japanese food. Often, people drink the drink first in Japanese restaurants without any knowledge of the brand or the quality of what they are trying.

Now, many professionals are trying to change perceptions, tempering the first signs of success by admitting that much remains to be done to popularize Japan's famous rice wine.

Sake-based badtails are becoming more prevalent in London's trendy bars, and a supermarket chain is now selling sake mixed with white wine.

We are also trying to raise the profile of sake by making it in Britain to take advantage of the attraction of local products.

The industry recently hosted London Sake Week to encourage consumers to try it at participating restaurants in the capital. Hirohisa Ichihashi, director of the Food Products Division at the Japan External Trade Organization, attended an event during this period.

He added that while sake is already known and appreciated by players in the food and drink sector, "it is still very unknown and unknown to most consumers" in Britain.

For Ichihashi, the higher than average unit cost of sake (compared to beer and wine) was another drawback, but the relatively high alcohol consumption of Britain makes it an attractive market.

Rie Yoshitake, representative of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers' Association in Great Britain, believes it is essential to challenge common misconceptions, including the badumption that sake has a high alcohol content.

With about 15% or 16% alcohol by volume, sake is slightly stronger than most wines but much less potent than alcohol.

Yoshitake however attaches to changing the mentality that sake can only be drunk with Japanese food. At a sake symposium, she said, "We have a very famous saying in Japanese that sake does not compete with food."

Unlike wine, which complements some foods better than others, "sake is very tolerant," Yoshitake said. "It can be combined with anything from seafood to rich beef to fish and chips!"

Lucy Holmes and Tom Wilson are the founders and owners of England's first sake brewery, Kanpai London Craft Sake. The couple discovered sake while on vacation in Japan and started their craft brewing business by setting up their business in 2017 in South East London. The following year, they move to larger premises to allow them to increase their production and open a bar.

"Because sake came to Britain via Japanese cuisine, you tend to find it in a restaurant refrigerator," Wilson said. "People will not order it because they're not comfortable, they do not know what they're doing."

The couple is trying to remove this image by creating a izakaya (Japanese pub) where sake can be enjoyed alone or with different types of food.

The bar offers a tasting menu featuring the company's three sake varieties, served with Japanese snacks or a selection of non-Japanese dishes, including cold cuts, camembert and chocolate.

"Obviously, the badociation with Japanese cuisine will still be strong, but you see that it's starting to change slightly," said Holmes.

Most of the bulk orders the brewery receives now come from non-Japanese bars and restaurants. Holmes and Wilson have added that, for the moment, it is hard to imagine British drinkers opting for sake instead of wine or beer in supermarkets, but that they are more and more numerous. want to try it, especially among the growing number of people who have traveled to Japan. .

The opening of Kanpai London Craft Sake was followed in 2018 by that of a second British producer, Dojima Sake Brewery, near Cambridge.

Dave Samuels, 33, who was visiting Kanpai Bar with friends, said, "I had never used sake before, only seen it in movies. I do not have a particularly adventurous taste, but I liked that, especially sparkling sake. "

Lindsey Hindmarsh, 27, added, "It pleased me and I think most people would be surprised if they tried. I think people would be more inclined to try it out if they knew a little bit about it, like the food that goes with it. "

According to figures from the Japanese Ministry of Finance, sake exports to Britain have been largely stable and have grown only slightly over the past 15 years, amounting to more than £ 2.2 million. ($ 2.9 million) in 2018.

Yet while domestic sake consumption is declining, producers and exporters are hoping to boost international sales and are considering, for example, the UK market.

The United States is the largest importer of sake in the world, followed by Hong Kong and China. But Britain remains the most valuable European destination, with exports worth around £ 329,000 in 2018, surpbading exports to the second French country.