Judges from Around the World Evaluate Sake
As the IWC SAKE category marks its 20th anniversary, “Good sake cannot be made with soft water.” In the Meiji era, this was considered common sense. Hard water, like the kind found in Nada, was thought to be ideal for brewing, while regions with soft water, such as Hiroshima, were deemed unsuitable. It was Hiroshima’s master brewers who overturned that assumption. To stabilize fermentation even with soft water, they developed a method of brewing slowly at low temperatures. This technique, later known as the “soft-water brewing method,” became the prototype for ginjo brewing. The rice is polished and carefully fermented at low temperatures to bring out delicate aromas. The ginjo style, now celebrated globally, was thus born from what was initially perceived as Hiroshima’s greatest disadvantage.
The Significance of Hosting the 20th Anniversary Judging in Hiroshima From May 18 to 21, 2026, the SAKE category of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the world’s most prestigious alcoholic beverage competitions, will be held in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. Launched in 2007, the category celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This marks the fourth time the judging has taken place in Japan, following Tokyo, Hyogo, and Yamagata. That the birthplace of ginjo brewing has been chosen for this milestone carries profound symbolic meaning. Saijo in Hiroshima stands as one of Japan’s three great sake-producing regions, alongside Nada in Hyogo and Fushimi in Kyoto. The prefecture is home to 43 breweries and hosts the National Research Institute of Brewing, Japan’s sole national brewing research institution.
The IWC SAKE category is evaluated through a rigorous blind tasting process, independent of a brewery’s size or historical pedigree. With labels concealed, only the liquid itself is assessed, granting even boutique breweries an equal platform to earn global recognition. This unwavering fairness is a cornerstone of the trust the competition has cultivated over the past two decades.
Perseverance Amidst Industry Headwinds Despite this celebratory milestone, 2026 presents a complex landscape for the sake industry. The price of sake rice has surged to roughly 2.4 times its 2023 level, placing substantial pressure on breweries through elevated raw material costs. Furthermore, domestic consumption has been experiencing a long-term decline, with surveys indicating that approximately 60 percent of younger demographics rarely consume alcohol. In this climate, the role of international competitions assumes unprecedented importance. For many breweries, international expansion is a vital pathway, and an IWC award serves as an objective benchmark of quality for buyers and sommeliers in markets where sake remains a developing category.
Within Bangkok’s evolving dining scene, IWC-winning labels are increasingly finding their place on curated wine lists. A sommelier at a prominent non-Japanese restaurant noted that the competition’s accolades provided the assurance needed to introduce sake to their menu. The surge in sake rice prices inherently impacts import prices, making rising procurement costs an unavoidable reality for distributors in Bangkok. Consequently, an international award, backed by objective credibility, becomes an invaluable tool for communicating to guests that the price reflects genuine, uncompromising value.
The Legacy of Soft Water The ginjo style, cultivated from Hiroshima’s soft water, has been inherited by breweries across Japan and has blossomed into a category revered worldwide. A condition once dismissed as a disadvantage catalyzed innovation, and that innovation forged new value. The history of sake is defined by such profound transformations. This May in Hiroshima, sake from across the globe will be evaluated. The outcomes of a competition held in the birthplace of ginjo may very well illuminate the trajectory of sake for the next 20 years. The results of IWC 2026 are scheduled for announcement in July, with the full results across all categories published on the official IWC website. (Mr. Bacchus)
This article is intended solely to explore the brewing philosophy and cultural heritage of Japan’s sake industry and the significance of the IWC SAKE division, and does not aim to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับปรัชญาการผลิตและมรดกทางวัฒนธรรมของอุตสาหกรรมสาเกญี่ปุ่นและความสำคัญของการแข่งขัน IWC SAKE เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ