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Stories of makers, ingredients, places and the decisions behind Japan's most compelling drinks.

Drink

In Hiroshima, the Birthplace of Ginjo

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 […]

Drink

Forging a New Legacy

AKABU Junmai, the Visionary Masterpiece of a 22-Year-Old Toji March 11, 2011. Akabu Shuzo, a historic brewery in Otsuchi, Kamihei District, Iwate Prefecture, lost everything to the devastating tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake. In an instant, the brewery, its cherished tools, and the very soil where sake had been crafted for 115 years […]

Drink

The Sake Brewery “2026 Problem”

Navigating New Realities Converging Challenges Japan’s roughly 1,400 remaining sake breweries are currently facing three simultaneous structural challenges: a rapidly shrinking domestic market, stubbornly high rice prices, and the aging of traditional toji(master brewers) alongside a lack of successors. This “2026 problem” is accelerating a profound transformation across the industry. Moving Beyond Volume Under this strain, breweries are […]

Drink

Sixteen Months Post-UNESCO

The Evolving Landscape of Japanese Sake and Bangkok’s Gastronomy The Milestone of December 2024 At a UNESCO intergovernmental committee meeting held in Asunción, Paraguay, “traditional Japanese sake brewing using koji mold” was officially registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. It marked the first time that knowledge and techniques passed down for generations by toji (master brewers) and kurabito(brewery workers) were formally […]

Drink

Natural Wine is Quietly Reshaping Asia’s Culinary Landscape

A Snapshot of Tokyo and Bangkok A Global Gathering in Tokyo On May 10 and 11, 2026, RAW WINE Tokyo returns to the Tokyo Ryutsu Center. Founded by Isabelle Legeron, the first French woman to earn the prestigious title of Master of Wine, RAW WINE stands as the world’s premier natural wine fair. Touring cities such […]

Domaine Héritage du Pic Saint Loup

The Story of a Winery That Lost Its Name

Yet Reclaimed an 800-Year-Old Legacy A Name Preserved in 13th-Century Manuscripts In the Languedoc region of southern France, about 20 kilometers north of Montpellier, the 658-meter Pic Saint-Loup rises into view. At its foot, the Ravaille family has been growing grapes since at least the 13th century. They grazed sheep, made cheese, and worked the land. […]

Drink

Champagne Born From the Crow’s Vineyard

The Story of a Family and a 0.5-Hectare Plot Protected by Stone Walls A Family Name That Means “Crow” in Finnish In the Côte des Blancs, one of Champagne’s most renowned regions, the Waris family lives in the village of Avize, one of the area’s 17 Grand Cru villages. “Waris” means “crow” in Finnish. The family […]

Drink

Three meters underground in the tropics

Where Thai single malt and Japanese whisky intersect “Can whisky really be made in Asia?” This is the very question that was once posed to Japanese whisky. In 1923, when the Yamazaki Distillery began operations, many doubted whether authentic whisky could be produced anywhere outside Scotland. About a century later, Japanese whisky has become a […]

Domaine de Villaine

Elevating Burgundy’s “Forgotten Grape”

A Half-Century of Dedication to a Unique Village AOC The White Grape Long Overshadowed by Chardonnay When people think of white Burgundy, Chardonnay is what usually comes to mind. Meursault, Chablis, Puligny-Montrachet—each is a celebrated wine born from Chardonnay. But Burgundy has another white grape variety: Aligoté. For a long time, Aligoté was treated as a […]

Domaine Grand Veneur

Beyond the 2021 Late Frost

The Resilience of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Old Vines A Southern Rhône Legacy Since 1826 Châteauneuf-du-Pape stretches across the southern bank of the Rhône River in southern France. The Jaume family’s history of grape growing here began in 1826, when Mathieu Jaume first established vineyards on this land. For nearly two centuries, six generations of the family have continued […]

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