Wednesday, February 15, 2006

A sake question from a distributor sales representative:

Seth asked...
Michael I have a retailer who wants to know in depth why Midorikawa, daiginjō prices out well over $100.00.

I replied,
Regarding Midorikawa, daiginjō there are a couple of things that I know of off hand that might make it so expensive. First and foremost, it is damn good! But I think that we need to go beyond that if we want to bring some credibility to the price of the sake.

Midorikawa Shuzō has made quite a name for itself in the sake world in Japan. Some of the breweries that you (The Henry Wine Group) represent are famous within their region but possibly are not so well-known outside of their local area, (That is why we call them jizake –meaning small, local producers.) Google the word jizake someday and read up. Back to Midorikawa. Even nationally (in Japan) Midorikawa is quite famous. During the Sumo matches (at the beginning of them) a cask of sake is smashed into by a famous Sumo wrestler to begin the events. I have seen Midorikawa used for this purpose.(This ceremony is a big deal and an honor for the sake company). As you know, if it is good wine and in demand, the price goes up. There is still another major component. I have visited approximately 20 breweries in the past 12 months. Midorikawa is the cleanest, most clinical, hospital-like brewery that I have ever visited. I’m sure keeping the facility in that condition adds to the maintenance bill and final price of the sake. Perhaps this cleanliness and purity is reflected in the bottle you are holding that costs the consumer well over $100.00.
Uonuma-shi, Niigata. This is where the brewery is located. Shi means city. Uonuma is the name of the city located within the prefecture of Niigata. Throughout Japan the prefecture of Niigata is known for growing some of the finest rice in the entire nation. The Uonuma region is at the top of the pyramid. People who know rice know also that this specific region produces some of the best of the best. Aoki Shuzo (which you sell) is also produced within this region.

Those are some of the reasons for the cost. I don’t want to mislead you, though. The rice used in the particular bottle that you speak of uses Yamada Nishiki rice which may come from a different region. Among the competition class sake and many of the other highest quality sake produced, Yamada Nishiki is often the rice of choice. It, too, varies in grade and quality and is very very expensive. I can guess that this rice might be from Hyōgo-Ken (another prefecture), but I am not certain. I can find out though. In any case, it is top grade rice, and keep in mind that 60% of the kernel has been removed and only the inner 40% is being used in the sake fermentation process. That 60% is being discarded and sold off to other companies for the making of things like rice crackers, pickles, etc. This surely also adds to the cost.


I hope that I have answered your questions.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Could you tell me how to identify the top selling sakes in US and Global? I cannot find this information on the web... is it public?

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