FEATURE: Sake breweries vying to be toast brand for Ise-Shima Summit

Sake breweries are anxiously awaiting the selection of the toast sake for the official dinner party at the Ise-Shima Summit in May, as the chosen brand will likely gain instant recognition as the Japanese rice wine of choice.

Speculation abounds that the selection has already been made of a brand from Mie Prefecture, the venue for the Group of Seven meeting in central Japan, causing local breweries to fret about who will eventually reap the advertising windfall from the privilege.

But since there appear to be no guidelines on how the toast sake for the summit will be selected, local breweries have been all but left in the dark.

At the 2008 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, officials from the Foreign Ministry held tastings of 10 brands throughout the country before deciding on Isojiman Naka Dori, Junmai Daiginjo 35 from the Isojiman Premium Sake Brewery Co. in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

For the 2000 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, sparkling wine from Coco Farm & Winery, operated by a support organization for persons with mental disabilities, in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, was selected — putting the brand on the map.

According to Yoji Teraoka, 60, president of Isojiman Premium Sake Brewery Co., the popularity of Isojiman Naka Dori, Junmai Daiginjo 35 remains high, but it is impossible to purchase it unless you are picked by lottery.

Chieko Ikegami, 65, of Coco Farm & Winery said, “Mass production of our product is difficult. It frustrates me that not all customers are able to get it.”

At an event held at the end of last year in Tokyo, a Foreign Ministry official for the Ise-Shima Summit said, “For the toast, we would certainly like to use sake from Mie Prefecture.”

A Mie Prefecture official later remarked that “it was like receiving an official stamp of approval.”

Although there has been no official announcement on which brand will be selected, many people from the local community believe the rumors that the prime minister will ultimately have the last say.

A brewery official whose company’s brand is said to have been selected for the summit dinner party was in disbelief.

“They have asked us to submit samples but we haven’t been notified of anything. If you know anything, please let us know,” the person said in response to a reporter’s question.

Shinichiro Shimizu, 58, president of Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten, a brewery known for the Zaku brand in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, said, “This is a great opportunity to promote Mie Prefecture’s sake. We’d like to demonstrate to the world our fastidious commitment to top quality sake.”

Tadayoshi Onishi, 41, president and head brewer at Kiyashou Sake Brewery in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, which produces Jikon, said,

“We want to produce sake of high quality so that the summit doesn’t end as just another fly-by-night festival.”

==Kyodo

Category: Daily Witness, National