Data science and Japanese sake

As Japan strives to preserve and pass down the traditional art of sake brewing with kōji mold, the effort has taken on renewed significance following its designation as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage last year.
However, sustaining domestic sake consumption remains a challenge amid Japan’s declining population.

To preserve the environment for sake production, some breweries are endeavoring to expand their sales channels overseas. A public-private partnership is leveraging data science to develop sake products tailored to wine culture markets like Europe and the United States.

Naganomeijo, a brewery in Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture, has been making junmai shu, a type of sake brewed without added distilled alcohol, since its establishment in 1689, now using rice grown in the central prefecture. With Japan’s domestic market shrinking, the company began exploring export opportunities around 2021.

One of Naganomeijo’s sake brands earned a gold medal in an international sake competition, generating excitement in local communities. Building on this success, the brewery launched full-scale efforts to develop sake suited for overseas markets.

Senior Managing Director Hideaki Takano explains the company’s approach of focusing on regions with a strong wine culture. “Sake, like wine, is a fermented alcoholic beverage. We aimed to create a sake that local professionals would appreciate,” Takano, 56, said.

During the development process, the company received support from Kazuki Morohashi, a sake appraiser at the Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau at the time and now a staff member at Japan’s Consulate-General in Shanghai. The National Tax Agency, which oversees the liquor industry, has been actively promoting Japanese liquor exports. As part of the initiative, Morohashi analyzed the characteristics of award-winning sake at international competitions to provide breweries with informed guidance.

Applying his expertise in data science, the 33-year-old independently examined tasting notes from sommeliers at these competitions.

Regarding taste and aroma, Morohashi said, “For example, I found that terms like ‘delicate,’ which are often valued in Japan, were actually associated with lower ratings and did not lead to awards.”

After reading Morohashi’s report, Takano sought technical support from the tax agency, launching a project to develop sake intended for overseas markets. The initiative also involved local farmers in Chikuma cultivating sake rice in terraced rice fields. Chikuma is renowned for Obasute tanada terraced rice fields, a government-designated place of scenic beauty.

Drawing on the analysis of overseas competitions, Naganomeijo set its goal on creating “sake with a rich flavor, complex aroma and elegant finish,” Takano said.

To achieve the desired quality, Morohashi provided guidance on yeast selection and temperature management. Under the leadership of tōji master brewer Hideaki Wakabayashi, a 45-year-old local expert, the brewery’s team collaborated to craft a new sake product.

“Tanada la grace,” a sake developed through the public-private partnership, won a gold medal in the junmai daiginjō shu category at Kura Master, a prestigious annual sake competition in France. The brand also earned accolades in Italy and Australia. Junmai daiginjō shu is a premium sake made from rice polished to 50% or less of its original size.

Currently, Naganomeijo exports about 10% of its products, including Tanada la grace. The brand’s international success has also resonated with Japanese consumers, drawing an increasing number of visitors from outside Nagano Prefecture to the brewery to purchase its sake.

Morohashi acknowledged that progress would take time but expressed hope for more such projects to help sake establish itself as a world-class alcoholic beverage. He said he dreams of the day when “people from overseas say, ‘I want to make sake in my country.'”

Takano remains deeply committed to product development. “Local farmers are now paying attention to how sake is evaluated overseas. We will continue to develop new products,” he said.

You can find a list of  Innovation sake products using triple koji, wine yeast, barrel aging here: https://sakeportal.com/export-innovation-sake/

Original Article kindly reproduced from: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/28/japan/japanese-sake-data-science/