March 3, 2008
The Consul General of Japan in New York, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) New York, and the Conference of Japanese Food Distributors in New York presented a very special Japanese sake event on March 3, 2008 at the Official Residence of the Consul General of Japan in New York.

This event was designed to promote further understanding of Japanese sake (a traditional Japanese rice wine) for professionals in food related business in the U.S., such as representatives from restaurants, liquor shops and food critics. This is the first event of its kind held in New York, bringing together in cooperation in a meaningful way with the Japanese Government and Japanese related distributors to create deep interest among the professionals in the U.S. behind today’s Japanese sake scene.

Japanese sake has become popular the world over, right along with Japanese food and culture. Compared to the 1970s when only 5 brands were sold in the U.S., now in this country, there are more than 500 brands of Japanese sake brewed in various methods from various region of Japan. Behind the boom in Japanese sake of the 1990s, the export of Japanese sake to the U.S. quadrupled over a period of ten years from 1997 to 2007. Here in New York, Japanese sake is gaining popularity even among American restaurant consumers, and there is a demanded for a wide variety and premium quality of it sake more than ever.

The event was consisted of two interesting elements including seminars (organized by the Consul General of Japan in New York and JETRO) and Japanese sake tasting (organized by the Consul General of Japan in New York and the Conference of Japanese Food Distributors in New York).

At the seminars, Mr. Michael Simkin, a Japanese sake specialist, lectured on various aspects of Japanese sake with his topic of “Sake 101 – The Elements of Sake” included production area, raw materials, types, manufacturing processes and the basics knowledge of Japanese sake as well. The participants were eagerly attentive, and his visual presentation providing facts and useful information with various photos and illustrations helped them to have a clear understanding of Japanese sake.

The event also delivered Japanese sake tasting along with the seminars, and 80 specially selected brands of Japanese sake were showcased in a trade-show style. At each booth, the Japanese distributors explained several varieties of high-quality Japanese sake in detail about tastes, fragrances, grades, texture, serving methods and preservation methods. The participants enjoyed learning and exploring each characteristic of Japanese fine sake, some of which they have never experienced before.

About 90 professionals participated to take delight in fruitful seminars and a wide variety of Japanese sake to taste. The event has achieved a substantial result and was extremely well received with favorable comments such as it being “educational, informative and helpful”, and being “excellent learning experience”. The event ended with great success and a widespread participant’s interest to realize most importantly that Japanese sake is not limited to Japanese or even Asian cuisine and offers so many potential ties to Western cuisine. Japanese sake’s popularity is expected to be on the rise as more people discover Japanese sake and learn to savor its unique flavor.