Help out struggling Japanese sake breweries with a stylish European glass!

Sake: Japanese rice wine

"Loved this presentation of traditional Japanese Sake" by shankar s. is licensed under CC BY 2.0, © Flickr.com

If you are interested in Japan, maybe you have heard about sake (酒) ,nihonshu (日本酒), or Japanese rice wine. The kanji 酒 means alcohol, so the word nihonshu is literally “Japanese alcohol.” Its main ingredients are steam-cooked rice, koji (aspergillus oryzae), yeast, and water.

"Sake Brewery" by Andy Atzert is licensed under CC BY 2.0, © Flickr.com

A sake brewery is called a kura (蔵). Not only do they make delicious sake, many kura were open to tourists before the pandemic. I went to a nihonshu brewery tour in Tokyo a long time ago, and it was a really good opportunity to learn about nihonshu culture.

However, due to the impact of COVID-19, owners of kura are facing a heavy decline in demand due to pandemic measures placed on restaurants and the loss of overseas visitors.

“SAVE THE KURA” project by Riedel, a wine glass company

In order to support Japanese sake breweries, kura, under these strenuous circumstances, Riedel, an Austrian wine glass company with a rich history spanning more than 265 years has started an interesting project.

The project is called “SAVE THE KURA”. If you buy nihonshu from the online storefronts of kura which have joined this project and you meet the participation requirements, you’ll get a special Riedel glass for nihonshu.

To participate, you need to buy over 5,500 yen (tax included) of merchandise and you must add the Riedel official LINE account to your friends list. Details of the process and the list of participating kura are on this website.

The project will run until December 31st, 2021, but products from each kura will only be available while stocks last.

About Riedel and Riedel Glass

If you want to buy the glassware, visit the Riedel official website too. The glass for the save the kura project is a special model called Junmai (純米). They spent eight years designing this special glass. Riedel also makes other special glasses for nihonshu, wine, whiskey, and other various drinks!

Enjoy tasty Japanese rice wine at home with a stylish and elegant Riedel glass and help out struggling Japanese rice wine breweries!