How Sake Membership India is propelling the recognition of Japanese rice spirit sake

Sushi has been gaining recognition in India for over a decade now, and with sushi, saké has rapidly gained a loyal following as effectively.  A Japanese rice spirit, sake is constructed from 4 key substances: rice, water, koji (rice mould) and yeast. To marry the love for sake, in India, with an appreciation of Japanese tradition and delicacies, Sake Membership India (SCI) was born in 2020. 

Mika Eoka and Ravi Joshi, who began Sake Membership India in 2020, say it was launched within the midst of the pandemic and has since hosted digital, hybrid, and in-person occasions, forging robust ties between the Indian and Japanese communities alongside the best way.

Whereas Ravi Joshi, a former Military Officer and IT specialist, is a beverage author and connoisseur of spirits, Mika Eoka is a Grasp Sake Sommelier and holds a Sake Diploma Worldwide from the Japan Sommelier Affiliation (J.S.A.), together with a WSET Stage 3 (Sake) certification from  from the Wine and Spirit Schooling Belief, London. With each India and Japan sharing a broad producer and shopper base for rice, “sake positively piques the curiosity of beverage lovers in India,” she says. 

With workplaces in New Delhi and Tokyo, SCI  presents a mosaic of schooling, engagement, beverage consultancy and occasions throughout Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, amongst a bunch of different cities.  All sake tasting occasions introduce the contributors to sakes from explicit prefectures in Japan.

Eoka explains, “Sake is roughly categorized into 4 varieties: fragrant, gentle, wealthy and aged.  Every classification has a particular serving temperature, serve ware, meals pairing and even an ideal season to savour it. In Delhi in January,  I choose warmed sake. For summer time,  it may be loved completely chilly.  Sake is usually a good accompaniment with eggs, seafood and even soups.” 

Eoka has performed coaching classes for hospitality chains just like the Marriott, The Leela and 4 Seasons in addition to stand alone eating places like Azuki Japan Journey Bistro and Sake, Bengaluru.  C. T Geetha, Companion on the bistro, says her sake viewers is an eclectic mixture of round 75% Indians and 25% expats.

She says, “Since we serve a spread of genuine Japanese meals, we’ve a curated record of sakes just like the Gekkeikan conventional and Daijinjo in addition to the Sawanothsuru.” At current SCI is focussed on creating a sake ecosystem in India so {that a} wider vary of spirits might be provided to the Indian shopper. 

Nikhil Agarwal, founding father of Mumbai-based, All Issues Good, which presents specialised consultancy companies for the wine  and spirits trade says, “Like Indian meals has been the best ambassador for India’s wine trade, the identical holds true for sake. Indians love Japanese meals and wish to attempt sake, so  quite a lot of stand alone eating places now serve it, whereas a number of years again sake was largely out there at eating places on 5 star properties.” 

To advertise the drink, Joshi says they initially approached the meals and beverage trade insiders and the commerce neighborhood, then performed coaching  classes for hospitality college students. He provides, “The USP of sake in India is that it’s a vegan product, sulphite-free in contrast to quite a lot of wines, and might be served at totally different temperatures.”

In India, sake is classed as a wine regardless of having, “a 15-20% ABV (quantity of alcohol current per quantity of the beverage), which is greater than fruit-based wines,” Joshi says. At Vinexpo 2022 held in New Delhi, SCI offered 19 sakes from six breweries throughout 5 prefectures of Japan, with  low alcohol varieties (seven to eight p.c). The yogurt-based and glowing sakes, particularly, acquired a rousing reception.

On the Prowein occasion in Mumbai in 2022, SCI offered sakes particularly from the Tottori province and performed a sold-out masterclass on sake tasting. Eoka opines the Indian shopper is primed to understand sake due to a rice- based mostly food regimen,  “The Indian palate is versatile and other people can accommodate even warmed sake, which stunned me,” she says, including that the umami issue is vital to having fun with sure forms of sake.