Sake and shochu from Wakayama

How do water, climate and rice shape Wakayama sake?

Wakayama sits on the western side of the Kii Peninsula, with mountains and sea close together. The prefectural tourism site says a brewery on the Kinokawa draws on the river's underflow, and a brewery in Shingu relies on the Kumano River's water and the cold north wind over it in winter. A Kainan brewery describes its well water as slightly soft, with strong fermentation power. Some breweries use rice such as Yamada Nishiki and Bizen Omachi, and some carry on the technique of the Noto toji tradition.

What does Wakayama sake taste like?

The honest answer is that it varies by brewery. One brewery's standard-grade sake is crisp and dry with little roughness, a junmai from another spreads round rice sweetness and umami, and a young team at a third also makes floral, fruity junmai daiginjo. Some houses aim for sake that goes with local food, which makes it easy to pick for a meal.

A short history of Wakayama sake

Wakayama was the domain of the Kishu Tokugawa family in the Edo period. Most breweries here were founded between the Meiji and Showa eras: one dates from 1885 and another from 1908. The latter started with vinegar and today makes red vinegar from sake lees as well as sake, which is unusual. Another brewery has presented sake to the imperial household each New Year for more than half a century.

Where are the breweries?

Breweries are in Wakayama City, Kainan, Kinokawa, Iwade and Shingu among others. Kainan is known for the lacquerware town of Kuroe and has several breweries. The Shingu brewery is described as the only one in the World Heritage Kumano area.

Visiting and what to eat with it

In Wakayama City, one brewery has a museum and shop in its former brewhouse; tours and tastings there need a booking. In Kainan, another brewery offers tours and a pickling experience, and a tasting corner runs at Kurogyu Chaya. The Kino Wakayama building in Wakayama City has a shop where you can compare bottles. Local seafood and sushi with red vinegar suit these sakes, and breweries in the prefecture also make liqueurs.