【2022/05. News of the Japanese liquor industry] Have you bought a plane ticket while you are warming up for sightseeing in Japan?

In order to prepare for the opening of tourism in Japan, the Tourism Agency and travel agencies will verify the itineraries of the industry's line-up groups from 5/24, and verify the movement management of tourists and epidemic prevention measures. The Tourism Agency will formulate travel accommodation based on the results industry guidelines. A total of about 50 people will visit 12 prefectures, including Iwate, Yamagata, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Chiba, Yamanashi, Ishikawa, Nagano, Gifu, Wakayama, Fukuoka and Oita. The first echelon was that 2 groups of 7 people from the United States arrived at Narita Airport on the afternoon of the 24th and went to Kanto and Tohoku for an 8-day, 7-night trip. One of the challenges that can be expected in the future is how to make tourists who do not need to wear masks in their own countries wear their masks well when they come to Japan.

Have you also started to buy winter flight tickets and are ready to fly to Japan? It is impossible to predict the timetable for the opening of individual tourism at the moment.

Local IRS Updates Wine Store Maps

For example, the Kanto Shin-Etsu Bureau of Taxation has updated and expanded the two types of maps other than sake and sake into three categories. There are 307 sake, 112 fruit wine, and 203 beer shochu. Other IRSs have also updated the maps within their jurisdictions, and Jiu Miao has updated the download links for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the map PDF files. Please refer to the [Itinerary Planning Tips] map of the Japanese sake store .

Yamada Nishiki New Variety "Yamada Nishiki FW1"

Fukui Prefectural University and Wakasawan Energy Research Center developed a new variety of Yamada Nishiki "Yamada Nishiki FW1", and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries accepted the registration application on April 21. Originally, Yamada Nishiki was a late-growing variety (earing and harvesting later), and the low temperature at the maturing stage would lead to a lot of empty ears of rice, making it difficult to plant in the climate of the Hokuriku region. The new varieties mutated by ion beam breeding have shortened panicles. The harvest period is about 1 week, the plant height is short, and it is not easy to lodging, even in the climate of Fukui Prefecture. This year, Fukui Prefectural University will test the cultivation of Yamada Nishiki FW1, a total of 50 ares in the campus of Awara City, Kubota Brewery in Sakai City, and the rice field of the prefectural agricultural test site. After the autumn harvest, it will be handed over to Kubota Brewery. A trial sale will begin next spring.

Grow a barrel of rice at home x remote winemaking

Before the Second World War, the trumpet rice grown in Hyogo Prefecture was the "Bonkei" variety, which was later replaced by Yamada Nishiki. In 2018, the "Yumee Yume Street Construction Executive Committee" formed by companies in Yumae-cho, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, paid attention to the anecdote of the writing of Yamakenyoji in the Musoubo Benkei in 2018. In order to revitalize the area and propose to revive the Benkei variety to make wine Program. Since 2018, the farmhouse in the town has started to plant Benkei, and the yeast used for brewing is also collected from the Tsukuzaka Brewery in the town (inscription handle: Xueyanshan).

The " Harima Japanese Sake Project ", which is a collaboration between a farmer and a liquor store, also holds a rice transplanting/harvesting experience for Japanese sake lovers. However, in 2020, due to the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, it is difficult to gather people for agricultural experience. way, is a year-long event. Participants received the rice seedlings from Benqing and planted them in plastic buckets.

In the second year (2021), the number of participants in the remote winemaking is 286. The seedlings will be harvested in June, and the rice will be harvested/cut in November. In addition to planting advice, an online brewery workshop will be held in August. Participants sent the harvested rice back to check the quality of the sake and rice, and the evaluation was mixed. These sake rice was also added to the raw rice that echoed the first year. The brewed Yamawat Junmai raw sake was only sold to the participants.

The Harima Japanese Sake Project is about to hold its third year of remote brewing. The recruitment period for participants is from 5/11 to 5/31, and the participation fee is 1,000 yen. From 6/11 to 6/19, the seedlings are distributed at the Tsusaka Brewery.

There is another slightly "traditional" Japanese sake experience in the Harima area, run by travel agencies. Tomiku Nishiki Co., Ltd. (named handle: Fu., Junqing), located in Miguchi-cho, Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture, wants to revitalize the place with the theme of sake storage. With て as the center, a new business of brewery tourism experience has been started together with Tomohisa Nishiki and the farmhouse that cultivated Yamada Nishiki in Kammanganji-cho. Participants who purchased the product set can also participate in the experience activities, and can visit the brewery during the workshop. Places open to the public, etc., are delivered to home after the completion of the Japanese sake "Saku".

Saku R04BY Yamada Nishiki's rice transplanting time is scheduled for 6/5. The farmer Mr. Fujimoto Keiichiro is preparing for the pre-work . The rice transplanting will be broadcast on IG Live on that day. Interested friends can follow the IG account of saku.new.moon to watch.

Brewing with Dreamy Sticky Rice

Mr. Daisuke Ito from Yusa-cho, Yamagata Prefecture, started raising the seedlings of "Hontarango" in early May. It is expected to be harvested in late September. In the fall, he will hand over the sake to the sake brewer Odomajo in Sakata City to brew junmai sake. It is said that Yantaro glutinous rice originated in Toyooka, Yousa Town, and was widely planted in the Northeast. However, since the height of the plant reaches 170 cm (it is said to be difficult to take care of if you look at the 123 cm of Yamada Nishiki), it is easily blown down by strong winds, so farmers keep it away. , was removed from the county's list of award varieties in 1960, and no one has grown it since. In order to revive Hiktarō, Mr. Ito obtained rice seeds from the Rice Field Agricultural Research Institute of the Prefectural Agricultural Research Center in Fujishima, Tsuruoka City in 2006. Currently, there are 4 farmers in Yusa Town who are planting them.オードヴィZhuangnei tried to brew Hikotaro glutinous rice last year, and the flavor seems to be quite special. Some of the 300 bottles officially brewed this year will be used as local tax refund gifts in Yusa Town.

Brewing with Stewed Rice

When I eat Italian food, I sometimes order the stewed rice Risotto to eat, but most restaurants or if you cook it yourself, you will use Italian rice, right? The more well-known varieties are Arborio, Carnaroli, Vialone Nano, and others include Aliace, Baldo, Gange, Thaibonnet, and Maratelli.

According to the 114th issue of Hualien District Agricultural News , the Hualien District Agricultural Improvement Farm analyzed the characteristics between domestic cultivars and Italian Carnaroli, Arborio and Spanish Bomba and found that the existing domestic varieties are not completely suitable for cooking stewed rice in appearance. There is room for use and breeding. The Huajingyu No. 228 line was bred from the cross-breeding of Yitai varieties. The grain size and size of the high-quality stewed rice varieties abroad are closer to the domestic common cultivars in the advanced generation. Although it is not comparable to Carnaroli and Bomba in hardness, it is still harder than ordinary japonica varieties, and may have the opportunity to be used as an excellent stewed rice variety in the future. Of course, because of the taste preference of Chinese people, the characteristics of selective breeding will be in line with Chinese people's taste and conditioning habits, not the same as in Italy. PS. Huajingyu No. 228 is also suitable for making amazake !

Closer to home. In Japan, the Italian rice Carnaroli and the Japanese rice Hokuriku No. 204 are mated to produce the special rice variety "wata リゾット", which is used in the Italian restaurant Pizzeria YOGANSU, which is located in Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and operated by Shiraru. . YOGANSU's employees grow and みリゾット in Okita 9241, and cooperate with the city's Shuxin Sangen store to use this rice to brew the pure rice wine of 90 polished rice, which can be purchased from 6/17 at Road の駅よがんす.

Talk of space travel as new selling point for Fukushima sake

After the 311 Earthquake, cases related to the restoration of the Tohoku have not been broken. Sending products from the disaster-stricken areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake to the International Space Station as a support for the restoration activities is one of the projects of the "Tohoku Restoration Universe ミッション". There is a procedure for brewing sake with "うつくしま Yume Yeast" in Fukushima Prefecture, which has experienced space travel.

On February 5, 2021, the departure ceremony was held at the Suginsuma Kaikan in Sugitsu-cho, Fukushima City. Two freeze-dried yeast capsules containing 1 gram each were placed in a safe deposit box. The Kennedy Space Center in the United States launched a rocket on 6/4, and after arriving at the International Space Station, it ran in a gravity-free state for 37 days, and the space shuttle returned to Earth on 7/10. After that, the yeast capsules were sent to the Aizuwakamatsu Technical Support Center in the prefectural high-tech plaza, where the yeast was cultivated and checked for fermentability, and then distributed to brewers who wanted the yeast.

In the end, 27 breweries in the prefecture have completed the brewing, and will be listed in May 2022 under the brand of "Tohoku Fuxing Cosmos Sake". The original dream yeast will produce the aroma of banana and cantaloupe, while the うつくしま dream yeast that has experienced space flight has more pineapple aroma and richer fruity taste.

The fact that so many liquor stores use the same yeast to make wine together is not just for the unity of the Northeast's revival, but also to improve the overall brewing technology. Everyone will use the same yeast to brew sake, and they will perform and review how to improve it. This is also the key factor that Fukushima Prefecture has won the most gold awards in the new sake evaluation for many years in a row.

Rice & Mai one-stop experience! Opening of the Japanese Sake Special Zone "Shinjima Kokunozo" in Usa City, Oita Prefecture

Sanwa Liquor Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive brewing company that produces shochu, sake, wine, brandy, and liqueur. The head office is located in Usa City, Oita Prefecture, which is designated as a "Japanese Sake Special Zone". A new tourist facility "Shinjima Kokunozo" that offers sake brewing and other experiences will open on 2022/5/28.

The facilities are mainly divided into two parts, "Mi の 蔵" and "Mai の 蔵", in addition to the office building and toilets, 4 buildings with a total of 692 square meters.

The area of Yone no Zou is about 230 square meters. It was converted from the original company's liquor store and tourist hall into a small sake factory. In addition to viewing the brewing process through the glass, you can also experience the brewing of Japanese sake (the brewing equipment less than 60 liters is installed) Learn about traditional fermentation culture with miso, and there is a drinking area and a shop selling Yusanwa liquor.

Mai の Zou has an area of about 200 square meters. It is a newly built wooden bungalow. The appearance of the building is designed with the image of a liquor store in the past. Also, you can see the production steps of making sparkling wine using the prefectural shochu and other varieties of barley, and the dining area, which is a cafe at noon and a bar at night. This is the first time for a sake brewer to manufacture and sell sparkling sake, and there will also be limited products that incorporate prefectural yuzu brewing.

Tickets are not required for admission, and there is a parking lot for 33 cars. Business hours are from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with regular holidays on Wednesdays, Obon, and New Year’s Eve.

The average price of Japanese export sake in April 2020

Although I don't know why the average price of exports to Taiwan suddenly shot up in March, at least it seems to have returned to the usual range in April. By the way, the news in February said that the Russian-Ukrainian war made the winemaker not know how to deal with the economic sanctions imposed on Russia. Judging from the data, there should be some pre-ordered shipments in March, and no sake exports at all in April. BUT! What about exporting whisky in April...

Original link : Wine Meow Visits Japan