Monsieur Saké's Ethical Choices
- Monsieur Saké
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
As Monsieur Saké states in his mission statement, producing delicious sake requires more than just top-quality ingredients. The brewing process is complex, and mastering it greatly influences the final taste and aroma profile. To ensure the highest standards, Monsieur Saké personally meets with kuramoto (brewery owners) and toji (master brewers) to learn their methods, understands their values, and appreciates their passion. He also ensures that each brewery is involved in its community, respects the land that provides the flavourful rice, and protects the purity of its water source.
While modest in scale, Monsieur Saké's choices represent a sustained effort to promote rice cultivation and production processes that prioritize the environment, biodiversity, and the well-being of rural communities.
Which sakes from which breweries is chosen by Monsieur saké?
Monsieur Saké specializes in promoting sakes produced exclusively by artisanal breweries. These breweries are located in rural areas, use pure spring water, and purchase their rice directly from local farmers.
Monsieur Saké believes that producers who use spring water demonstrate a greater sensitivity to environmental issues compared to large industrial breweries. These breweries are often located in heavily urbanized areas and typically rely on tap water for production.
Monsieur Saké is convinced that brewers who source rice directly from farmers, rather than through cooperatives or brokers, play a vital role in their rural communities. By maintaining direct commercial links with their neighbours, these brewers contribute significantly to local economic and social vitality.
From the products of our selected breweries, Monsieur Saké carefully chooses sakes that are resilient enough to withstand the rigors of travel. This ensures they retain their full freshness and quality until the bottle is opened.
1 - The artisanal nature and the celebration of slowness (Slow Sake).
The authenticity of the artisanal character of sake is paramount.
The brewery must opt for traditional brewing methods with minimally mechanized production, ensuring that the sake remains essentially handmade.
Monsieur Saké give preference to breweries that manage their own rice polishing process.
Slow polishing, punctuated by pauses, is essential to prevent friction from increasing the temperature, which would make the rice dry and brittle. Conversely, using an external contractor during the autumn peak season often results in continuous polishing at high temperatures, which compromises the quality of the rice for subsequent stages, particularly cooking and koji making.
Some of the products presented by Monsieur Saké are made using the slow Yodan Jikomi method (四段仕込).
To transition from the initial starter volume (Shubo) to the final brew (Moromi)—which is approximately six times larger—this method increases the wort volume in four stages rather than the traditional three. This more gradual progression preserves yeast activity by preventing any thermal or alkaline shock. Adding this intermediate stage requires an extra day of preparation.
Our brewer friends use traditional brewing methods adapted to the climatic conditions of their regions. Many of these methods take advantage of the cold winter months to maintain the very low temperature during both the brewing and maturation processes.
Fermentation at very low temperature
Fermentation at very low temperatures slows both saccharification and fermentation, resulting in complex, fruity, and aromatic sakes that are characterized by lower acidity and sweetness.
In Niigata, the soft water sources promote this slow process, allowing for the full development of Ginjo flavors and aromas. The silky texture of the local water makes it possible to create very dry sakes while retaining significant softness—characteristics typical of the Tanrei Karakuchi style from this region.
While water hardness is an important factor, it is not the sole determinant of sake quality. The brewmaster (Toji) is responsible for maximizing the potential of the water used through careful craftsmanship.
The artisanal methods employed by our brewing partners favor a slow process, in contrast to the accelerated methods of industrial brewers.
While industrial production can be completed in just over two weeks, the artisanal method in Niigata requires more patience: the preparation of the starter culture (shubo) alone can take two weeks, and fermentation can last up to forty days.
Low temperature maturation.
Our brewers take advantage of the specific climatic conditions in their regions to keep the sake cold during maturation. A longer mellowing process at low temperatures stabilizes the sake and delicately refines its taste.
2 -Ethical choices and environmental commitments
Save the Japanese crested ibis from extinction
Obata Shuzo and Kato Shuzoten are contributing to the redevelopment of the Sado rice paddies into a sustainable living environment to help save the Japanese crested ibis from extinction.
In the early 2000s, to save the Japanese crested ibis from extinction, the inhabitants of Sado Island undertook to promote biodiversity within their rice paddies.
This sustainable rice-growing method goes beyond simply abandoning pesticides and chemical fertilizers. It creates a true habitat where aquatic flora and fauna can thrive in harmony with human activity, thus restoring the essential food resources for the crested ibis.
Thanks to these efforts, the population has grown from approximately ten individuals in semi-captivity at the start of the millennium to more than five hundred in 2025.
Reforestation project
Kirinzan Shuzo has committed to a reforestation and forest management project in the heart of the mountains of the Aga region, Niigata Prefecture, to preserve the area's magnificent natural environment. Since 2010, the brewery has planted over 5,000 young beech and cedar trees in the forests that provide the abundant water used to produce Kirinzan sake.
The Aga region was once a major forestry center, where hardwood trees were felled for charcoal production. Following the decline of this industry, many mountain slopes were left abandoned. These fallow areas can remain barren for decades, which weakens local ecosystems and compromises groundwater quality.
"We are planting and cultivating young beech trees on approximately 5.7 hectares. Our goal is to preserve local water resources through reforestation and ensure they are passed on to future generations."
-Shuntaro Saito, President of Kirinzan Shuzo
Green Energy projects
Aoki Shuzo has invested in an innovative air conditioning and refrigeration system powered by snow and solar energy.
At the Aoki brewery in Minami Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, a large snow-filled hangar adjoins the sake warehouse. A specialized ventilation system utilizes this snow to maintain optimal temperature and humidity for sake storage year-round. Certain areas of the warehouse can even be kept at below-freezing temperatures.
In 2010, Obata Shuzo launched the Gakkogura project in Sado. This initiative serves as a sake brewing school and laboratory that operates during the summer months, utilizing local ingredients and green energy to support the Sado community and its environment.
Gakkogura has since become a vital center for preserving and transmitting traditional brewing knowledge.
3 - community support
Ethical relationship with the community
In Japan, farms are often too small to provide a living for their owners, and only 10% of farmers rely solely on their produce for their livelihood. This economic reality forces the majority of them to seek supplementary income in cities, contributing to rural depopulation and the loss of essential local services like schools and post offices.
To address this challenge, Monsieur Saké prioritizes working with breweries located in rural areas to support the economy and vitality of these communities.
For example, Kawachu Shuzo, in addition to purchasing its organic rice directly from local farmers without intermediaries, employs them during the winter brewing season. This provides the necessary additional income for farmers to sustain themselves without having to leave their villages.
Kirinzan Shuzo is deeply committed to the village of Aga and the upper Tokonami River valley. Beyond creating local jobs, the brewery sources 100% of its rice from within a 10-kilometer radius, purchasing directly from regional farmers. This initiative is the result of nearly 30 years of close collaboration with local producers.
Beyond its close business relationship with local farmers, Kirinzan Brewery is actively involved in the rice paddies. From planting to harvest, its staff participates in every stage of the non-mechanized work.
Employees participate in essential agricultural tasks, including manual rice transplanting in the spring and mowing during the harvest season. This commitment supports farmers in sparsely populated regions who face labor recruitment challenges during peak seasonal periods.
Terraced farming
Monsieur Saké prioritizes practices that respect biodiversity, landscape preservation, limited mechanization, and traditional farming methods.
In rural Japan, where depopulation poses a challenge to large-scale agricultural work, preserving terraced rice cultivation is becoming an increasing challenge.
To preserve and support terraced rice cultivation, Obata Shuzo uses Koshi Tanrei and Koshi Ibuki rice varieties grown using this traditional method for its seasonal sakes. This commitment is maintained despite significantly higher costs compared to mechanized agriculture.
Demonstrating this dedication, Ms. Obata personally participated in transplanting rice in the terraced fields of Iwakubi Shoryu. This site is protected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) program.
Maintaining terraced rice cultivation not only preserves landscapes and traditional farming methods but also supports rich biodiversity.
The embankments between the terraces provide valuable natural habitats where numerous species coexist. These areas are inhabited by a wide variety of wildlife, including grasses, flowers, pollinating insects, birds, reptiles, and small mammals.
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