São Paulo’s Sake Festival 2024: production before the glass

A tasting becomes more useful when it includes the decisions made before the drink reaches a glass. São Paulo’s Sake Festival programme for 22 and 23 January 2024 placed production at the centre of its workshops.

Organised by Fabio Ota, the announced sessions included Haruo Matsuzaki and producers associated with Zaku and Mutsu Hassen. Rice, water, koji and yeast provided a practical route into differences between sakes.

Dinners at Tuju connected that discussion with restaurant service. The programme gave professionals and enthusiasts several ways to examine the relationship between brewing and what arrived at the table.

Its most useful ambition was educational rather than ceremonial. Treating sake as something that can be discussed through ingredients and process makes it easier to consider beyond a narrow idea of the occasions or cuisines with which it is usually associated.