WAKAZE France is a brewery known for its experimental approach to sake making. They take inspiration from French winemaking traditions and methods, such as valuing terroir and barrel aging, and they can’t seem to stop taking on new challenges and innovating the art of sake. But why?
“I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to do things that others want to do,” says Takuma Inagawa, founder and CEO.
The roots of Inagawa’s innovative mindset go back to his childhood; he credits his father, grandfather and their camera lens company.
“My grandfather … just after World War II — he had served in the war — he had nothing to do,” Inagawa laughs. “So he decided to create … a company for camera lenses. When I was a very small child, I would go to the factory, where my father was … and saw that the technique and craftsmanship were very high.
“They were very much appreciated by some of the makers like Nikon, Canon and Konica Minolta … but after 10 years [from when I used to visit the factory], there is iPhone. And it was so complicated to maintain the business.”
WAKAZE founder and CEO Takuma Inagawa | Courtesy of WAKAZE France
Inagawa realized that good craftsmanship and passion were not enough for businesses to succeed. “I saw the … sad situation of Japanese manufacturing and craftsmanship; even if it’s a good product and they produce with passion, they need to decrease their production and decrease the size of the company.”
Inagawa’s passion ended up being sake, but he knew those lessons were universal.
“I wanted to make Japanese craftsmanship great again,” he says, “and I wanted to demonstrate to the world that sake is great. But when you want to do something like that, you need to innovate. You cannot stay all the same, and I already saw what happened in the camera lens industry. If you want to maintain the momentum, you need to always innovate. That comes from my grandfather and father.”
Inagawa’s days as a university student in Paris also shaped his ambitions. French culture, and the diversity he encountered at a school filled with international students, spurred his own personal and professional growth.
“I lived in France for two years as an exchange student and learned engineering,” he recalls. “I was a nuclear engineer. I loved science … I love France and I love wine. I’m someone who loves French culture. So I always wanted to go back to France after coming back to Japan.”
In his youth, Inagawa had no interest in sake, thinking that it would be similar to shochu, of which he wasn’t a big fan. But after returning home from his exchange program, an encounter with one particular sake changed his mind. His father urged him to try it, and the experience convinced him to pursue a new dream.
“I tried ‘Arabashiri’ [from] Masumi, and I fell in love with sake. I decided I want to go back to France and make it there — a French sake.”
This was the beginning of WAKAZE’s French revolution, so to speak. But first, he had to learn the ropes of sake making in Japan.
A Tippsy Sake Fest attendee scans a QR code on a WAKAZE France poster board. Los Angeles, California, June 1, 2024 | Photo by Yoshimasa Miyazaki
When he founded WAKAZE in Japan in 2016, Inagawa gave the brewery a name that holds two meanings, which are still part of their core philosophy.
“One is ‘wakai’ (young), and ‘ze’ is momentum,” Inagawa explains. “So it’s a young momentum. The word [comes from] the countryside of Yamagata and Akita prefectures. Young people who want to work for the brewery, they call ‘sakaya wakaze.’
“And the other meaning is, ‘Wa’ is ‘Japan,’ and ‘kaze’ is ‘wind.’ Bringing the wind of Japan to the world — that’s the meaning,” Inagawa states with pride, his enthusiastic smile and bleach blonde hair embodying WAKAZE’s youthful and progressive energy.
In 2019, Inagawa took that pioneering spirit to France and established KURA GRAND PARIS. According to him, there are three key elements that make the WAKAZE brand unique.
“Our sake is about: One — the terroir, using local ingredients and rice; two — the low polish of the rice; and three — wine yeast.”
Terroir, an essential concept in winemaking, refers to the natural environment in which a particular wine is produced. Similarly, WAKAZE values the locality of sake making, which includes locally grown rice crops and locally sourced water. They prefer not to overly polish their rice — which, for their French brewery, is grown in Camargue — to better express its natural flavors. According to the CEO, their highest RPR is 80%. For those of you wondering if there is even quality “sakamai” (sake rice) available outside Japan, Inagawa has an answer for that too.
“Honestly, our idea is not using sakamai,” he says. “So for example, even in Japan we don’t use sakamai. We always use rice for eating; table rice.”
The thought process behind the choice to forgo specialty sake rice is about more than just convenience. Sakamai is typically used in sake brewing because the internal structure of the rice grain is more conducive to polishing. But WAKAZE sake doesn’t rely heavily on polishing; they care more about rice flavor. They are far from the only brewery to use table rice, but the conscious decision to exclusively brew with table rice is yet another example of how Inagawa enjoys bucking the norm.
He and his brewery bring other French production methods to sake making, such as barrel aging their sake in wine, whiskey and brandy barrels. They also employ wine yeast instead of sake yeast, which yields more acidity and delivers a familiar taste to wine drinkers. Moreover, in 2023, WAKAZE France collaborated with a renowned French chef, Thierry Marx, to create three products that perfectly pair with French cooking.
Bottles of WAKAZE sake aged in Burgundy wine barrels | Courtesy of WAKAZE France
That same year, WAKAZE announced a new partnership with Takara Shuzo, one of the largest and most famous breweries and distilleries in Japan that has also had success with Takara Sake USA Inc. in the United States. With Takara’s investment and collaboration, WAKAZE launched a brand new product and took on a new challenge in a different terroir: California.
“I’ve wanted a new challenge with wine culture — the Californian culture — and that’s why I moved to LA last year,” says Inagawa, excitedly.
“I was in France for four years, establishing a sake brewery in Paris, and [I saw] more and more Americans becoming interested in sake. I thought, ‘Oh, what’s happening there?’ and I wanted to go see the market.
“When I came to California, [I thought] ‘Oh my God, this culture is great.’ People love wine — it’s a wine culture. It’s like France. At the same time, they are open-minded and they love innovation. And that’s the cross point between WAKAZE and California. That’s why I wanted to make an American version of sake [here].”
The latest addition to their lineup is WAKAZE “SummerFall” Classic Bubbles, a canned sparkling sake that is brewed with local Calrose rice, white koji liqueur and wine yeast.
Inagawa particularly emphasizes the importance of white koji, a type of mold traditionally used to brew shochu, that WAKAZE uses for sake making. Their dedicated use of white koji stems from Inagawa’s love of wine, which is known for its acidity — albeit a different kind.
“White koji is WAKAZE’s specialty,” he says. “It gives citric acidity [to sake] and makes it refreshing, so that’s why ‘SummerFall’ is very … refreshing and very easy to drink. White koji is the key of our sake. That’s what we learned in Japan, we bring it to France, and now in California.”
Described by the brewery as “a breezy sake,” Inagawa attests that “SummerFall” is a versatile sparkling sake that personifies his company message: “Sake for everyone.”
“Going to the beach or patio or party or anywhere, we bring canned drinks, right? I wanted to make sake more easy and accessible for everybody,” Inagawa explains.
“SummerFall” cans are smaller and more affordable compared to other sake bottles, and cater to Americans’ penchant for bringing packs of beer and hard seltzer to gatherings. This is the kind of local culture Inagawa wanted to tap into with WAKAZE’s latest product — this intangible aspect of California terroir.
“Sparkling is nice for the California weather,” Inagawa muses. “Bring it outside with oysters, ceviche and American foods like cheeseburgers, potato chips and more.”
Inagawa is not completely sure what is next for WAKAZE, but he is certain that more innovation is on the way.
“I don’t know about the future, but I want to [keep making] sake for everyone. A lot of people are asking me, ‘Next is Australia?’ and things like that,” says Inagawa, laughing. “Brewing sake everywhere in the world might be interesting. I think it’s possible for everybody if there is local rice, local water and local production.
“I hope one day, everywhere in the world, we’ll brew sake.”
References
Akita Prefecture Sake Brewing Association. “Akita Sake Encyclopedia.” March, 2014.
https://www.osake.or.jp/sake/140312.html
Takara Holdings Inc. “Notice Regarding Investment in Sake Startup WAKAZE Inc.” January, 2024.
https://ir.takara.co.jp/en/PressRelease/PressRelease256430920069326416001234.html
