Wine
Wakaze
Japanese sake brewed in France with French rice and local ingredients.
- Founded
- 2016
- Founded by
- Takuma Inagawa, Shoya Imai
Making it since
2016
Their story
Wakaze was founded in 2016 by Takuma Inagawa and brewer Shoya Imai, who grew up in a family of sake makers. Their goal was to bring more people to sake and shake off old ideas about what it can be.
In 2019 they opened their own brewery, Kura Grand Paris, on the outskirts of Paris. Working far from Japan pushed them to rethink the craft, and the team now brews sake for local drinkers using what grows nearby.
How it's made
Wakaze brews with rice grown in the Camargue in southern France, and the team visits the growers to learn the rice. Alongside classic styles, it makes sakes infused with French citrus and herbs and one aged in cognac casks. The company shares its techniques openly, hoping sake will be brewed in more places around the world.
I want to produce sake that is loved by the local people.
Why we carry them
Wakaze is a fun bottle to open with friends who think they know sake. It is a clear look at how place shapes a brew.
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