Image Courtesy of Sushi-san
While many Western wine, beer and spirits producers have fervently ramped up sustainability practices in recent years, don’t overlook Japan’s sake. The traditional practices used to make the fermented rice drink make it inherently compatible with sustainability, experts say.
“Sake has always been produced with energy conservation in mind,” says Daniel Bennett, sake sommelier at Chicago’s Sushi-san and The Omakase Room. “Sake breweries are practicing methods that preserve the natural world, so that more than tradition is passed from generation to generation.”
Specifically, those practices range from using organic and/or biodynamic methods to farm rice; reducing and upcycling waste; finding ways to protect and improve the quality of water supply; and reducing energy consumption, including use of solar panels.
