What happens when Burgundy winemaking meets Japanese brewing traditions? Yukiguma is the answer: a sake that sparks a flavourful cross-cultural conversation, and brings a shot of design to hospitality.
Brewed at the foot of Mount Ikoma in the Osaka Province, Yukiguma was founded by winemaker Nathalie Perrodo. Her approach to wine is innovative, and the same applies to her new sake, which nods to the traditions of Japanese brewing techniques, and uses pure water sourced from the surrounding Ikoma mountains (which makes up around 80 per cent of the sake’s main body).
It was Perrodo’s background in French wine which drew her towards sake, as she tells Wallpaper*: ‘I grew up with a deep respect for terroir, craftsmanship and the idea that what we drink can express both a place and a culture. But what has always fascinated me even more than the drink itself is what happens around it. Some of my happiest memories are of family gathered around a table, where a bottle became the beginning of a conversation, a celebration, or simply a moment shared.
Master brewer Yasutaka Daimon with Nathalie Perrodo at Daimon Brewery
‘Sake had fascinated me for many years because I saw so many parallels with the world of fine wine, yet it remained a completely different discipline for me to explore. With my French-Asian heritage, there was also something deeply personal about bringing these two worlds together.’
Yukiguma is brewed at the Daimon Brewery, which was established in 1826. Located in the ancestral hunting grounds of a Japanese imperial family, the brewery focuses on small-scale production – ideal for Yukiguma’s small batch of only 5,000 bottles produced per year.
Master maker Yasutaka Daimon, oversees the operation. Perrodo and Daimon, both avid travellers with a shared openness to the world, found kinship rooted in their shared values and eye for craftsmanship. Perrodo reflects, ‘Meeting Daimon San in Osaka was the turning point. We shared the same respect for tradition, but also the desire to create something contemporary.’
Yukiguma means ‘snow bear’ and the drink is made with 100 per cent Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyōgo. However, it is the pure spring water from the Ikoma Mountains that adds a special touch. ‘Pure spring water is a rare yet traditional part of Yukiguma's identity. Today, only around 4 per cent of Japanese breweries use spring water, and Daimon Brewery is fortunate to have its own natural spring source in the Kansai region. The water has a neutral yet unique profile, providing a clean foundation that allows the brewery to focus on the fermentation rather than the water imposing a strong flavour of its own,’ explains Perrodo.
Nathalie Perrodo at Daimon Brewery
It is this neutrality that allows the sake to ferment slowly, as Perrodo continues to explain: ‘Rather than being defined simply as sweet or dry, it’s designed to have a balanced, food-friendly character that can be paired to taste and reflect the diverse culinary traditions of Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.’
As with wine, tasting sake sparks sensory descriptors. Summing up Yukiguma’s flavours, she says: ‘Persimmon describes the softer, ripe fruit quality: subtly honeyed, rounded and gently sweet rather than sharply acidic. Mangosteen captures a more delicate tropical character: floral, lightly creamy and sweet-tart. Lychee communicates the sake’s lifted perfume and fresh, aromatic quality.’
Yukiguma is created to surprise, to encourage discovery. Says Perrodo, ‘It is an opportunity not only to unite two cultures, but to create something that people would remember, not simply for how it tasted, but for the moments it accompanied.’
Yukiguma can be enjoyed neat, over ice, or in a variety of cocktails, including its signature Yuki Blossom:
Yuki Blossom
35ml Suntory Toki Whisky
35ml Yukiguma
10ml Peach liqueur
10ml Muyu Jasmine Verte
10ml Green Tea & Honey Mix
Stir and strain over a clear ice cube in a Metropolitan Rock
Yukiguma is available for purchase for £120 at marlo.wine.com