What do French Champagne and Japanese sake have in common?
Nothing, they are either alcoholic liquids with deep-rooted traditions; and those traditions are at opposite ends of the Western/Eastern cultural spectrum.
But Richard Geoffroy did see it that way.
Geoffroy is known as the legendary Chef de Cave, or cellar master, of Dom Pérignon, one of the most prestigious champagne brands. Geoffroy spent 28 years there preserving and refining the valuable culture until 2018.
Today, his entire life is dedicated to producing Japanese sake in his own sake brewery, surrounded by the Shiraiwa Mountains in Toyama Prefecture.
Why and how did this drastic career change happen?
“I enjoyed my paintings at Dom Pérignon and really felt blessed. But I probably felt too comfortable,” he says.
He is a new challenge. And he turned to Japanese sake.
Geoffroy visited Japan many times while racing in Dom Pérignon and naturally got to taste many exceptional sakes.
“I was fascinated by the complexity of sake production. The quality of Champagne is primarily determined by its ingredients and techniques. But in the case of sake, there are way more unpredictable elements to shape its flavor—from the interaction of different microbes like koji and the brewery-specific native yeast, the type of sake rice and its milling rate, even to the brewery’s centuries-old layout,” says Geoffroy.
So he created his own sake brewery called IWA Sake of Japan in 2019.
Geoffroy’s sake brewery is surrounded by beautiful mountains in Shiraiwa, Toyama Prefecture.
But its purpose is not to produce any other high-end sake.
“I’m Japanese. With complete respect for the charming Japanese tradition, I can only stick to my sense of deliciousness,” says Geoffroy.
So what is “delicious sake” for him?
“First, I would love to have a seamless, clean flow of liquid in my mouth, which is the classic characteristic of Japanese sake. But I also want to add richness. I want to beef up the palate experience.”
Throughout its 2,000-year history, Japanese sake has been brewed around the philosophy of purity, a minimalist technique for extracting essential flavors from valuable ingredients. Like kaiseki cooking, the purpose is subtraction: cutting out anything that might dilute the flavor. prospective of ingredients.
In contrast, French cuisine is described as the cuisine of addition, unlike Japanese cuisine: layering flavors and flavors with sauces and other parts to achieve richness and complexity. Champagne is based on the same idea.
To realize his version of the ideal sake, Geoffroy introduced an outside-the-box idea to traditional sake production: assemblage.
Blending, or base wine mixing in English, is a component of the champagne production process.
Geoffroy’s sake named IWA5 is made with multiple “base sake”, each of which is brewed traditionally with three types of premium sake rice. For the yeast, he uses both sake and wine varieties, because “wine yeasts add a low tone of aromatics like licorice and soy sauce, whereas sake yeasts provide floral, fruity notes to sake,” he says. Each tank of the base sake has a unique profile of the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and importantly, umami.
As much as Geoffroy integrates non-traditional elements into the production process, he also tries to accentuate Japanese flavors. For example, it uses two original sake brewing methods. One is the most popular and common method called Sokujo and the other is the ancient Kimoto method, which requires a lot of time and work. Between 70 and 80% of his sake is made up of the latter, because Kimoto can fully reveal the local terroir in his bottles.
Then he blends these carefully made base sake in the style of assemblages.
For Geoffroy, mixing is not just an undeniable mix. “Mixing does not necessarily mean that the component merges into a harmonious unit. Harmony is the supreme quality I look for in my bottles,” he says.
“Number 5 is a universal number of harmony in East & West.” Hence, his sake is called IWA5.
IWA5 sake made with Japanese traditions and champagne.
Geoffroy has thus published 3 versions, or assemblies, of IWA5.
When he made the first version, he knew that the meeting was not enough to achieve his goal of harmony. He then applied another champagne-making strategy to his sake: bottle maturation.
“Aging has become a crucial step for our sake,” says Geoffroy. “After pasteurizing the blended liquid, only beneficial microorganisms remain in it. While they rest in the bottle, they round out together and develop superior flavors that only time can give.”
Geoffoy’s application of bottle maturation is also a pioneer in sake production. Some Japanese sakes go through maturation such as Hiyaoroshi, but age in vats during the summer; Koshu must be aged for a long time to expand unique flavors and colors.
According to Geoffroy, there is no recipe for IWA5. “We are informed about the process of each blend and continue to perfect it. For example, I mixed number 1 a little too austere, so I mixed number 2 softer, rounder, floral and a bit like white Burgundy. Assembly number 3 is based on Assembly number 1 and we have added many adjustments,” he says. For example, Blend #3 is made with 20 base sakes and has been aged for 20 months.
So how does your sake feel with all those new elements?
Unsurprisingly, Geoffroy’s sake is airy and in unison; and it makes you need more.
Blend #3 is delicious, with a delicious complexity of spices like white pepper and nutmeg, followed by tropical fruit notes like pineapple and banana.
The smooth, full-bodied texture makes the flavor last, unlike the ephemeral finish of aged Japanese sake. “The lingering finish amplifies the experience,” he says.
Tradition and innovation merge at IWA Sake’s brewery.
Harmony is the basis of Geoffroy’s sake beyond the liquid contained in its bottles.
“First and foremost, this project is about the harmony of people,” says Geoffroy.
These other people come with Ryuichiro Masuda, fifth-generation owner and brewmaster of Masuda Sake Brewery, founded in 1893. Masuda was Geoffroy’s technical advisor for sake production; Kengo Kuma, a famous architect and close friend of Geoffroy, supported him in many ways.
“I arrived in Japan with a suitcase. But now I no longer combine sake alone. I combine and unify other wonderful people with talent, experience and good will. And we all share the purpose of generating the most productive sake possible. It is true harmony.
Famed architect Kengo Kuma played an important role in making Geoffroy’s sake commission a reality.
The Japanese have been positive and enthusiastic about Geoffroy’s achievements so far. The media appreciates his surprising yet classic technique with Japanese sake, and his sake is highly regarded by consumers.
“I think the Japanese perceive that I am sincere,” he says. “Before I was just a guest who deeply admired Japanese culture, but at first I was not a collaborator. “
He even hopes to move his entire sake business to the Japanese.
Geoffroy’s purpose is to bring the Japanese and global sake industries closer together.
“The sake industry is in steady decline. There were 4,000 breweries in the 1960s, but the number of breweries in operation has dropped to around 1,000. As productively as I can, I need to turn the tide,” he says.
“People at traditional sake breweries are very modest and don’t try to promote their superior products enough. I can help to bring them to the world stage. I want to make Japanese sake enjoyed widely outside Japanese restaurants.”
His aspirations seem to be coming true, thanks to the promising quality of IWA5, as well as Geoffroy’s global reputation and the relationships he has built at Dom Pérignon.
Three years after its first launch, IWA5 is already on the drinks list of 40 three Michelin restaurants around the world; Only 40 are Japanese restaurants.
His ambitious decision to work at a sake maker led him to seek a new goal in life. “This is one of the most exciting, ambitious and fun times of my life,” says Geoffroy, 69, whose eyes shine like a 17-year-old’s.
Geoffroy Brewery, designed by Kengo Kuma, is steeped in Japanese history and tradition.
Modeled after a time-honored Japanese farmhouse, the brewery features a cedar ceiling and a large hearth at the reception area, representing a gathering space for the community. The walls are made with ashes of native woods and are covered with classic washi paper that was handcrafted locally. (The brewery is open to the public by appointment via its website.)
After releasing 3 sake blends, which is more complicated to make: sake or champagne?
“Sake is much more difficult!” Geoffroy laughs. It is said that sake is more about making than supplying. 80% of the quality of sake depends on the toji or the skills and knowledge of the brewmaster and 20% on the ingredients. The figure changes in the case of champagne.
It turns out that Geoffroy is really enjoying the challenge and is preparing for the upcoming release of IWA5 Assemblage #4 later in 2023.
IWA5 is currently available in 31 countries around the world.
Geoffroy’s brewery was designed by Kengo Kuma, a world-renowned architect and his close friend. . . . [ ]
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