First in Japan! 178 judges from Japan and abroad gathered in Fukui for the “2nd Sake Contest 2024 Fukui/Hokuriku Tournament”, a Japanese sake competition by female judges!
*(One company) SAKE Women’s Association*
Press release: September 2, 2024
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First in Japan! 178 judges from Japan and abroad gathered in Fukui for the “2nd Sake Contest 2024 Fukui/Hokuriku Tournament”, a Japanese sake competition by female judges!
*Pre-event will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2024 “Traveling event to experience Gourmet Fukui and delicious sake” / Judging will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2024 @Happirin Hall / Awards ceremony and tasting will be held in October 2024 Monday 25th (Friday) @ Happy Terrace*
With the philosophy of revitalizing regions with local sake, this year we will hold the “Fukui-Hokuriku Tournament” to commemorate the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
* “Japan Women’s SAKE,” the first Japanese sake competition in Japan with female judges, started in 2023.
Award – Sake Contest (commonly known as Sake Contest). As one of the philosophies is to “revitalize regions with local sake,” the second event will be held in Fukui and Hokuriku. It also has the meaning of commemorating the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Fukui Tsuruga station and the recovery from the Noto earthquake. This year’s exhibition attracted 316 entries from Japan and overseas. 178 judges will be appointed as “regular judges” and “amateur judges” out of 200 entries from Japan and overseas, and will evaluate a variety of tastes in a strict blind judgment on Sunday, September 8th. challenge. The venue is Hapilin Hall in front of JR Fukui Station. The award ceremony and tasting event will be held on October 25th (Friday) at Happy Terrace in front of JR Fukui Station. This is also open to the general public. *
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Japan Women’s SAKE
The philosophies of the Award – Sake Contest (commonly known as Bishukon) are “inheritance of traditional Japanese culture,” “revitalization of the local economy,” and “realization of a society where women can play an active role.” Another important point is that the judging department will judge wines based on aroma and taste, rather than based on specific names (such as Junmai Daiginjo or Junmai Sake), which has been the case up until now.
There are six categories: Sparkling, Fruity, Light & Dry, Rich & Umami, Aged, and Low Alcohol. By affixing medal stickers for each category to award-winning sake, the aroma and flavor characteristics that cannot be expressed by a specific name can be seen at a glance just by looking at the bottle, which serves as an indicator for general consumers when choosing sake. By responding to consumer opinions such as “I can’t choose sake because I don’t know the taste” and “I can’t tell even by looking at the label,” we will play a part in the V-shaped recovery in sake consumption.
●This year, approximately 200 judges entered from Japan and overseas! A total of 317 items were submitted for the 2nd 2024 Fukui-Hokuriku Tournament, slightly more than last year.
In addition, there were approximately 200 judges, including
approximately 20 overseas judges from five countries and regions, including Japan, the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. This was a significant increase from last year’s 80 participants, making it a competition that lived up to the idea of “realizing a society in which women can play an active role.” Additionally, this year, we have established two types of judges: “Regular Judges,” who are qualified judges who hold liquor licenses and have the ability to judge sake, and “Amateur Judges,” who are only required to like Japanese sake. All wines are evaluated using a 20-point scale through strict blind tasting without discussion or preconceptions. The appointment of “amateur judges” is in response to the requests of exhibiting manufacturers, such as “I want to know the opinions of general female consumers” and “I want hints that can be used in product development.”
Sake Contest Jury Details
Official name: 2nd Japan Women’s SAKE Award Sake Competition 2024 Fukui/Hokuriku Tournament (commonly known as Bishu Con) Judging Committee Target Sunday, September 8, 2024 11:00-18:00 (Last entry 16:00) Meeting place Fukui City Lively Exchange Facility 3F Multipurpose Hall Hapilin Hall
https://nigiwai.ftmo.co.jp/happiringhall
Number of judges: 178 (135 regular judges/43 amateur judges) Division: 6 divisions (specific name does not matter)
“Sparkling Division” / “Fruity Division” / “Light & Dry Division” “Rich & Umami Division” “Aged Division” / “Raw Alcohol Division” *Judging criteria for each category is shown in the video https://00m.in/boEzY Method: Blind screening. Out of 20 points. The top 30% of each category will win gold and silver.
Awards: Sake of the Year 2024 (1 brand)/TOP OF THE BEST (6 brands in 6 categories)
/Gold Award/Silver Award
Special awards: Amateur Award / Cabin Attendant (CA) Award / Sommelier Award / Landlady Award
Popular label ranking (WEB voting)
Sponsored by Sake Contest Secretariat
(Inside the general incorporated association of women who love Japanese SAKE and WINE)
Sponsored by JR East Planning Co., Ltd./ANA Akindo Co., Ltd./JTB Co., Ltd./ Sangi Co., Ltd. / Kobayashi Junzo Shoten Co., Ltd. / Echizen Ware Industrial Cooperative Association
Support National Tax Agency / 2025 Japan International Expo
(Osaka/Kansai Expo) / Fukui Prefecture / Ishikawa Prefecture / Toyama Prefecture / Fukui Shimbunsha
Co-sponsored by Fukui City Tourism Association/Urban Development Fukui
* *If you would like to interview the venue, please feel free to let us know. *
●The pre-event is a brewery tour in the prefecture and a “Fukui Gourmet Food and Sake Travel Event”
In addition, since this is an opportunity for nearly 200 female judges to gather in Fukui, as a pre-event for the sake competition, on Saturday, September 7th, the day before the judging, they will tour sake breweries, historic sites, and scenic spots in Fukui Prefecture. A “traveling event to experience the gourmet food of Fukui and fine sake,” including Echizen grated soba noodles during the day, an introduction to Echizen ware at a restaurant, and a dinner party that pairs local sake from Fukui’s sake rice “Sakahomare” with Fukui ingredients. , will be held with 43 judges. Fukui Prefecture Vice Governor Mio Washigura, who is also a sake lover and will be the presenter at the awards ceremony, will also be in attendance at the dinner venue to promote the event to judges from around the world. Date and time: Saturday, September 7, 2024
Contents: Sake breweries in Fukui Prefecture (5 breweries planned) Visit historic sites and scenic spots such as the restored townscape of the Ichijodani Asakura clan ruins, and enjoy Echizen grated soba for lunch.
In the evening, a dinner party will be held at the restaurant “Kaitei” where you will be introduced to Echizen ware and experience the pairing of local sake from the sake rice “Sakahomare” with Fukui ingredients.
*The travel conductor is Fukui food ambassador Akiko Tomoda. Guest: Mio Washigashira, Deputy Governor of Fukui Prefecture Participants: 47 judges
Cooperation Fukui Prefecture/Echizen Ware Industry Cooperative Association
●General participation is also OK! Sake Contest Award Ceremony & Grand Tasting Party
Furthermore, the award ceremony and grand tasting event will be held on October 25, 2024 (Friday) at “Happy Terrace” in front of JR Fukui Station. This event will be open to the general public with a ticket system.
Official name: 2nd Japan Women’s SAKE Award Sake Competition 2024 Fukui/Hokuriku Tournament
(Commonly known as Bisake Con) Award Ceremony & Grand Tasting Party Date: Friday, October 25, 2024
Grand tasting party: 15:00-20:30 (last entry 20:00)
Award ceremony: 17:30-18:30
Meeting place Fukui City Lively Exchange Facility 1F Covered Square Happy Terrace
https://nigiwai.ftmo.co.jp/happiterrace
Number of participants: 500 people including general participants Admission fee Advance ticket: 4,000 yen / Same-day ticket: 4,500 yen 20 tickets printed (planned)
Souvenirs: Bishukon original glass, Echizen-yaki choko, toothbrushing set, motion sickness supplement
*Purchase site will be announced as soon as it is decided*
Contents Grand tasting event: Tasting booths of contest-winning manufacturers, Gourmet Fukui snack bento (sales),
There are Ishikawa Prefecture liquor booths, Toyama Prefecture Sake Brewers Association booths, etc.
Award ceremony: Awards for each award in the sake contest
Guest: Tomomi Inada, member of the House of Representatives (coordinating) Hiroki Tagawa Co., Ltd. JTB Director Adviser
Kazunari Kurumata, Chairman of Hokuriku Sake Brewery Association Presenter: Officials from the three Hokuriku prefectures
3.
Announcement and awards:
Beautiful Sake of the Year2024 (1 brand)/TOP OF THE BEST (6 brands in 6 categories)
/ Gold Award / Silver Award / Amateur Award / Flight Attendant (CA) Award / Sommelier Award / Landlady Award
/Popular label ranking (WEB voting)
Sponsored by: Sake Contest Secretariat
(Inside the general incorporated association of women who love Japanese SAKE and WINE)
Supported by: JR East Planning Co., Ltd. / ANA Akindo Co., Ltd. / JTB Co., Ltd. / Sangi Co., Ltd. / Kobayashi Junzo Shoten Co., Ltd. / Echizen Ware Industrial Cooperative Association
Support National Tax Agency / Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (planned) / 2025 Japan International Expo (Osaka/Kansai Expo) /
Fukui Prefecture / Ishikawa Prefecture / Toyama Prefecture / Fukui Shimbunsha Co-sponsored by Fukui City Tourism Association/Urban Development Fukui
●The 2025 tournament will be held in Osaka with the excitement of the Osaka Expo The third event will be held in Osaka in 2025, with the excitement of the Osaka/Kansai Expo. Based on the philosophy of “revitalizing regions with local sake,” we aim to revitalize tourism and regions centered around sake by holding events all over the country. In addition, the Sake Contest is not just a competition, but also aims to become a platform for the development of Japanese culture in various fields, including education and awareness of sake, sales promotion, creation of sake brewery tours, and expansion of inbound tourism to sake.
●Contest officials
General coordinator: Akiko Tomoda
(One company) Representative director of SAKE Women’s Association. An international alcoholic beverage competition run by female wine experts that has been held in France since 2007.
Ambassador of Japan for the competition “Feminaries World Wine Competition”, Tokyo Whiskey & Spirits Competition
Serves as a member of the tion executive committee. In addition, he has extensive experience in managing various alcoholic beverage competitions, including judging, soliciting entries, and dispatching judges. “Business elites know
Sake as a form of culture” (Asa Publishing).
Advisor: Yoshie Hiraide
The world’s largest wine competition “International Wine”
Involved in the creation of the SAKE section of the International Wine Challenge, and opened a SAKE qualification course at WSET, the world’s largest wine and spirits educational institution, promoting sake not only in Japan but also overseas. I have worked hard to.
●Background of the competition
The event was sparked by General Coordinator Akiko Tomoda’s message, “I want to try sake, but what should I drink?”
Look, I don’t know which one to choose. Even if you look at the label, you won’t know what it tastes like, so you won’t be able to buy it properly.
I have a long-standing desire to solve problems. It can be said that there are a lot of competitions in the alcoholic beverage industry, but the current situation is that the results are hardly communicated to general consumers. We decided to hold the competition based on the idea that we should present an index for selecting sake that is easy for consumers to understand.
Advisor Yoshie Hiraide is also committed to the development of sake both domestically and internationally, but says that domestic sake consumption is
We feel a sense of crisis at the current situation, which has decreased by 30% in 2019, and have decided to host this competition now. The event is being held by organizers who are well-known as supporters of Japanese sake, and has earned the trust and expectations of manufacturers.
●Why are there female judges?
It is a well-known rule of thumb that products that are popular among women have a higher market ripple effect, but sake that still has a strong image of being a male consumer will be judged from a female perspective and will be presented in categories that are easy to understand even for beginners. , aiming to develop new markets. The title “Japanese sake loved by women” is easy for everyone to understand, and will be a factor in people wanting to try it. I believe it is of great significance to apply the success story of the domestic wine competition “Sakura Award” with female judges to Japanese sake.
In addition, one of the aims of the competition is to create opportunities for women to thrive within the alcoholic beverage industry. The judges of this competition are:
Official judges will be women who are professionals with Japanese sake/wine tasting skills or equivalent, who have official Japanese sake/wine qualifications, and have experience judging. In addition, in view of the increasing number of female Japanese sake drinkers, an amateur judge section was also established. By expanding the range of judges, we expect to be able to provide a wide range of screening results. The jury award categories include not only the CA Award, Sommelier Award, and Landlady Award, which are specialized for service workers, but also the “Amateur Division Award,” and the “Gen Z Award,” which focuses on the younger generation. We will expand our values. Furthermore, we are planning a label popularity voting project for general participants, focusing on demand for jacket purchases. Details regarding recruitment of judges will be announced on the Sake Contest website, email newsletter for SAKE Women’s Association members, etc.
●Contact information for inquiries regarding listings, interview requests, etc. Name: Sake Contest Secretariat (one company) Inside the SAKE Women’s Association Secretariat
Address: 7th floor, Sagamiya Head Office Building, 6 Ichibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Email: info@bishucon.com
Person in charge: Hisatome Mifuyu
Sake Contest HP: https://bishucon.com/
1st Sake Contest 2023 Award Ceremony
https://youtu.be/ZsTAp_ibYSc
*The phrase “first in Japan” refers to the survey date of May 2023, and is based on the survey date of May 2023, regarding sake
competitions in Japan.
This information is based on research conducted by a general incorporated association of Japanese women who love SAKE and WINE.