LONDON - Tenbi Junmai Ginjo Hotaten, a sake product from Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture, has won the highest award in the rice-wine category at the International Wine Challenge, organizers said Tuesday.
The Tenbi variety, produced by Choshu Sake Brewery Corp. in Shimonoseki in the western Japan prefecture, was declared the Champion Sake, they said.
Susumu Okamoto, the company's president, said he was "surprised" and "very happy to receive the historic award," expressing hope it would help to spread Japanese culture.
The winner in the Japanese sake category launched in 2007 was chosen among 1,738 entries submitted by 457 companies.
Tenbi Junmai Ginjo Hotaten, made of sake rice produced in Shimonoseki, is known for its apple aroma. It was praised by the judges for its "bright acidity, powerful layered flavor on palate with a late lingering finish."
The Great Value Champion Sake award given to high-quality, affordable products went to Keiryu Ginjo, produced by Endo Brewery Inc. in Nagano Prefecture.
Niizawa Sake Brewery Co., based in Miyagi Prefecture, was named Sake Brewer of the Year for the fifth year in a row. Its sake brewing operations were relocated after the brewery buildings were destroyed in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
