Time For Restaurants To Step Up To Premium Saké By The Glass

Forest Grove, Oregon – The steady growth of premium saké continues, yet across the U.S. thousands of restaurants continue to pour generic saké both hot and cold.  After years of working to perfect the art of brewing saké, America’s premium craft saké SakéOne announced today that they have designed a new by-the-glass pour program with intent to begin shifting restaurants to premium pours and profits. The restaurant-focused program features their core Oregon craft saké portfolio of Momokawa, as a recommended premium glass pour.

Based on average wholesale pricing, a four-ounce glass pour of Momokawa Diamond costs restaurants approximately $1.44. The standard cost for a glass of saké on a menu is $6.00 per glass, which accounts for $4.56 profit per glass- while accounting for spillage, restaurants can potentially make an almost $30 profit per bottle. This profit per bottle on a premium glass pour highlights a cost utilization that is both effective and efficient. The Momokawa Glass Pour Program allows accessibility to the true expression of premium sake without the high cost of imports or lower quality of the least expensive imports. Over the next three months, the Momokawa Glass Pour Program will be available to restaurants in NY and California to test the response and begin building awareness of this cost effective premium offering.

After years of being misunderstood in the West, saké has been experiencing a rebirth in the U.S. It has become increasingly common for premium saké to be featured regularly on wine lists and food pairing menus on the lists of the world’s most renowned sommeliers and beverage enthusiasts. At the SakéOne brewery in Forest Grove, OR, pioneering Sakémaster Greg Lorenz is constantly striving to improve and fine-tune the charm and nuances of his saké. Lorenz’s foundation for brewing saké is deeply rooted in Japanese tradition and technique, down to the equipment, process and ingredients. He is always mindful to manage the brewing process in a manner that gives Momokawa saké flavor profiles that are more in tune with the American palate while still retaining the rigorous standards of his teachers.

Japanese, Asian and Asian fusion restaurants are not the only restaurants recently embracing premium saké. Saké’s emerging frontier has included food pairings that highlight a more expansive array of universal flavors and cuisines. In 2011 Momokawa hosted a series of dinners around the country pairing the diverse portfolio with various cuisines (modern Mexican, molecular gastronomy and California coastal cuisine to name a few) to great critical acclaim by the media.  Largely due to the diverse levels of acidity, alcohol, body and flavor, saké can truly work with spices, savory and sweet offerings. For the fullest appreciation of aroma and taste, premium saké is best served chilled about 55 degrees Fahrenheit- similar to white wine- to showcase its subtle and nuanced taste.

About SakéOne
SakéOne is America's premium saké company and importer of some of Japan’s finest saké. Founded in 1992 as an importer, SakéOne has been crafting strictly junmai ginjo quality saké at its state-of-the-art kura (brewery) in Forest Grove, the heart of the Willamette Valley: Oregon’s craft beer-brewing and winemaking mecca, since 1998. In 2010, SakéOne’s Momokawa “Ruby” Junmai Ginjo earned a silver medal at the prestigious U.S. National Sake Appraisal 2010, no small feat for an American producer in a crowd of more than 300 Japanese entrants and a judging panel held to precise Japanese standards. In 2011, Momokawa took center stage at the San Francisco Wine Competition, winning awards across the board including the Double Gold Menu for Momokawa Organic Junmai Ginjo. Though SakéOne clearly honors tradition, their Oregonian pioneering spirit is constantly evolving and has truly come to define Oregon craft saké. For more information, please visit www.sakeone.com.

For media information and interviews, please contact Kristin Namimoto of Charles Communications Associates at press@charlescomm.com or 415|701-9463.

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