The Australian Sake Festival is now in its third year. For the last 2 years, in Melbourne it’s been held in winter at Victoria Markets and in Sydney it’s been held around World Sake Day – 1st October – at the Carraigeworks. In March 2025 will be the inaugural Sake Festival in Brisbane. Check the Australian Sake Festival website for next year’s dates and locations.
Australia’s sake importers and Japan’s sake brewers set up stands presenting their products. For the ticket price you can try 100s of sakes and buy bottles of the ones you love to take home often at discounted prices.
Sake Festival Strategy
It’s worth doing research beforehand on the Australian Sake Festival website to work out a strategy for the first few stands you visit. Some of the visiting Japanese breweries may bring a limited amount of rare or expensive sake that’s best to try before word gets around and there are crowds or worse – it runs out.
The Sydney Sake Festival came after the Australian Sake Awards so there was a line-up of winning sake in taste profiles and food pairing categories. These awards, also in their third year, rate parings with common Australian food like pizza, prawns or steak. You could focus your tasting tour by trying all the taste profile winners or the ones that go with your next meal.
Key Words to Learn in Advance
Learning a few words will put you in better stead to make the most of your time talking with the brewers and importers.
- Nihonshu – The Japanese name for what we call sake. In Japan, sake is generic word for alcoholic drinks.
- Junmai – Pure Nihonsu – made only from rice, water, yeast and the mould that converts rice starch to sugar.
- Honjozo – Not Junmai! Brewers sometimes add a little alcohol to the final product for balance and aroma.
- Ginjo and Daiginjo – the rice is polished so only 60% or 50% or less respectively remains, creating floral or fruity fragrances.
- Nama – Unpasteurized. These sakes often have a fresh and even fizzy nature.
- Koshu – Old sake. Over years of bottle aging sake grows darker, richer and nuttier like a liqueur.
Australian Favourites?
Australians love the sakes combined with Asian fruits, like Yuzushu. Many brewers create these usually lower alcohol, sweeter drinks that are great for summer or after dinner. In 2024, in Melbourne, the Lychee and Matcha sakes sold out on the first day.
Need a break from all that tasting? On stage, you can see a educational presentations and demonstrations of Japanese arts such as Taiko drumming and Hananingen hairstyle flower arranging. Also, there’s also plenty of food available to line your stomach.