Strategic utilization of terroir in Japanese sake industry

Abstract

Purpose With the ongoing industrial transformation of the Japanese sake industry and the continuous growth of exports in recent years, terroir, one of the core concepts in the wine culture, has been strategically used in the sake industry. Therefore, as an essential investigation, the purpose of this study is to elucidate when, how and why terroir has been used in the sake industry. This study starts with the research question: When, how and why has terroir come to be used strategically in the sake industry? Design/methodology/approach This study investigates the use of terroir in the Japanese sake industry, examining all 196 newspapers that referenced terroir from 1998 to 2022, sourced from the renowned newspaper database Nikkei Telecom 21. This study’s outcomes have been visualized through categorization work and text mining. Findings In this study, the use of terroir in the Japanese sake industry has gained significant momentum since 2015, with a remarkable surge observed in the 2020s. With the continuous growth in sake exports, industry players such as sake brewers are strategically structuring terroir to reinforce the authenticity of the brewing process, emphasizing the uniqueness of natural elements, such as water, sake rice and the natural environment. These findings highlight the critical role of terroir in the Japanese sake industry’s added value expansion. Originality/value This study provides objective insights regarding the recent industrial transformation for the practical sake industry, such as sake exporters and distributors. Additionally, this study enables the wine industry’s audience to understand the sake industry’s evolution in terms of wine culture.

What does terroir mean? A science mapping of a multidimensional concept

“…Although this attempt may be helpful, it may not meet the criterion of comprehensiveness expected of a literature review (Hiebl, 2021;Mukherjee et al, 2022) and may suffer from a lack of objectivity (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2014;Kraus et al, 2022) and thoroughness (Paul & Criado, 2020;Tranfield et al, 2003), despite the authors' unquestionable expertise. Similarly, Gergaud and Ginsburgh (2008) give various definitions of terroir 1 See Reisman (2022) for turrón, Höhn et al (2023) for hams, Kyraleou et al (2021) for whisky, Tseng and Kishi (2023) for sake and (Chouvy, 2022a(Chouvy, , 2022b for cannabis. 2 For instance, see Capitello et al (2021), Cross et al (2011aCross et al ( , 2011bCross et al ( , 2017, Herath et al (2013), or Martins et al (2018).…”