The First Franco-Japanese Sake Created a Chef de Caves from the Champagne Region; Named “Best Sake 2019” at San Francisco International Wine Competition
December 3, 2019 – HEAVENSAKE, created by acclaimed French cellar master, Régis Camus, in collaboration with Japan’s most respected sake breweries, announces a new distribution relationship with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of California. HEAVENSAKE Junmai Daiginjo, Junmai Ginjo, and Junmai 12 will be exclusively distributed by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits in California beginning January 2020.
HEAVENSAKE is the first Franco-Japanese sake made by a chef de caves from the Champagne region and Camus is an eight-time winner of the IWC Challenge for Best Sparkling Wine maker of the year. While sakes are traditionally made in batches, Camus brings the art of blending to the sake world. Working in tandem with the Tojis (sake brewmasters), he has created three expressions meeting the highest standards of balance, purity, and refinement that reflect the meaning of Junmai, which translates to pure.
Designed for the western palate and cuisine, HEAVENSAKE’s unique blends are created with no distilled alcohol, sulphite-free, gluten-free, additive-free, and all natural with no added sugar and three times less acidity than wine. HEAVENSAKE Junmai Daiginjo (16% ABV; $95 SRP) is produced in collaboration with Dassai brewery and was recently named “Best Sake” while winning a Double Gold and earning 96 points at the 2019 San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC). HEAVENSAKE Junmai Ginjo (15% ABV; $45 SRP) is produced in collaboration with Urakasumi brewery, and earned a Gold at SFIWC; HEAVENSAKE Junmai 12 (12% ABV; $27.99 SRP) is produced in collaboration with Konishi Brewery, and also earned a Gold.
“Introduced in New York in 2017 the brand has successfully completed its proof of concept and is now ready to accelerate commercially,” says Laurent Cutier, CEO, HEAVENSAKE. “Our ambition is to expand beyond Asian Fusion and Japanese accounts to hotel bars and lounges, ultimately transcending the sake category. Aligning with world-class distributors such as Southern Glazer’s in California will be pivotal in the growth of HEAVENSAKE.”
“Seeing the brand grow from its first case sold to this partnership is a true testament of HEAVENSAKE’s potential,” says Nes Rueda, managing director, who launched the brand in 2017. “Proudly, you can find HEAVENSAKE at Michelin-starred restaurants Sushi Nakazawa and NODA, in addition to TAO, CATCH, Kappo Masa, LURE Fishbar, Hakkasan and the Lobster Club, among many others, as well as fine retailers, such as Bowery and Vine, K&L, Wally’s, Empire State of Wine, to name a few.”
For more information on HEAVENSAKE, visit www.heavensake.com and follow the brand on Instagram @heavensake.
About HEAVENSAKE
HEAVENSAKE is a composition by acclaimed French cellar master, Régis Camus, in collaboration with Japan’s most respected sake breweries. It is the first Franco-Japanese sake collaboration. Régis Camus and the respective Tojis (sake brewing- masters) work in tandem to create the unique HEAVENSAKE blends: Junmai 12 with Konishi Brewery; Junmai Ginjo with Urakasumi, and Junmai Daiginjo with Dassai. Their common dedication to excellence set the grounds for the creation of the first Franco-Japanese sake, meeting the highest standards of balance, purity and refinement. HEAVENSAKE is owned by HEAVEN DISTRIBUTION AG located Höhenweg 1 St. Gallen 9000 Switzerland and represented by HEAVENSAKE in North America located at Spring Place, New York City. For more information on HEAVENSAKE, visit www.heavensake.com and follow the brand on Instagram @heavensake.
About Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is the world’s pre-eminent distributor of beverage alcohol, and proud to be a multi-generational, family-owned company. The Company has operations in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Canada, and the Caribbean, and employs more than 20,000 team members. Southern Glazer’s urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve, and enjoy its products responsibly. For more information visit www.southernglazers.com. Follow on Twitter and Instagram @sgwinespirits and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SouthernGlazers.