Brewers at LWF
Two Japanese producers at London Wine Fair 2026. Stand Z30, Esoterica — 18 to 20 May, Olympia London.
Shigemasu and Yanbaru Shuzo. Fukuoka sake and Okinawan awamori — available to taste at the stand.
Producers Represented
Shigemasu — Sake. Yame City, Fukuoka. Nineteenth-generation brewery, producing since 1717. Local rice, local water, brewed by people from this region.
Yanbaru Shuzo — Awamori. Ogimi Village, Okinawa. Village distillery founded 1950. Spring water from the Yambaru forests, black koji, aged one year before release. Distilled, not brewed — native to Okinawa.
What You’ll Encounter
Two regions, two approaches to what rice, water, and fermentation can become — side by side.
Sake releases notes that shift as the liquid warms. Rice sweetness first, then acidity and fermentation depth. Some styles stay light and precise. Others carry structure, filling the mouth before tapering clean.
Awamori is different. Distillation sharpens its edges. Fragrance lifts quickly. The spirit carries Okinawa’s subtropical climate and Yanbaru’s spring water.
Each glass reflects decisions made months earlier inside a brewery or distillery.
Reaching the UK Trade
These producers’ sake and awamori are not otherwise available in this market. London Wine Fair is where their work becomes accessible to the UK trade — through a partnership with Esoterica.
Each producer’s work is presented by someone who has visited the brewery and knows the maker personally.
Stand Z30. 18–20 May 2026. Olympia London.