IWC 2026 Award-Winning Sake Bring the London Ceremony to Nihonbashi, Tokyo

Sake recognised this year in the SAKE category of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), a drinks competition that originated in Britain, came together in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, on Saturday 17 October 2026. The organiser was the major real estate company Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., and the venue was YUITO Nihonbashi Muromachi Nomura Building. The event recreated in Japan the atmosphere of the awards ceremony held in London on 8 September, and let guests compare around 30 brands while talking with representatives of the award-winning breweries. It was split into a first part with a talk session and a second part with tasting only; the participation fee was 4,800 yen.

Returning London’s Verdict to Japanese Drinkers

The IWC was founded in Britain in 1984 and is known as a competition with global authority, centred on wine. The SAKE category was added in 2007, and experts from Japan and abroad serve as judges. It can be said to be a sake award in which an overseas perspective is strongly reflected. The aim this time was to bring those results back to Japan and show them directly to consumers in the Tokyo area. The programme for the day included introductions of the trophy-winning sake in each category, recognition of the award-winning companies, and a talk session.

This Year’s Stars: Breweries from Yamaguchi and Nagano

The breweries the organiser highlights are Choshu Shuzo (Yamaguchi Prefecture), which won the top prize, Champion Sake, and Endo Shuzojo (Nagano Prefecture), which was named Great Value Champion Sake. Yamaguchi lies at the western tip of Honshu and Nagano in the mountainous centre of the island, and neither is as well known as Tokyo or Kyoto. Regional breweries becoming known worldwide through an international award like this is a pattern often seen in the sake industry in recent years.

Why a Real Estate Company Backs Sake

Nomura Real Estate has been an official sponsor of the IWC SAKE category since 2024. Its aim is not to sell sake but to carry the regional stories of the award-winning breweries to city dwellers and so increase interest in, and travel to, the regions, in the spirit of regional revitalisation. The use of sake as a tool for corporate regional branding is one of the changes under way in the sake industry today.

The event itself was for those who could make it to Nihonbashi, but for European readers what matters is the IWC result itself. The awards ceremony takes place in London, and award-winning sake often appear on European shelves with the award labelling. When you see an IWC trophy or Gold label, first remember the names of this year’s Champion Sake brewery, Choshu Shuzo, and of Endo Shuzojo, praised for value for money. The former stands for “this year’s pinnacle”, the latter for “a bottle the world has recognised at an accessible price”, and both make easy-to-follow markers when choosing sake.