Kura Master 2026: Sparkling Sake Wins Top Prize
Kura Master, the Japanese-drinks competition judged by French sommeliers, marked its tenth edition by awarding its top sake prize to a sparkling sake for the first time.
On 30 September 2026, the awards ceremony for the Japanese-drinks competition Kura Master 2026 was held at the official residence of the Japanese Ambassador to France in Paris. The top prize in each competition, the “President’s Prize”, was announced, and in the sake category it went to Sanraku Yamanashi Meijo’s “Shichiken Sparkling Hoshi no Kagayaki”. Kura Master began in 2017 and is judged by professionals from the French food and drink industry. This year, a total of 1,252 products were entered across four competitions: sake, authentic shochu and awamori, liqueur, and Japanese wine. There were around 125 judges. The chair of the sake competition was Xavier Thuizat, the 2022 Best Sommelier winner and a sommelier holding the French national title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF). Sommeliers working at five-star hotels in Paris and restaurant owners also joined the panel.
For the first time in ten years, a sparkling sake reaches the top
Yamanashi Meijo, the maker of Shichiken, is a sake brewery in Yamanashi Prefecture, to the west of Tokyo. According to Thuizat, this is the first time in Kura Master’s ten-year history that the President’s Prize has gone to a sparkling sake. Thuizat praised it, saying: “It is approachable yet complex, and it shows great skill. Even so, it is easy to enjoy.” He added that it is precisely this kind of sake that will draw people in France towards sake.
A barley shochu, a yuzu liqueur and a Japanese wine also chosen
In the authentic shochu and awamori category, the winner was the barley shochu “Mugi-jiru” from Toyonaga Shuzo in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu. Authentic shochu is a Japanese distilled spirit made mainly from grains and similar ingredients. The competition chair, Christophe Davoine, said this shochu had aromas of grain and toasted bread, and suggested it would also suit highballs and cocktails. In the liqueur category, which from this year also covers citrus liqueurs, “Chiyomusubi ULTRA YUZU” from Chiyomusubi Shuzo in Tottori Prefecture won. In judging, its balance of sweetness, acidity and bitterness was highly rated. In the wine category, “R359 Sangoku” from Horaisan Winery in Toyama Prefecture was chosen. It is a wine made from Muscat Bailey A, a Japanese red wine grape variety. This variety was eligible for judging for the first time this year. The competition chair, Paz Levinson, said: “If I had drunk it blind, I would have thought it was a Burgundy.”
Growing appreciation of Japanese drinks in France
At the ceremony, Hideo Suzuki, the Japanese Ambassador to France, gave a speech. According to the ambassador, sake exports to France rose 2.4-fold in value and 1.8-fold in volume between 2017, when the competition began, and 2025. To mark the tenth anniversary, a new “Best Kura 2026” award was also created this year, honouring the brewery with the best record of awards.
For European readers, a Kura Master award is a useful guide to drinks that French sommeliers selected with food pairing in mind. When searching in wine shops or specialist sake shops, try using the awards as a clue. Sparkling sake can be enjoyed chilled as an aperitif. Barley shochu can also be drunk mixed with soda. A yuzu liqueur could be paired not only with sweet things but also with savoury dishes. A full list of winners in every category is published on the Kura Master official website.
Sources
This article was written by The Sake Wire editorial team, summarising the public sources listed above. Images are our own.
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