THE ONTARIO SPRING WATER SAKE COMPANY
There are presently three sake breweries in Canada, two of which
reside in British Columbia. The third is the Ontario Spring
Water Sake Company that set up shop in Toronto in 2011 amid a
boom in sake culture that also saw a surge in the opening of new
Japanese Restaurants.
In only their fifth year of brewing, the Ontario
Spring Water Sake Company is comparatively
young for a sake brewery by Japanese standards.
Yet they are already producing award-winning
sake and are continuing to evolve their brewing
practices as they press their 78th tank of fresh
unpasteurized sake.
The Ontario Spring Water Sake Company is
located in one of the most relaxing corners of
Toronto called the Distillery District. This
neighbourhood is comprised of a small village
of Victorian era buildings and streets that once
housed the Gooderham and Worts Distillery,
one of the largest whisky distillers in the world
back in its heyday. In this village of quaint
cobblestone streets, the Ontario Spring Water
Sake Company found a home surrounded by
shops filled with goods ranging from Québec
cheeses to fine art, and neighbours a few brewpubs, a range of eateries and an outstanding
theatre company/venue.
At Izumi, the brewery’s flagship brand bears
the same name as the brewery itself and
features several junmai sakes of different styles,
from the low alcohol and wine-like ‘Teion
Sakura’ to the undiluted and robust ‘Nama
Genshu’. Carrying Izumi is a no-brainer for
most Japanese izakaya, but it has also found a
home in many non-Japanese restaurants keen
to showcase local products.
THE NAGANO CONNECTION
The Ontario Spring Water Sake Company
is the brainchild of Ken Valvur, an Estonian
born Canadian who developed a passion for
sake. “I already loved sake while working in
Japan as a banker many years ago, but starting
to import sake made me appreciate it much
more,” says Valvur. He began importing the
sake from Nagano’s Miyasaka Shuzo into
Canada after he met the brewery team at a food
expo in 2006 and over time developed a close
relationship with them. Miyasaka Shuzo is
the brewery behind the venerable Masumi sake
brand. Established in 1662, the kura has two
claims to fame: the discovery of yeast #7 and
having the brewery with the highest elevation
in Japan, located at 960 metres above the Suwa
Basin in the mountains of Nagano.
The idea of opening a sake brewery came
to Valvur on a visit to Miyasaka, “The first
thought I had about making sake was when
I tasted freshly pressed unpasteurized sake
at the Masumi brewery. It was so delicious
I thought that somehow I have to find a way
to bring this magical flavour to Canada. The
actual decision to open the brewery was taken
a few years later after I had the time to bring
the project to life.”
MUSEUM OF SAKE JOURNAL 35