Purpose

With the ongoing industrial transformation of the Japanese sake industry and the continuous growth of exports in recent years, terroir, one of the core concepts in the wine culture, has been strategically used in the sake industry. Therefore, as an essential investigation, the purpose of this study is to elucidate when, how and why terroir has been used in the sake industry. This study starts with the research question: When, how and why has terroir come to be used strategically in the sake industry?

Design/methodology/approach

This study investigates the use of terroir in the Japanese sake industry, examining all 196 newspapers that referenced terroir from 1998 to 2022, sourced from the renowned newspaper database Nikkei Telecom 21. This study’s outcomes have been visualized through categorization work and text mining.

Findings

In this study, the use of terroir in the Japanese sake industry has gained significant momentum since 2015, with a remarkable surge observed in the 2020s. With the continuous growth in sake exports, industry players such as sake brewers are strategically structuring terroir to reinforce the authenticity of the brewing process, emphasizing the uniqueness of natural elements, such as water, sake rice and the natural environment. These findings highlight the critical role of terroir in the Japanese sake industry’s added value expansion.

Originality/value

This study provides objective insights regarding the recent industrial transformation for the practical sake industry, such as sake exporters and distributors. Additionally, this study enables the wine industry’s audience to understand the sake industry’s evolution in terms of wine culture.

中文翻译：

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日本清酒产业风土的战略利用

目的

近年来，随着日本清酒产业的不断产业转型和出口的持续增长，风土这一葡萄酒文化的核心概念之一被战略性地运用到清酒行业中。因此，作为一项重要的调查，本研究的目的是阐明清酒行业何时、如何以及为何使用风土。本研究从研究问题开始：何时、如何以及为何在清酒行业中战略性地利用风土？

设计/方法论/途径

本研究调查了日本清酒行业中风土的使用情况，检查了 1998 年至 2022 年期间引用风土的所有 196 份报纸，数据来源来自著名的报纸数据库 Nikkei Telecom 21。这项研究的结果已通过分类工作和文本挖掘进行可视化。

发现

在这项研究中，自 2015 年以来，日本清酒行业对风土的利用取得了显着的势头，并在 2020 年代出现了显着的激增。随着清酒出口的持续增长，清酒酿造商等行业参与者正在战略性地构建风土，以加强酿造过程的真实性，强调水、清酒米和自然环境等自然元素的独特性。这些发现凸显了风土在日本清酒行业附加值扩张中的关键作用。

原创性/价值

这项研究为清酒出口商和分销商等实用清酒行业近期的产业转型提供了客观的见解。此外，这项研究使葡萄酒行业的观众能够了解清酒行业在葡萄酒文化方面的演变。