Q: You first encountered sake at a club night in Ibiza, then followed it to Italy to study gastronomic science, then to Japan, and eventually to Berlin. What is it about sake that kept pulling you deeper?

A: “Sake is the best of all medicines,” as an old Japanese saying goes.

What first attracted me was how simple sake is: just water, rice, yeast, and the magical mould called kōji. Yet from those few ingredients comes an incredible diversity of aromas, flavours, and styles.

My first encounter with sake was in Ibiza in 2012, drinking Enter.Sake while listening to Richie Hawtin play at Space. It was one of those moments where everything just clicked. From then on, I wanted to learn more.

A friend recently told me that I am an Italian with a Japanese heart. I think there is some truth in that. Sake reflects a lot of what I value: craftsmanship, patience, humility, and attention to detail.

I studied at the Slow Food University because I have always admired small farmers and artisanal producers. In many ways, sake breweries embody those same values. Most of the breweries we work with are family-run businesses that have been making sake for generations. They are extraordinary people, and sharing their stories and their sake has become our mission.