In 1743, a timber merchant named Jihei Kano began making Sake. He named his Sake “Hakutsuru”, which means white crane, and the name quickly became synonymous with excellence across Japan. Nearly 300 years later, Hakutsuru Sake is still being produced. Hakutsuru’s Plum Wine with Natural Flavour is a type of Umeshu. Umeshu is a Japanese liqueur made by steeping Ume plums in alcohol. It is characterized by its refreshing, semi-sweet, and slightly sour taste, as well as a heady aroma of plums. Hakutsuru’s Plum Wine isn’t typical of Umeshu products, instead producing a wine directly from the plums rather than steeping them in alcohol. They use only the most succulent plums hand-picked from the Kishu region of Wakayama, which are pressed and fermented, squeezing every ounce of rich plum flavour out of each fruit. The resulting plum wine has a full-bodied aroma and bold amber colour. The sweetness of the wine is offset by the right level of acidity and tanginess from the green plums. It makes for a delightful aperitif or digestif to enjoy before or after dinner.
