Richard Geoffroy has been to Japan more than 60 times since 1991. Outside his Dom Pérignon duties, these visits have been a personal quest, developing an intimate connection with the Japanese culture and people. One day he met Sake brewery owner Ryu Masuda, through his friend, architect Kengo Kuma. This was the seminal moment, inspiring Richard’s quest for a unique Sake, IWA. While retaining the essence of Sake, IWA is breaking new ground, raising Sake to new heights in Japan and in the world.

Richard’s vision was to create a sake that would be so harmonious that it would be perfect at any time, and pair with virtually all types of food – not just Japanese. To achieve the required level of balance and complexity, he created a JUNMAI DAIGINJO sake that is an ASSEMBLAGE of 3 rice varieties, 4 terroirs, and 5 yeast strains, even using reserve sake from previous years to enrich the blend.

"In his search for renewed harmony at IWA, Richard Geoffroy pursues the dream of a grand Japanese Sake. A Sake absolutely true to Sake—with its salient flow of sensations—yet embracing and expanding in character. A radiant Sake. Such a paradoxical proposition cannot come from a single brew. It can only be achieved through Assemblage, by design. Assemblage adds a paradigm to the established paradigm of rice polishing. The more Assembled, the more harmonious. 5 is the universal number of balance and harmony, a symbol of union and quintessence. For IWA, 5 represents Assemblage.

Richard Geoffroy’s pursuit of beauty propelled him to the highest reaches of his profession. Born in the heart of Champagne country, he became the fifth chef de cave for Dom Pérignon Champagne and charted the course of the legendary wine for 28 years. He is now launching into a new experiment, hoping to contribute to a story started in Japan a thousand years ago: Sake."–Shiraiwa K.K.