Founded in 2008, Hinode Holdings is a structure specialising in vinegar production, whose processing facility is atypically housed in a repurposed former primary school, also incorporating a culinary appreciation dimension through tasting sessions that allow direct consumer feedback. The company develops a territory-based approach in interaction with local communities, notably through the integration of its products into food preparations. Its signature product, Akasu, is obtained from aged sake lees, following a traditional protocol based on natural fermentation under artificially uncontrolled storage conditions, followed by a primary maturation of three years, clarification by filtration, and then a secondary fermentation of three months. This sequential process results in a physico-chemical profile characterised by moderate acidity, a high concentration of aromatic compounds, and marked organoleptic complexity.
