How an Australian winemaker became the first local brewer to produce sake in Japan
This is a rite of passage for many young Australians; Teaching English in Japan and falling in love with Japan’s culture and cuisine.
But Matt Froude went one step further. Not only did he enjoy drinking sake, the Japanese rice wine, he now produces and sells his own brand, Municipal, to restaurants across Australia.
Froude will be the only Australian sake producer exhibiting in 2026, alongside 75 brewers from Japan Melbourne Sake Festival.
Froude now spends half the year making grape wine at a winery near Seymour in northern Victoria and the other half making sake at a brewery in Shiga prefecture in central Japan.
“It’s definitely unorthodox,” Froude said of his unusual career. “I don’t believe anyone else did what I did.”
In the Japanese village of Yuge, Froude is a kurabito, or brewery worker, for the Matsuse family, who have been making sake since 1860.
But Matsuse also allows Froude to create his own brand there in a separate tank.
Froude produced 150 cases or 1800 (720 ml) bottles this year; This has tripled its production since its first batch in 2022.
Municipal sake is now sold in bottle shops across Australia, online and at renowned local restaurants such as Supernormal and Attica, and even Yugen and Kuro Japanese restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney.
While teaching English in Osaka in 2002, Froude tasted a delicious sake. “It had a floral and fruity character, it was really delicate, elegant and really fun to eat. It lived up to all expectations,” he said.
After traveling, teaching English, and working as a tour guide, Froude studied winemaking and worked at wineries around the world.
In 2018, while working at a winery in Seymour, Victoria, Froude met a customer’s Japanese wife and talked to her about sake.
The woman knew the head brewer, or toji, of the Matsuse sake brewery in Japan and put him in touch with Froude.
“After emailing back and forth, they said I could come and visit,” Froude said.
Froude, who started making his own wine in Seymour, gave 12 bottles of wine to the brewers on his first visit to Matsuse.
“They loved it. It solidified the relationship,” Froude said.
He worked at Matsuse for three months in 2019 and has returned every year except for the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, for a fee, Froude was allowed to do his own favors there.
“There’s a lot to like, the people are friendly, I’m part of the team now, so they’re very welcoming.” It now sells two types of sake: Snow Mountain and Love Mountain.
He wants to sell both his wine and sake in Japan in the future. “What motivates me is always trying to do something great,” he said.
The Melbourne Sake Festival will take place at the Royal Exhibition Building on 4 and 5 July.
Froude has a booth and will be hosting masterclasses on pairing food and sake on both days at 1.30pm and 6.30pm.
