LSU AgCenter rice is main ingredient in Louisiana brewed Wetlands Sake
Wetlands Sake cans stand on the 31-acre field planted with short-grain rice that will be used to make the beverage. (Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter)
Nan Wallis of Wetlands Sake holds a handful of rice. The short-grain rice variety, Pirogue, was developed in 2003 at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station by now-retired rice breeder (Steve Linscombe. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter)
Rick Zaunbrecher, far left, explains how rice is being planted to Nan Wallis, second from left, and Lindsey Beard, second from right, both of Wetlands Sake, and Dustin Harrell, resident coordinator of the Rice Research Station and former LSU AgCenter rice specialist. Zaunbrecher, manager of the Foundation Seed Program at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, planted the rice to be sold to Wetlands Sake to make its products at the New Orleans brewery. (Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter)
CROWLEY — Short-grain rice developed by the LSU AgCenter has been planted for a New Orleans company to make sake, a traditional Japanese beverage that is becoming more popular in the U.S.
The Pirogue variety was planted on 31 acres at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station on April 6 by Rick Zaunbrecher, the station’s foundation seed manager. After harvest in August, the rice will
