What kind of sake brand is Daishinshu?大信州

05/25/202205/30/2023

Rich fruit that taste like an apple! What is the charm of the sake “Daishinshu" nurtured by the climate of Nagano?

Shinshu sake prepared using natural water from the Northern Alps, the name is also “Daishinshu".
It is made in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, mainly using rice suitable for sake brewing from the prefecture “Hitogokochi" and “Kinmon-Nishiki".

What is the taste of sake brewed in Shinshu, where mountains rise on all sides and the climate is suitable for rice cultivation?
Along with the commitment of sake brewing, we will introduce its charm.

Contents

What kind of sake is Daishinshu?

Sticking points of Daishinshu

About Daishinshu Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.

What kind of sake is Daishinshu?

“Daishinshu" is a sake brewed by Daishinshu Sake Brewery in Nagano Prefecture. To borrow an expression of sake brewing, the taste of Daishinshu is “sophisticated, nimble, and delicious apple".

A refined taste was created from careful handmaking that spared no effort. The umami yet light taste is due to skilled skill and it is characterized by a rich fruit taste like a gorgeous apple.

The mouthfeel is elegant and you will not get tired of drinking, the umami and sharpness of plump rice, and the ginjo incense that spreads in the mouth. “Light and wide" is the characteristic of Daishinshu.

Sticking points of Daishinshu

Then, what is the taste of “refined, light and delicious apple" of Daishinshu made?

The secret lies in the use of raw materials that have benefited from the climate and climate of Shinshu, and in the commitment of the sake brewery.

◆ Natural water from the Northern Alps is used for preparation water

The water used for the preparation water of Daishinshu is natural water from the Northern Alps Range. It is natural water that melted from the snow that has fallen on the mountains of the majestic Northern Alps, circulates in the ground over a long period of time, and has reappeared on the ground.

The characteristics of this water are the soft mouthfeel and the fine-grained texture. It can be said that the secret of the elegant mouthfeel of Daishinshu lies in this water.

◆ Exquisite sake rice grown by nature in Shinshu

The climate of Shinshu, with its mountains towering over all sides, is characterized by low humidity and temperature differences between day and night, making it the ideal climate for agriculture including rice cultivation.
In addition, the powerful soil, the snowmelt water of the Northern Alps range, and the nature of Shinshu grow the finest sake rice.

The main ingredients of Daishinshu are “Hitogokochi" and “Kinmon-Nishiki", rice suitable for sake brewing born in Nagano Prefecture. By using the finest sake rice to become “Daishinshu" grown together with contract farmers, the taste of Daishinshu rice is produced.

◆ Handmade in Daishinshu

The basis of sake brewing is raw materials and raw material processing, says Daishinshu Sake Brewery.

The basis of the construction of Daishinshu is “steamed to one, steamed to two, steamed to three". We pay attention to the accuracy of rice milling by ourselves by self-milling, and wash the rice carefully by hand.

Steaming such rice well. Good koji is made from good steamed rice, and good sauce is made from good koji, and as a result, delicious sake is made. Just using good ingredients and sticking to the process will not make good sake.

Sake is brewed by people, so good sake is finished by the creator interacting with nature, interacting with people, and interacting with sake. It is precisely because Daishinshu is based on the practice of “careful sake brewing by the hands of people who have spent a lot of time and effort" that we have created this exceptional sharpness.

◆ Unfiltered refrigerated bottle storage

Most of Daishinshu are unfiltered alcohol. And while sake is usually stored in tanks, Daishinshu refrigerates it in a bottled state in order to maximize its unfiltered characteristics. For this reason, the sake of Daishinshu has the original “color" of Yamabuki sake.

By filtration, it is possible to make the color transparent or remove rough taste. However, at that time, the rich aroma and taste of rice are lost and above all, the individuality, brilliance, and handmade emotion of sake are also reduced.

Daishinshu is bottled unfiltered in order to keep the “innocent figure born with sake" as untouched as possible.
Of course, time, effort and careful work are required, but through that hard work, it becomes a sake that maintains the “Daishinshu style".

About Daishinshu Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.

“We, Daishinshu Sake Brewery, will continue to brew water that sparkles in the great nature of Shinshu."

In the great nature of Shinshu, this sake brewery that is all about talking with nature, talking with sake, talking with people, never resisting, and quietly harmonizing, is a talented brewer who continues to win the highest prize at the National New Sake Appraisal and the International Wine Challenge.

The company was founded in Meiji 21. After the war, several small breweries that suited the neighborhood merged to form the current Daishinshu Sake Brewery. Making full use of the submerged water of the Shinshu Northern Alps, high-quality sake rice produced in Nagano Prefecture, and the skills and wisdom of Daishinshu lore, we continue to brew sake that truly integrates the climate and climate. It can be said that it fosters the culture of Shinshu, the culture of sake, and the culture of Japan.

However, it was not a smooth sailing brewery from the beginning.

Mr. Katsumi Tanaka (Managing Director and General Manager of the Manufacturing Department), the second son of the previous president, had no intention of entering the family business because he had an older brother, and after graduating from university, he got a job at a major winemaker and got a job in sales, but when he was 32 years old, he was impressed by the taste of “Daishinshu" that his brother brought him on the way back home.

After that, he entered the family business with the desire to sell this liquor.
However, “Daishinshu" that impressed me at that time was a special kind of sake produced at that time, and what was produced a lot was cheap sake called ordinary sake.
In accordance with the needs of the times, cheap products had become the mainstream of Daishinshu.

Therefore, there were almost no customers, and there was an image that “Daishinshu = cheap sake", so it seems that there were many things that were difficult to get people to deal with.Mr. Katsumi still continued to believe in “the sake that impressed him" and ran from Hokkaido to Kyushu, gradually increasing the number of business partners.

In the sixth year, when the struggle continued, there was a shortage of workers in the brewery, and Mr. Katsumi became a brewer at the age of 38. It was a slow start as a brewer, but accompanied the sake from about 4 o’clock in the morning to 8 o’clock at night and 9 o’clock at night, and devoted oneself into sake making.

Mr. Katsumi then switched from ordinary sake to special-named sake, gradually increased the number of customers and fans by improving quality and reforming the distribution form, and in 20 years he pushed Daishinshu into a popular brand.

Daishinshu wins gold prizes in various competitions. Recently, it seems that there are even things that are too popular to obtain.

There were times when it was difficult to pay in advance at the gate. It can be said that the fact that it has become so famous and loved by many people is the result of the extraordinary efforts of Mr. Katsumi and other breweries.