Junmai Ginjo Shinano Miyamanishiki (720 ml)

Founded in 1702 by Nakashima Kozaemon in Mizunami City, Gifu, this brewery made a deliberate commercial break from Japan's post-1970s tanrei karakuchi orthodoxy — light, dry sake built for volume — by championing umakuchi: rich, umami-forward brewing designed for food. That philosophy is not marketing; it is encoded in the production method.

Water comes from a natural underground spring fed by snowmelt off Mt. Byobu (Byobuzan), filtered through the forested, cool-humid microclimate of Mizunami's mountainous terrain — conditions that favour slow, low-temperature fermentation and clean mineral character in the base liquid.

The Shinano Miyama Nishiki is brewed with Miyama Nishiki rice polished to 55% seimaibuai (Junmai Ginjo tier), koji cultivated at 98% humidity to maximise enzyme activity, and — critically — four-stage yodan fermentation rather than the standard three-stage sandan shikomi. That fourth addition of rice and water extends mash development, extracting rice-derived umami compounds beyond what conventional ginjo brewing achieves. No distilled alcohol is added.

Miyama Nishiki is a cold-climate Nagano variety rarely used outside its home prefecture, giving this expression a regional specificity absent from Yamada Nishiki-dominant ginjo tiers. Expect a drinking window that rewards near-term consumption while the rice character remains vivid.