1. Experience the worldview of Nagai Sake Brewery!
A closer look at the tasting room and brewing laboratory “SHINKA”!

Nagai Sake Brewery is a 137-year-old long-established sake brewery located in Kawaba Village, Tone District, Gunma Prefecture.
A facility where you can experience the spirit of "aged sake" that has been researched for many years.SHINKA” will open on August 2023, 8.
This is a complex facility with a tasting room and a brewing laboratory where you can experience ``aged sake'' and ``sparkling sake'' that can only be drunk here, as well as ``Labo SAKE'' developed at the brewing laboratory.

Click here for the person introducing this article

Mr. Norikichi Nagai (Nagai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., President and Representative Director, 6th generation brewer)

Profile

He developed MIZUBASHO PURE, a pioneer in sparkling sake that incorporates secondary fermentation in the bottle into the traditional sake manufacturing method, and established the Awa Sake Association in 2016, serving as its first chairman.``Nagai Style'' proposes pairings of sparkling Japanese sake, Junmai Daiginjo, aged sake, and dessert sake to match the course of the meal, and sake brewing using the world-famous ``Yukihotaka'' rice from the local Kawaba village. We continue to share with the world the depth and new appeal of sake that brings out the full potential of rice.

2. “Aged sake” from a long-established sake brewery taking on a new challenge

Why did Nagai Sake Brewery decide to work on aged sake in the first place?
It dates back to the time when the 6th generation brewer, President Nagai, entered the sake industry and began to be involved in sake brewing.

▲(From left) "Hotel Crillon" Chef Sommelier Xavier Tuizat, President Noriyoshi Nagai

After a shocking encounter with wine, he began researching aged sake.

Shortly after joining the company, he was surprised to find that the price range of sake was the same.Even Daiginjo is mostly in the price range of 3 yen to 5 yen, and the price and specifications are uniform.On the other hand, in the world of wine, a bottle can cost anywhere from tens of thousands of yen to several million yen, so I wondered about the difference.

First, we will focus on reforming the uniform price of sake.Prices for sake are set at roughly the same level depending on the polishing ratio, brewing rate, and type of rice.On the other hand, in the world of wine, producers create value themselves and sell their products at equal prices in the market, so we thought about creating value in the same way for sake.

Meanwhile, at a wine party, she has a shocking experience.
The wine I drank there tasted like nothing I had ever experienced before, and it was like a bolt of lightning.The indescribably delicate taste and complex flavors are intertwined, the aroma is profound and lingering, and the lingering finish is elegant.After encountering some wonderful vintage wine, I decided I wanted to make and drink some Japanese sake, and that's when I started researching Japanese sake vintages.

Pursuing the ideal aged sake

▲Château Clinet “The late Mr. Jean-Michel Arcot (second from the left)” visits the company (2)

As a first challenge, since the warehouse had a basement similar to a wine brewery, they began storing alcohol there. The taste started to change after 1 to 3 years, but it reached its peak after 3 years.In the same way, we continued to secure and store a certain amount every year and continued to mature in the same environment for XNUMX years, and although we saw changes, it reached its peak after XNUMX years.

However, the aged sake that President Nagai was aiming for is a sake with a delicate and complex flavor that evolves over at least 10 years.

From there, we proceeded with further research and gradually lowered the storage temperature, and succeeded in producing something that matured elegantly only when it was below zero.It took 10 years to get to this point, and I started researching it in 1995, and finally found the ideal temperature range in 2004, and I'm currently aging it at 3 to -5 degrees Celsius.

After 10 years, in 6, when the company became the 2013th generation, it was commercialized for the first time as a vintage series. Each bottle was sold for approximately 1 yen, and although it was in a fairly high price range compared to the average market price for Japanese sake, it ended up selling about 3 bottles.

▲A set of vintage sake released to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the company's founding. (From left) THE MIZUBASHO PURE2009 (Aged Sparkling Sake), THE MIZUBASHO Aged 15years Sake (Barrel Aged Sake), MIZUBASHO VINTAGE2008 (Junmai Daiginjo Aged Sake)

Thoughts on rare aged sake born over time

The most important thing when preparing aged sake is to have a clear idea of ​​what kind of sake you want to produce and the direction in which you want it to age.We must monitor the ripeness of the wine through fixed-point observation and check for changes over time, and continue working with determination to achieve the flavor we are aiming for.

3. New complex facility [SHINKA - true value, evolution, deepening -]

With this passion for aged sake, SHINKA, a facility where you can experience Nagai Sake Brewery's new challenges, will open on August 2023, 8.This is a complex facility that combines a tasting room and a brewing laboratory, where you can experience aged sake and sparkling sake that can only be drunk here.

The name "SHINKA" for the facility has three meanings: "true value," which means pursuing true value, "evolution," which means "evolution," and "deepening," which means deepening mutual relationships.

-Tasting room-

At SHINKA, you can experience Nagai Sake Brewery's passion for ``aged sake'', which has been researched over many years, the rare taste that can only be created over time, and the charm and potential of ``sparkling sake.'' A ``tasting room'' has been set up as a venue.It is also a space where you can taste special sake that can only be tasted at this place, including the ``Labo SAKE'' developed at the adjoining aging laboratory.

-Brewing Research Institute-

Based on the idea of ​​``tradition and innovation'' that Nagai Sake Brewery values, the ``Brewery Research Institute'' is a place to research brewing, as the name suggests, in order to pursue new sake while valuing traditional sake brewing. It also has a.Here, sake is brewed in small batches using various methods that have never been tried before, and the resulting bottles are sold as ``Labo SAKE,'' which can only be tasted and sold for a limited time at SHINKA.

-Pairing menu (optional)-

SHINKA offers three types of sake tasting plans.Both plans include a three-course amuse bouche pairing menu (extra charge) based on French cuisine supervised by on-site chef/food producer Yuka Macaron, with the keyword "fermentation" typical of sake breweries.

4.About using SHINKA

SHINKA will be offered by invitation only, and this time only those who purchase one of the 8 aged sake series to be released on August 1st will receive an invitation.

To commemorate the grand opening of "SHINKA", three types of aged sake will be released at the same time.We will also give you an “invitation ticket to SHINKA”.

▲(From left) MIZUBASHO VINTAGE 2008 Daiginjo, THE MIZUBASHO PURE 2008, MIZUBASHO VINTAGE 2008

Nagai Sake Brewery's aged sake, which has been researched for many years, is aged slowly at freezing temperatures, resulting in an elegant finish similar to aged wine.Most of the aged sake is still in storage and will be sold from time to time in conjunction with the new establishment of "SHINKA." The three types of aged sake that will go on sale from August 8st will come with an invitation for a tasting experience at SHINKA.

-Using SHINKA-

Limited to XNUMX group per day
How to use: Apply using the QR code on the invitation included with the 8 Aged Sake Series, which will be sold from August 1st.
Location: 713 Monmae, Kawaba Village, Tone Gunma, Gunma Prefecture
TEL: 0278-52-2311

・Purchase directly from the brewery https://shinka-nagai.jp/

・Purchase from a liquor store https://mizubasho-search.glideapp.io/dl/d0a5f4

THE MIZUBASHO PURE 2008

Product type: Sparkling aged liquor
Suggested retail price: 33,000 yen (tax included)
Number of units sold: Limited to 180 units

The first AWA SAKE (sparkling sake) in the Skunk Basho Vintage series.

MIZUBASHO PURE is completed and we are searching for the next prestige of AWA SAKE.We took on the challenge of making a sake that is completely different from the existing PURE.This is secondary fermentation in the bottle, which is based on power-of-magnitude preparation.And then there is ``THE MIZUBASHO PURE 2008,'' which was created by making full use of the patented technology of ``MIZUBASHO PURE.''

MIZUBASHO VINTAGE 2008 Daiginjo

Product type: Daiginjo aged sake
Suggested retail price: 19,800 yen (tax included)
Number of units sold: Limited to 350 units

MIZUBASHO VINTAGE 2008

Product type: Junmai Daiginjo aged sake
Suggested retail price: 39,600 yen (tax included)
Number of units sold: Limited to 600 units

-MIZUBASHO VINTAGE 2008 Daiginjo/Junmai Daiginjo-

It was a year when the sake rice Yamada Nishiki had difficulty melting due to high temperatures during the ripening period.At the time, both Junmai Daiginjo and Daiginjo were brewed with the aim of absorbing 1 to 2% more water from the rice.The rice didn't melt as expected and had a light taste, and because it was finished in a style with a single core, it was stored for a limited number of years.

Daiginjo has a beautiful transparency that gives it a taste that hints at the potential of unknown aging, while Junmai Daiginjo is a masterpiece that brings out the natural flavor of the rice.

5.What does aged sake mean to President Nagai?

▲(Photo from left/President Noriyoshi Nagai, wife Matsumi Nagai)

Because we have carefully raised aged sake like our own children, we understand all of its growth processes and understand its high potential.Above all, aged sake has a flavor that can only be created over time.
However, since ancient times it has been customary to enjoy sake with new sake, and I feel that the vintage of sake is poorly understood.In the world of wine, there are naturally many vintages, but in the world of sake, there are still very few, so I would like to convey their rarity and potential.

"SHINKA" HP https://shinka-nagai.jp/