Wednesday Flight: Chiyo Shuzo - Shinomine

WEDNESDAY FLIGHT: CHIYO SHUZO - SHINOMINE

8/19/2026

Chiyo Shuzo lies in the foothills of Mt. Katsuragi in the town of Gose (Go-Say), Nara. The brewery was founded in 1873 by a family member of Kubo Honten (a significant Nara brewery) before moving to their present location in 1902. Mt. Katsuragi is known in the local dialect as Shinomine: Chiyo's flagship brand. Today the brewing is led by Sakai Tetsuya, who began his career making wine in Yamanashi for 5 years and California for 3, before marrying the Chiyo family's eldest daughter and transitioning to sake. RICE From 1995, his first year at the brewery, Sakai has been growing his own rice for brewing. Although they now manage more than 60 rice fields of varying size, this is only about 15% of their total needs. The Kujira line (not poured today) is 100% house-grown rice, while the paddy series (2 &3) are farmed by specific neighbors, and the rest of Shinomine is sourced from 26 farmers in Gose, Nara, or significant terroirs of varietal origin (ex. Omachi from Akaiwa). WATER Brewing water has a significant influence on the mouthfeel of a sake as well as its behavior during fermentation. Although they're in the same town, Kaze no Mori and Chiyo have very different water: Kaze's is exceptionally hard while Chiyo's is soft, perhaps due to their location higher up the mountain. "I think there's a terroir of water, and the difference that comes from water should be cherished." ACIDITY & STYLE "I want people to experience acidity and clarity with our sake [but] it needs to be a clean acidity. Just having a lot of acidity isn't enough." "I never liked sake with a lot of amino acids, so I wanted to brew sake with a low amino acid content. My next goal was to make unpasteurised sake that didn't spoil and my final goal was to make sake that ages well. These three goals are still the same today." PHILOSOPHY "I want to make sake that isn't too delicious....a restrained sake that doesn't assert itself too strongly, one that stays close to the food and the drinker - a junmai that holds itself back a step." he says. "As a maker, I want to put in the effort by hand"-- not automatic processes, or using technology to make workflows more efficient. Because of this, Sakai-san jokes that the brewery isn't quite a "black company" (an exploitative workplace) but more like a "gray company" (interview, Chieko Fujita)

1. CHOKARA YAMADANISHIKI

Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu

720ml ($30)

Rice: Yamadanishiki (Gose) / Polishing: 66% / Yeast: #9 / SMV +11 / Acidity 2/ Amino acids 1.0/ ABV: 16%

The Japanese word 'kara' means dry, thus the name 'chokara' -- cho being "very"-- means this sake is an extra dry style, though nearly all of Sakai-san's sake leans dry. Yamadanishiki is the most important variety at Chiyo Shuzo, and expresses unique characteristics when raised in Gose. It's leaner, sharper, expressive but less "pillowy/ billowy" than in warmer climates like Hyogo, Yamaguchi, or Kyushu.

2. "AZUR" YAMADANISHIKI - PADDY SERIES

Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu

720ml ($33)

Rice: Yamadanishiki (Gose) / Polishing: 55% / Yeast: #6 / White koji starter method / SMV +8 / Acidity 2.2 / Amino acids 0.8/ABV: 15%

While the rest of the Shinomine brand features a range of rice varieties from different regions, the paddy series focuses on the terroir of Mt. Kusudare, as expressed through local rice from neighbors' fields. It's important to recognize that in the collectivist rural rice farming mindset, you might have your own fields but all farmers work together and coordinate on big tasks like planting and harvesting. In a very real way, one's neighbors' rice feels as familiar as one's own--a sense of shared ownership and place.

3. "VERT" KAMENOO PADDY SERIES

Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu

720ml ($33)

Rice: Kamenoo (Gose) / Polishing: 80% / Yeast: #6 / SMV +8 / Acidity 2.4/ Amino acids 1.0/ABV: 15%

"[We] take care of each grain of rice by observing the differences in rice fields and cherishing the resulting differences in the rice. [We] make sake that connects the nature of different rice to the individuality of each sake." "Twenty-five years ago, I thought that ginjo was a better style because of that, but I don't feel that now. We don't use the typical ginjo approach to brewing anymore, because if you make it carefully you can make a sake with less amino acids without polishing the rice too much." Kamenoo is an old variety discovered in Yamagata (Northern Japan) around the turn of the century, whose genetics have since propagated into nearly every example of cold-tolerant sake and table rice. It tends to express an earthy. herbaceous flavor with lots of texture and complex green fruit.

4. AIYAMA

Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu

720ml ($30)

Rice: Aiyama (Hyogo) / Polishing: 80% / Yeast: #9 / SMV +9 / Acidity 2.4/ Amino acids 1.1/ABV: 16%

Aiyama is a relatively rare variety that was once exclusive to a single brewery, Kenbishi, until the Kobe earthquake disrupted exclusivity agreements between rice farmers and the (catastrophically damaged) Kenbishi. Sakai's position that "sake is not fully completed at the brewery" speaks to me here: I dramatically prefer this one after a few weeks open, I prefer it warm, and look forward to seeing this sake age into a softer maturity. For me, a potential new lifetime of evolution & change exists for this sake after it leaves the brewery.

5. OMACHI YAMAHAI

Junmai Yamahai Muroka Nama Genshu

BONUS $5

720ml ($30)

Rice: Omachi (Akaiwa, Okayama), Polishing: 66% / Yeast: #6 / SMV +9 / Acidity 2.4/ Amino acids 1.1/ ABV: 16%

This sake really sticks out from the rest of the flight, which is why we serve it last as a bonus. Every vintage is dramatically different, sometimes showing caramel, popcorn and jerky notes-while in Japan, the flavor is more restrained. Omachi's wildness seems to come out with travel and time.

Nara 奈良