Sake specs
- Prefecture
- Nagano (長野)
- Rice type
- Hitogokochi (ひとごこち)
- Polishing rate (semaibuai)
- 49%
- Alcohol content
- 16%
- SMV
- +5.0
- Acidity
- 1.5
Daishinshū Junmai Daiginjō Nama Sparkling (大信州 純米大吟醸 スパークリング) is a seasonal sparkling sake made of Hitogokochi rice grown in Nagano and milled to 49%. It has a refined, dry taste and fine sparkling quality. Over time, gas builds up, giving it a delightful fizzy sensation. It is a sparkling nigori sake that can best be described as Japanese champagne.
How to open sparkling sake
About the brewery
- Brewery
- Daishinshū Shuzō
- Name in Japanese
- 大信州酒造
- Address
- 2380 Shimadachi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0852
- Phone
- 0263-47-0895
- Website
天恵の美酒 大信州
天恵の美酒「大信州」のブランドサイト。高品質な酒米が収穫できる自然環境。北アルプスの山々が育んでくれる天然水。熱意にあふれた酒米農家。おいしく飲んでくれるお客様。そして、ともに働く仲間。わたしたちの酒造りはそのとりまく環境の有難さに感謝を捧げながら造る「愛感謝」仕込みです。
www.daishinsyu.com
Even in the days when Daishinshū brewed sake in Toyono, the brewing water was drawn from a well located on the premises in Matsumoto. Before moving all operations to Matsumoto, the groundwater was transported over 100 kilometres to Nagano City. The new brewery is a steel-framed two-story building with a total floor area of approximately 1,500 square meters and was completed in 2020.
Daishinshū uses rice produced and milled by contracted farmers in Nagano Prefecture. There are currently ten farmers producing Hitogokochi and Kinmonnishiki. Kinmonnishiki has a mild and soft flavour and is used for the brewery's top line.
In 2022, Daishinshū introduced several membership types to increase its fan base. For an annual membership fee of 40,000 JPY, members receive two 720-ml bottles of specially prepared sake twice a year and can purchase seasonal items at discounted prices. There will be tasting events, rice planting and harvesting events, and special sake brewery tours in the future.
Although the brewery indeed cautions their customers, providing plenty of instructions on how to open it correctly. The brewery store sells ice picks to release the gas accumulated in the bottle (see the video above). Once you perforate the cap, the escaping gas will intermix the sake and the lees, turning its colour milky. We used the cork driver on a Swiss Army knife, which worked flawlessly. The bottle has a spare cap to be placed once the original cap is removed. (Believe me, you won't need it, as this is a sake you won't keep overnight.)
