Walnuts” are indescribable for their gentle color and warmth when held in the hand. They have a delicious flavor and are good for beauty. Just their presence alone is enough to make one’s heart warm. Glass Studio Orange” produces glass that embodies the charm of walnuts. We asked them about the secret to their warm and inviting creations.

A glass studio nestled in the quaint scenery of an inn town

Tomi City is located in the eastern part of Nagano Prefecture. This small city with a population of about 30,000 people boasts the largest production of walnuts in Japan. It is walnuts. Currently, 99% of the walnuts distributed in Japan are from foreign countries, so domestically produced walnuts are extremely valuable and expensive. The market distribution volume has decreased due to price competition with walnuts imported from overseas. However, the city of Tomi City is proud to be the largest producer of walnuts in Japan, and is working hard to expand production and further brand the walnuts produced in Tomi City. In this town, there is a glass studio that uses walnuts, a local specialty, to make products unique to the city of Tomi, called “Glass Studio Orange,” which opened in the city in 1999. The head of the studio, Masaki Teranishi, is from Maruko Town (now Ueda City), a neighboring city of Tomi City.

Mr. Teranishi has always loved making things. Since he was a high school student, he has tried his hand at making various kinds of things, including pottery. Among them, glass was the one that interested him the most. The more he learned about the process of making glass, the more interesting it became, and the more he learned, the more he wanted to pursue this career.

Mr. Teranishi learned glass-making techniques by assisting glass artists in their studios. He chose a glass manufacturing company in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, as his place of employment. He was so absorbed in glass that it was a natural progression for him to leave his job, return to his hometown, and set up his own studio. More than 20 years after opening the kiln, he says with a laugh, “I still feel the same way I did then, and I find myself continuing to make glass without stopping. He says with a laugh.

Unnojuku, where Teranishi’s studio is located, once prospered as a post town on the Kitakuni Highway, and even today, the landscape is an important preservation area for groups of traditional buildings, with water running through the center of the road and beautiful houses lined up on both sides with lattice doors.

Orange is a renovated workshop in a row-house gate that blends in with this atmospheric scenery. A gallery and café have been added so that visitors can pick up the products and even purchase them here. The warmth of the shop name comes from the color of the flames inside the kiln where the glass is heated, and is also meant to symbolize the hope that the glass will continue to be used for generations to come.

Walnut glass is a pale, beautiful natural color

As mentioned above, Walnut Glass®, made from walnuts, a local specialty, is a registered trademark of this studio. By mixing the ashes of burned walnut shells with sand, the raw material for the glass, a unique light greenish color is produced. The greenish color is not too strong, but rather a gentle hue, a color that can only be expressed by natural materials.

However, walnut glass cannot be mass-produced due to its limited materials, and only a small percentage of the glass products made at the studio are produced. In order to run a glass studio, one must not only produce tableware such as vessels and glasses, but also zodiac signs, glasswork, and other products that meet the wishes of the customers to whom they deliver.

Of course, he has his own ideal style from his long career as a craftsman, but his motto is to create the most suitable form for the scene of use, from delicate and sharp to chunky and warm, and even ornaments intended to be displayed, and within that category, he adds his “character I will add “character” within that category. If I could, I would make only walnut glass, transparent glass, and tableware. We are like a manufacturer, so we make whatever our clients want. Teranishi says. A handmade order process chart using a calendar hung in the workshop was filled with the status of orders.

Updates that continue even after nearly 20 years

Teranishi’s workshop is also home to a gallery, so everything from production to purchase is done under his own watchful eye. This allows him to listen to the reactions of buyers, see how they react to his products, and use the discoveries to update and improve his products. In addition, over the years, we have gained a better understanding of production. In particular, if the size is wrong, it takes a lot of time and effort to correct it, so it can be said that setup is vital in glass production. Gradually, he became able to think logically about the process. The accumulation of such efforts has raised the technical system, and now adjustments through secondary processing are almost no longer necessary.

From “Interesting” to “Rewarding” and “Life’s Purpose

Incidentally, Mr. Teranishi’s studio mainly makes glass using the air-blown method. Although he does use some casting techniques, such as stretching heated glass, he basically uses the air-blown method. The reason why Mr. Teranishi insists on air-blowing is purely because it is an interesting process. The dynamism of the work, which is completed in a matter of seconds, and the satisfaction he gets from each step of the process, make it the perfect style for him.

It has been about 20 years since he set up his workshop, but he says that even so, he has never made exactly the same piece of work. That is the beauty of handmade work, and sometimes he is able to create something that is far beyond his imagination and that he is proud of, which makes it worthwhile and makes him want to keep doing it. For Mr. Teranishi, this job has become a way of life. As the name of the company suggests, he is working hard every day to ensure that the workshop will continue to exist for generations to come.

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Takato Town, Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, overlooking the ruins of Takato Castle, one of the three most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan. In this small town, there is a craftsman who makes frying pans that attract many customers from all over Japan. He is Takashi Kawarazaki, who moved from his birthplace in Tokyo to Takato Town and set up his own workshop.

Work that confronts oneself

Mr. Kawarazaki’s motivation for becoming a blacksmith was simple. While working at a department store in Tokyo, he grew tired of the crowds in the city and of dealing with customers at work. Then, why not do manufacturing?” He then visited various craft studios. He then toured various craft studios and pondered what he wanted to do. As a result, Mr. Kawarazaki became interested in forging, which involves striking heated iron to create products. After finding what he wanted to do, he quit his job at the age of 35 with his “can-do” spirit. He moved to Nagano Prefecture to attend a technical college, and after graduation studied under a blacksmith in Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture.

Not a work of art, but a tool for daily life.

In 2002, he opened his own workshop in Takato-machi, Ina City. Of course, it was not all smooth sailing for him immediately after he opened his workshop. There were times when he could hardly call it work. However, he thought, “Let’s keep going until I reach 40 years of age, and then we can see what happens next. As mentioned above, Mr. Kawarazaki himself did not set out to become a blacksmith for any great reason, and he does not think of what he makes as a work of art, but rather as a tool for daily life. That is why he thinks that his work is more like a tool for daily life, rather than a work of art. If it doesn’t meet the needs of the world, I will update it to meet them. If it doesn’t meet the needs of the world, let’s update it to meet the needs of the world. This attitude had a great influence on his encounter with the famous ceramic artist Noriyuki Yamamoto, who has published books and photo collections, which led to the introduction of Mr. Kawarazaki’s works to the world. When he first greeted Kawarazaki with the words, “I will make anything out of iron if you ask me to. Yamamoto was amused by this and exhibited his work in his studio, giving me the opportunity to see it. This attitude of listening to the voice of the consumer and applying it to manufacturing, like that of a manufacturer, has gained widespread sympathy.

Time and effort are what craftsmen’s handiwork should be about

That said, Mr. Kawarazaki’s works cannot be mass-produced like industrial products sold in mass merchandising stores. Unlike cold forging used in metal product factories, Kawarazaki’s works are made using hot forging, in which the metal is heated one by one. Although it is not suitable for mass production because of the time and labor required, it can be formed into complex shapes, and can be finished to the shape that is envisioned. Of course, he does not have a fixed concept of what his work should look like. However, he believes that this is the proper handiwork of a craftsman, and he has always been dedicated to it, no matter what time of day it is.

A wok I made by chance opens up new possibilities

Listening to consumers and careful craftsmanship are two ideas that coexist. The coexistence of these two ideas is one of Mr. Kawarazaki’s strengths. The story of the birth of the first hit “wok” is a perfect example of this. One day, his wife asked for a wok, and Mr. Kawarazaki went to a department store to look for one, but after walking around for a long time, he could not find the ideal one. Then, he decided to make a wok, so he listened to his wife’s request and produced it. The result is a handmade product that is lightweight, conducts heat well, and can be wielded by people of any height without discomfort. The wife’s reaction to the product was positive. This led to the sale of the product as an actual product, which received an unexpectedly strong response. The spirit of making everything from Japanese nails to staircases, as long as there is a request, is expanding the scope of his work and creating the possibility of further hit products.

The Value of “Takashi Kawarazaki’s Frying Pan

The result is a frying pan that is now hard to find. Like the wok, the frying pan was created in response to consumer feedback, but since it was first sold to a well-known lifestyle store in Tokyo, it has quickly gained popularity due to its functionality and warm texture, which is only possible with hand-forged products. Furthermore, the use of the product in a video distributed by a popular camping-related YouTube star led to the acquisition of users such as young people and men, who were not previously the purchasing base for the product. Demand for the product has grown even more, and now customers wait more than a year from the time of order to the time they receive the product.

The Arrival Point and the Road Ahead

Even today, when the company is attracting a large number of customers from all over Japan, what it does remains exactly the same as when it first opened its workshop. He heats an iron plate as he always does, and then he forms it by pounding it with a wooden mallet as he always does. The only thing that has changed a little is that he now has eyes. Because you can’t take measurements during the forging process, when I started as a craftsman, it was difficult to make the same thing all the same size, even if I was making the same thing in the same process.

However, as I made more and more pieces, I began to be able to make the same shape without having to think about it. And now that he can sell as many as he makes, he feels that he has reached the point where he can produce as many as he can. I am producing as much as I can, so I can’t make any more. Therefore, it is impossible to increase his income any further, and he does not want to do so much more. I want to continue the same blacksmithing business I started because I love it, even 10 years from now. With this wish, Mr. Kawarazaki continues to hammer iron today.

The post Kawarazaki Takashi, a blacksmith who listens to the voice of the user and carries on the handiwork of a careful craftsman / Ina City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

With the globalization of food culture, the Japanese diet has undergone rapid changes. The annual per capita consumption of rice in Japan has continued to decline since 1962, finally reaching less than half of its peak in 2020. As the Japanese food culture has declined, sake, which has been enjoyed along with Japanese food, has also been on the decline, being pushed aside in favor of beer and wine. As the market shrinks, simply following the old style will lead to decline. Naotaka Miyasaka, president of the long-established brewery Miyasaka Brewery in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, and his son Katsuhiko, also struggling between tradition and respect, have begun a new challenge without giving in to adversity.

Miyasaka Brewery is located near Lake Suwa, the largest lake in Shinshu, and is widely known for its 360-year-old sake called “Masumi,” which is derived from “Masumi no Kagami,” a mirror used at Suwa-taisha Shrine, famous for the Omihashira Festival. The company boasts the largest production volume in Nagano Prefecture and is a nationally renowned sake brewer, but its journey has not been an easy one, according to Katsuhiko, the next head of the company.

History of Miyasaka Brewery

The original Miyasaka family was a vassal of the Suwa family, which ruled the region until the Warring States period. Tossed into the war between Takeda and Oda, they put down their swords and embarked on the sake brewing business. However, as times changed from the Meiji to the Taisho era, and the brewery’s business became difficult, the family switched to miso brewing. Instead, Masaru Miyasaka, the great-grandfather of Katsuhiko Miyasaka, was entrusted to take the helm of the sake brewing business.

Masaru Miyasaka, who was in his 20s at the time, focused on improving the quality of the sake he brewed, dreaming of one day creating the best sake in Japan with other toji of the same age. In 1943, Miyasaka Brewery finally won first place in the National Sake Competition. The company went on to win awards at other prestigious sake competitions, and Miyasaka Brewery, an obscure sake brewery in Shinshu, was thrust into the limelight.

The “No. 7 Yeast” that supported the brewery’s breakthrough

The reason for Masumi’s great leap forward was due in large part to the brewery’s proprietary yeast, “Shichi-go Yeast,” which was eventually recognized as a superior yeast.

Masumi, which repeatedly won top prizes, attracted the attention of many researchers, and as a result, Dr. Shoichi Yamada of the Ministry of Finance’s Brewery Research Institute, the highest authority at the time, visited the brewery to inspect it. This alone was an honor in itself, but after carefully inspecting every corner of the brewery, Dr. Yamada discovered a new type of yeast in the fermenting mash. This was Miyasaka Brewery’s brewery yeast, later named Shichi-go Yeast.

Yeast is a type of fungus used in the fermentation of sake. It is so important that it is said to have a greater influence on sake than rice, especially in the production of aroma components and acidity, which are related to flavor. At that time, there were still many sake breweries that used wild brewer’s yeast, but wild yeast was an unstable fungus that carried risks such as contaminating the brewery.

On the other hand, this No. 7 yeast has stronger fermentation power than conventional yeasts and can ferment even at low temperatures. It is characterized by a clear taste and a gorgeous orange-like aroma, and has less off-flavor that can be produced by high-temperature fermentation. The No. 7 yeast, which has brought a breath of fresh air to the sake industry, was brought back to Japan by Dr. Kikuchi and distributed as “Kyokai Yeast” to sake breweries throughout Japan. The widespread use of Shichi-go Yeast led to an improvement in the quality of the entire industry and contributed greatly to the production of safe and delicious sake. Even today, more than 70 years after its discovery, Shichi-go Yeast is said to be used in more than half of the nation’s sake breweries, and is still enjoyed by sake drinkers.

From Japan to the world. Sake brewing with a global perspective

Anticipating the coming of a new era, Miyasaka Brewery pushed ahead with its expansion into Tokyo. After graduating from Keio University and studying abroad at Gonzaga University in Washington State, the current president Naotaka joined the company in 1983, and began using his study abroad experience to expand overseas sales channels around 2000. In this way, Miyasaka Brewery has continued to produce sake that is in tune with the times, always reading the times and looking ahead to the future.

And now, in 2019. In the new era of the Heisei Era and the 2025 Era, Miyasaka and his son Miyasaka have undertaken a reform. It was a major shift in the brewery’s approach, a return to its roots, to use only the No. 7 yeast, which is synonymous with the brewery’s own yeast.

Switching to the No. 7 yeast yeast

Katsuhiko, who currently serves as the president’s office manager, worked in apparel at a famous Tokyo department store after graduating from university before leaving in 2013 to join the brewery.

However, the sake industry had already begun to diversify, and following trends was no longer the only “right” thing to do. Sake itself has stepped out of the traditional ring and established itself in the world as a “SAKE” along with wine and beer. Katsuhiko felt that in order to compete in this layer, it was necessary to further express his own individuality and attractiveness and “make sake that is different from others. He saw the value in specializing in a narrow field. In 2019, he launched a project to create a new line under the two themes of “individuality unique to Miyasaka Brewery” and “high quality food sake that enhances the flavor of food.

However, it was said that it was difficult to produce a gorgeous flavor with the No. 7 yeast. It took many prototypes and a considerable amount of time to achieve the desired flavor and aroma. Even after the taste was confirmed, it was not easy to unify all the sake brewed with the No. 7 yeast. Sometimes, they even used hints from sake breweries outside of the prefecture.

The four sake products that were released were named “Shinju-AKA,” “Urushukuro-KURO,” “Hakumyo-SHIRO,” and “KAYA. Miyasaka Brewery is proud to have created these sake products through a process of trial and error, so that they can be served with any dish at today’s varied dining tables.

Launched in 2019, this series is appealing for its beautiful water and cool breezy taste of the Suwa region. The rebranding of “Masumi” is an excellent realization of Katsuhiko’s vision of “sake that adds color to the daily dining table. The idea of returning to the basics and innovation was a unique expression of the appeal of the No. 7 yeast.

Miyasaka Brewery’s goal for “Masumi from now on

Miyasaka Brewery, which began to develop products specializing in No. 7 yeast with the aim of entering the global market, also changed its symbol mark to coincide with the rebranding. The company created a simple, sophisticated logo of “a single ivy leaf reflected in a water mirror” from kanji, a powerful and dignified image that is typical of Japanese sake.

Ivy is the family crest of the Miyasaka family. The ivy has been a symbol of prosperity since ancient times. The shape of the ivy leaves reflected in the water mirror and sake cup represents the harmony of the brewer’s philosophy of “harmony, brewing, and good sake,” as well as the circle of the brewery. The duality of tradition and innovation contained in the brand message of “connecting people, nature, and time,” the gentle and harmonious flavor of the No. 7 yeast, and the desire to promote sake culture around the world are all expressed in the symbol.

Incidentally, the symbol mark was chosen for the rebranding so that people overseas who cannot read Japanese will remember Miyasaka Brewery’s sake. We believe that a universally recognized symbol will serve as a bridge to spread Miyasaka Brewery’s sake throughout the world.

Katsuhiko also says that expanding overseas is not only a way to promote sake, but also “an opportunity to reevaluate the value and characteristics of sake and to reaffirm its recognition. For example, when approaching an overseas city where Miyasaka Brewery is barely known, the sake from their own brewery needs to be explained from scratch. Each time, he says, he has to verbalize and explain the brewery’s sake, which in turn deepens his own understanding of Masumi and, by extension, Japanese sake.

When they were looking at overseas expansion and seriously trying to compete on the same layer as the great sake breweries overseas, they strongly felt that inspection visits alone were not enough to gain the knowledge needed to do so. Interaction through business will lead to deeper exchanges and learning.

Compared to wine and beer, the sake industry was like an isolated country. On a global scale, wine has a circulation of 2 trillion yen, while sake still has only about 45 billion yen. The goal for sake in the future is to become a sake that can compete with wine in the global market. Katsuhiko says he hopes Miyasaka Brewery will be able to play a part in this goal. His eyes are already filled with a sense of self-awareness and dignity as the next head of the company.

The post Miyasaka Brewery, which aims to brew sake globally and share its appeal with the world / Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Cider Brewery Draws Attention in Nagano, the Apple Capital of Japan

Nagano Prefecture boasts the second largest apple production in Japan. As a result, the prefecture also produces a large number of ciders, which are made from apples. In the past, many wineries and sake breweries in the prefecture produced ciders as souvenirs, but recent years have seen a surge in the number of breweries specializing in ciders with a spirit of craftsmanship, driven by the recent trend for ciders. The first brewery in Nagano Prefecture specializing in ciders, Kamoshika Cider Brewery, is a pioneer in this field. Located on a hilltop in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, with a scenic view of the Japanese Alps to the south and north, the modern design of the facility might make you think it is a café. However, the ciders brewed here have been highly acclaimed in many prestigious competitions, including winning the top prize “Trophy” at the Fuji Cidre Challenge, a world-class cidre competition.

The familiar taste of Inadani apples

Kohei Irikura, the head of Kamoshika Cidre Brewery, was born in Tokyo. His great-grandmother’s house in Ina City used to send apples to him, so he was familiar with apples from a young age, but as an adult, he spent some time without having anything to do with them. One day, however, the delicious taste of Ina Valley apples that he used to eat at home suddenly came to mind. Since then, Mr. Irikura has been thinking about what he could do with apples, and moved to Ina City, which had all the right hooks. He studied brewing techniques at a brewing school in Tokyo and at a brewery in Nagano Prefecture, and in 2016 he opened the Kamoshika Cider Brewery.

Encountering a brewed variety that was being grown for research

After opening the brewery, he took on a variety of challenges in pursuit of the cider taste he envisioned. The apple has established a firm position in Japan, and has become a major fruit that has earned the right of citizenship, yet many ciders made from apples have yet to break out of the realm of souvenirs. The reason for this is that apples for fresh consumption began to spread during the Meiji period (1868-1912), and at that time, varieties for brewing were no longer imported.

Later, it became even more difficult to import brewing apples due to quarantine issues and other problems, so the only way to produce ciders was to use varieties that had been improved for fresh eating in Japan. In other words, ciders made from popular local apple varieties make excellent souvenirs. However, it may be more akin to wine with a regional promotion element, using grapes that are not specifically wine varieties, such as Kyoho grapes or Shine Muscat.

Of course, these are also delicious, but in the same way that wineries in Japan are all focusing their efforts on cultivating popular wine grape varieties from around the world, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, there are also many varieties of apples that can be eaten fresh, such as the sharply acidic Benidama (Jonathan in English) and the refreshingly sour green apple Granny Smith, which is native to Australia. Cider, with its astringency and acidity not found in fresh eating apples, has its own variety of apples suited for cider. However, it was not easy to brew cider using these varieties because they could not be imported through quarantine.

However, Ina, where the brewery was located, happened to be home to the Faculty of Agriculture of Shinshu University, which had grown for research purposes Virginia Crab, a native of the United States, Greensleeves, a native of England, and other valuable brewing apple varieties grown on the home farm of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. were grown for research purposes. Mr. Irikura immediately asked the professor to share branches of these varieties and cultivate them in his own vineyard. He began producing apples that were a combination of the brewing variety and the fresh eating variety.

Second fermentation in the bottle, a labor-intensive pursuit of flavor

Cidre is not made by industrially adding carbon dioxide gas like carbonated beverages, but rather by secondary fermentation in the bottle, like champagne, in which sugar and yeast are added to the wine and fermented again in the bottle. The apples used change with the seasons. From a star-studded list of apple varieties, the brewery went through a process of trial and error to find a combination that would allow them to confidently introduce their ciders to the world, using only what is in season during the harvesting season.

Kamoshika Cider Brewery aims to create a cider that is uniquely Ina Valley

The concept of the cider that Mr. Irikura is aiming for is freshness and fruitiness. Since apples oxidize easily, he is careful to keep the juice from oxidizing as much as possible. However, according to Mr. Irikura, 80% of a cider’s flavor is determined by the quality of the ingredients. This is why Nagano Prefecture is one of the largest producers of apples in Japan, and the brewing of cider in Inadani, which is famous for its high-quality apples, is an advantage. The brewing environment and yeast, which is said to have the second largest impact on flavor after the ingredients, are prepared by using yeast imported from France for Champagne brewing and egg-shaped brewing tanks that allow for easy flow and mellowing of acidity.

The ciders thus produced are brewed according to the harvest time of the varieties used.

The ciders are brewed according to the harvest season of the variety used, and are available in six classic etitettes: “La 1e saison,” “La 2e saison,” and “La 3e saison,” each with sweet and dry flavors. All of them are made with second fermentation in the bottle. All of the ciders feature fine bubbles created by secondary fermentation in the bottle and a robust flavor with the natural fruity acidity of apples.

Our goal is to create a place where people gather with cider as a hook.

Six years after its establishment, Kamoshika Cider Brewery has become one of the top cider breweries in Japan, both in name and reality, by continuing to make ciders that take advantage of its location. In the meantime, more than 10 breweries specializing in ciders have opened in Nagano Prefecture, and we feel that the gap between domestic ciders and world-famous ciders has become smaller compared to wine. This is probably evidence, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, of the increasing number of cidery breweries in Japan with a spirit of craftsmanship. This facility is a driving force in the Japanese cider world. The goal is to create a cider with such appeal that it will become a visitor center for the area and attract more people to Ina, using the cider as a hook to attract more visitors.

The post Kamoshika Cidery Brewery, a leader in domestically produced ciders, taking advantage of its location in Inadani, Nagano Prefecture / Ina City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

What is a winery that wine lovers are interested in?

Sakaki-machi, Hanishina-gun, Nagano Prefecture, is dotted with the headquarters of many industrial product manufacturers that have a global market share. Although the town is famous for its industry, it does not have the industrial landscape of an urban industrial area. Located in the northeastern part of Nagano Prefecture and surrounded by mountains, the town is a small town of about 15,000 people rich in nature with the Chikuma River, a first-class river, flowing through the middle of the town. In a corner of this peaceful town, there is a winery that has attracted the attention of wine lovers.

The winery, Sakaki Budoshu Brewery, was established in 2018 by Atsuto Narisawa, who was born and raised in this area. Mr. Narisawa was a manager at a major restaurant company in the prefecture and became a certified sommelier while working there. As he learned about the marriage of wine and food and its depth, he became interested in brewing. Later, while working independently and operating several restaurants in Nagano Prefecture, he cultivated a vineyard for wine grapes in Sakaki-machi and opened a brewery.

Sandy gravel soil, a rarity in Nagano Prefecture

Mr. Narisawa’s decision to cultivate vineyards in Sakaki is not only due to his love of his hometown. The most important reason is that this land has sand and gravel soil that is very suitable for wine grape cultivation. The soil is said to be similar to that of Bordeaux, France, and pebbles can be found when a hoe is lowered. The soil drains very well and is resistant to root rot, which allows the roots to grow deep, and the characteristics of the terroir appear in the grapes. The plan worked, and within a few years of cultivating the land, the region began to produce wine grapes with potential that exceeded expectations. The soil is also the source of unique products not found in other regions, such as “Nezumi Daikon,” a traditional Shinshu vegetable with a strong pungent flavor that is a specialty of the region. Mr. Narisawa continues his daily efforts to produce grapes that fully express the unique characteristics of the region.

One of the highest rates of sunny days and temperature differences between day and night in Japan

There are other advantages to growing grapes in this region. These are the sunny weather rate and the temperature difference between day and night. Sakaki Town has a central highland inland basin climate with low precipitation throughout the year and one of the clearest weather rates in Japan. Low rainfall during the growing season reduces disease damage to wine grapes. The temperature difference between day and night averages more than 10°C per month. This temperature difference increases sugar and acid levels, which are important factors that enhance wine quality, such as depth of flavor and alcohol content.

Mr. Narisawa sensed the high potential of these excellent growing conditions, and he continued to communicate that “Sakaki Town is a good place to grow grapes for wine. This has been a major factor in the “Sakaki Winery Formation Project” being promoted by the town of Sakaki. In this project, the town has applied for a special zone to relax the minimum amount of vinification, establish a winery, allow local companies and individuals to participate in the project, and expand the area under cultivation. In the Chikuma Wine Valley in the Chikuma River basin in eastern Nagano Prefecture, which is said to be suitable for the cultivation of high-quality wine grapes, efforts are underway to make the town a particularly outstanding wine-producing region.

Taste of Wine in Reverse

Mr. Narisawa’s wine is made from Sakaki-machi grapes, which he considers to have all the right conditions. He says that his image of the taste he was aiming for was “backward calculation. Mr. Narisawa is now the representative of a winery, but his roots are in restaurant management. That is why he has always worked backwards from the food to make wines that go with it. The pursuit of taste that accompanies the meal, rather than the individuality of the wine itself. Because he has been involved in the restaurant business all his life, Mr. Narisawa takes pride in knowing more than most people about the necessity of wine to color the mealtime experience. Kaori Howard, who studied winemaking techniques for 12 years at Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma, California, has joined Sakaki Budoshu Brewery as the winemaker in charge of winemaking. She is one of those who, like Narisawa, is fascinated by the individuality of the wine grapes produced here and wants to develop her own wines so as not to waste their potential. With an emphasis on Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s unique style, they aim for consistent quality and quantity, and their wines, which transcend logic and taste delicious, have received high acclaim, including a three-star rating at the Japan Winery Awards.

In particular, Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s best “Vino della Gatta” is a wine worthy of being called a top cuvée. The number of bottles brewed is limited to about 100 a year, so it is not sold wholesale at all, and only one bottle per person can be purchased at the Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s winery store. Of course, the taste is well worth it. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot harvested from the company’s own vineyards are blended according to the quality of the fruit, and the wine, which fully brings out the characteristics of the terroir, is as powerful as the best wines in the world. The wines have a firm body, yet the sharp, dry mouthfeel and rich fruitiness attract many people, many of whom travel from far and wide to taste this top cuvée.

Cats and their love for the region bring people together.

The wines produced at this winery have another trick to make people smile. It is the etiquet with a cat on it. The top cuvée is Mie Komatsu, a contemporary artist who has held many solo exhibitions in Japan and abroad and is highly acclaimed around the world since she attracted attention as a “too beautiful copperplate artist,” and the second cuvée is RONIN -GLOBUS The second cuvette will be created by OZ-Ogashira-Yamaguchi Keisuke, a painter and artist who has won the top prize at the “RONIN -GLOBUS – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM” held in New York. Both artists are from Nagano Prefecture, and in the case of Mr. Komatsu, he is based in Sakaki Town, where his winery is located. Because they are artists who know the local area well, they were able to convey the appeal of the wines produced here and create an original etiquette that leaves a lasting impression on those who see it. In addition, Mr. Narisawa has given cat-inspired names to almost everything related to his business, including his own restaurants Nekono Wine, LA GATTA, and Koumonoya Kitten, as well as his own vineyards named Tama, Kuro, and Tora. Of course, it all started with Mr. Narisawa’s love of cats, but his unique ideas happened to resonate with a wide range of generations and spread to cat lovers nationwide. The company’s image as a restaurant business had preceded it, but it quickly gained recognition as a winery.

Although not directly related to the taste of the wine, Mr. Narisawa hopes that such trivial details as the cat-painted etiquettes and the vineyard named after a cat will trigger an increase in interest in and visits to Sakaki Town, even if just a little. Although it was in Nagano City, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, that Mr. Narisawa opened his first restaurant after becoming independent, he has always been concerned about the lack of tourism resources in his hometown, Sakaki Town, and wished he could take action to help attract tourists to the area. In that sense, we aimed to create a place where people would come from outside, using a cat familiar to Japanese people as the image of the winery.

Starting in 2019, the winery is also organizing wine events in Sakaki Town in order to make wine permeate the town as a new culture and to establish fans of Sakaki wine. Step by step, Mr. Narisawa is actively taking action to enliven his beloved hometown with his beloved wine. I want to make Sakaki a major wine-producing area when I have grandchildren, and I want the people living in the area to be proud of that. We can’t leave anything out now to make that happen.” In his eyes, we can see such a scene several decades from now, when many people visit the matured vineyards and enjoy a meal with wine made from grapes harvested in the vineyards.

The post Boosting our beloved hometown with wine. The big challenge of Sakaki Budoshu Brewery, a small winery in Sakaki-machi, Nagano Prefecture. /Sakajo Town, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Okubo Brewery, located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, is a soy sauce brewery that enjoys great support not only from its hometown in Shinshu, but also from famous soba noodle stores throughout Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south. Because of its popularity, many soba shops go to the trouble of putting up signs in their stores to emphasize that they use Okubo Brewery’s soy sauce as kaeshi (a seasoning for buckwheat noodles).

In 2021, Okubo Brewery won the “Omotenashi Selection,” an award established to discover and promote to the world Japan’s excellent products and services with a spirit of hospitality, The product was awarded the Gold Prize, beating out a host of superior products from all over Japan. This proves that Okubo Brewery can not only distribute its products to restaurants, but also compete with major grocery stores around the world, attracting even more attention. What kind of soy sauce production is Okubo Brewery aiming for as the leading brewery in Nagano Prefecture?

Individuality” created by tracing technology that has continued since the Meiji era

Okubo Brewery was established in 1905. As mentioned above, the soy sauce produced here is highly trusted by famous restaurants and cookery researchers. Katsumi Okubo, the fourth generation of the brewery’s family and the senior managing director, is still faithfully following the methods of his predecessors, even though he now plays a central role in the brewing process himself. The best example of this is the naturally brewed soy sauce, which is prepared in wooden vats.

The wooden vats that line the brewing room are old vats that have been used for generations. Stainless steel tanks, which are more common today, are more stable in taste and easier to manage and clean. However, Mr. Okubo insists on continuing to use wooden vats. The reason for this is the characteristics of wood, such as respiration and the bacteria that live in the vat. This is the factor that gives the flavor character and depth. Of course, unlike stainless steel tanks, wood is a natural material, so it is important to take care of it.

Katsumi’s father, Bunyasu, the president of the brewery, takes care of the wooden vats used in the brewery by lacquering them himself. There are 10 wooden vats, each more than twice his own height. It is hard work just to paint one vat, but even so, he says it is an essential part of his job to maintain the natural brewing process. This attitude toward work and behavior can be felt not only in the care of the wooden vats, but everywhere in the brewery. The cleanliness and well-maintained lines of communication that contradict the quaintness of the brewery are just one example of the daily attention to quality in areas other than brewing techniques.

Making the most effective use of the limited site

Katsumi, the fourth generation of the brewery owner, while giving a tour of his own brewery, said, “Our brewery doesn’t have much to offer in terms of appearance. It has been repeatedly expanded to its current form. He is modest. Indeed, some of the storehouses have a quaint atmosphere, while others are lined with large industrial machines. This is the result of his predecessor Bunyasu’s efforts to update his own brewery on a limited site, while preserving the good traditions built up over generations, and how to brew efficiently.

Soybeans and wheat are brought up from the material storehouse and processed on the third floor, then brought down to the second floor where the koji room is located, and further down to the wooden vats waiting on the first floor where they are prepared. It is a model of how to make soy sauce in a limited space. What really caught my attention were the two devices hanging from the ceiling on the third floor that pour roasted wheat into the koji making tanks. One might ask why separate machines are needed to pour the same wheat into different tanks, but the reason is said to be ease of mixing.

Wheat is the raw material for the koji making process, which is an important step in the production of soy sauce. The wheat is roasted and then ground, and the difference in the size of the wheat is more important than the uniformity of the size of the wheat, because it mixes better. The design of the machine is such that the ground wheat is moved along the rail right above the koji making tank, but the structure is such that the two machines switch conductors so that they do not obstruct each other’s paths on the rail. This is an original idea of Mr. Bunyasu’s, based on the switching structure of the rail track. By creating an efficient work flow, the brewery is able to minimize waste in the production process and use the extra resources for better soy sauce production.

Attention to Ingredients

In addition to the natural brewing process, which uses wooden vats to mature the soy sauce over a long period of time, and the use of koji mold to add fullness to the flavor, Okubo Brewery is also very particular about the ingredients it uses.

Wheat is grown in the prefecture. For salt, they use Shimamasu, which has a high mineral content and no salt angle. Of course, Okubo Brewery is very particular about its soybeans. The soybeans are purchased directly from a farmer in Aomori Prefecture named Takezo Fukushi. Although the name “Aomori” may not sound familiar, the quality of these soybeans, which are grown organically without pesticides and sown directly in the fertile soil of the Tohoku region without water, is evident from the moment the beans are washed.

The quality of the soybeans is such that even Mr. Okubo, who has seen and tasted many soybeans in his life, says, “These are beans that make you fall in love with them. Since encountering these soybeans, he feels that the reputation of soy sauce has improved even further. Whether it is these soybeans or the aforementioned wheat and salt, Katsumi is a firm believer in using only ingredients whose producers’ faces can be seen. This commitment is reflected in the high quality of his soy sauce.

Good Soy Sauce Production Starts with Environmental Considerations

Along with brewing techniques and ingredients, Okubo Brewery is also particular about one other thing. That is environmental friendliness. Soy sauce is made by the power of nature, including microorganisms, so Okubo-san and his son believe that it is important to keep “nature,” which is the source of soy sauce, beautiful.

Bunyasu-san has been using a deposit system since the 1960s, whereby he receives a deposit from his first customer and reuses the bottles. This is not only in the neighborhood, but anywhere in the country. By collecting bottles in this way instead of disposing of them at the place of shipment, he is helping to preserve the environment. Of course, what we can do on our own may be trivial. But it is better than nothing.

We believe that small steps are important in everything, and we have continued to do so until today. Now, Bunyasu’s philosophy has been taken over by Katsumi, who has begun to weave a new tradition at Okubo Brewery.

The post Okubo Brewery, a soy sauce brewery that enjoys great support from famous soba noodle restaurants and popular ryotei (Japanese-style restaurants) / Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Daishinshu Sake Brewery had breweries in the two major cities of Nagano Prefecture, Nagano City and Matsumoto City, respectively. As the name suggests, the brewery brews a brand that is very familiar to the people of Nagano Prefecture, and is widely distributed throughout the prefecture without being influenced by the area.
The Daishinshu Brewery will consolidate its base in Matsumoto City in 2020. The brewery has taken a new step forward in its history.

Pursuing functional beauty over scenic beauty

Daishinshu Sake Brewery was established in 1880 when a sake brewery founded in 1880 under the name “Haradaya” merged with several other breweries in Nagano Prefecture. Although the exact number of breweries at the time does not remain as a record, according to documents and stories passed down from the previous generation, it was a large merger that brought about seven breweries together.

For a while after the merger, each brewery brewed sake on its own, but in 1972, in an effort to improve productivity, they consolidated their brewing facilities in Toyono, Nagano City, and their bottling and shipping facilities in Shimadate, Matsumoto City, and began brewing sake there. However, even though the two bases were consolidated, the distance between them is about 80 km. It is not easy just to transport the products, and it is not efficient because sake brewing cannot be done in a one-stop shop. Although the company had hoped to one day consolidate its operations in a single location, the actual realization of this goal was not easy.

In 2020, however, they finally got their wish and consolidated their operations in Shimadate, Matsumoto City, where Haradaya, which was at the center of the merger, was located. The new building and brewery, which has a completely new image of a sake brewery, is designed to be functional and beautiful, with the highest priority given to the flow and operation of the sake brewing process. Of course, an old and atmospheric sake brewery has a certain elegance that impresses visitors and enhances the taste of sake by its image alone. However, Ryuichi Tanaka, the current president of the company, believes that as a manufacturing company, a legacy that does not function is meaningless, and he is determined to improve productivity and quality so that the company can continue to brew sake in the same way 100 years from now, and in 100 years from now, he hopes that this facility can again be called a legacy of value. The company has chosen to grow even further so that in 100 years’ time, this facility can once again be called a valuable legacy.

The new building is bright and clean, and the employees’ faces and voices are uniformly cheerful. The new Taishinshu Brewery has given up its quaintness and created an environment in which employees can work comfortably. The new Daishinshu Brewery has given up its traditional atmosphere and created an environment where employees can work comfortably.

Daishinshu Brewery’s commitment to dry sake

Daishinshu aims for dry sake with a refreshing apple-like aroma. This aroma is a type of aroma component produced during the sake brewing process, and it is a ginjo aroma characterized by a sweet aroma that can be perceived as pear or pineapple. Daishinshu Sake Brewery, which mainly produces ginjo, has been pursuing this ginjo aroma for a long time. In recent years, the company has been able to extract this aroma all at once using the power of yeast, but President Tanaka says that this is a little too much.

Daishinshu Brewery aims for a sake that is elegant, light, and refined, with hints of apple, citrus, and white grape aromas. These days, sake with such a taste is favored at sake competitions, and it is easier to win awards. However, this is just the current needs of the market, and President Tanaka believes that it is not right to change the taste of sake that one is aiming for just to follow the current trends. He is aiming for a universal and distinctive taste that can be recognized even in a blind tasting as “Daishinshu.

70% of the taste is determined by the ingredients

Therefore, he is particular from the stage of raw material processing. In the new facility, a system has been installed to maintain a constant water temperature for washing rice used for sake. Even if the water temperature rises due to outside temperatures, the rice does not absorb too much water. In the Daishinshu style, the steamed rice is cooled naturally to remove the heat, which improves the “sabake” (texture) of the steamed rice by far. From ginjo-shu for sake competitions to heated sake for local consumption, the steamed rice used for the sake mother and koji are all naturally cooled.

In recent years, few sake breweries use natural cooling for all of their sake because of the time and effort required. However, this is a practice that has been practiced since the old brewery, and we would never think of changing it. For this reason, the new facility has been designed to make the cooling process as easy as possible.

Although there is no visible difference in the type of rice or yeast used to make sake, Daishinshu Brewery believes that the raw materials and their processing determine 70% of the taste, which is why they are so particular about the raw material processing and have created an optimal environment for it. Of course, we are also particular about our ingredients. Currently, all of the sake rice used by Daishinshu Brewery is grown locally under contract. Eighty to ninety percent of it is grown using organic farming methods. The variety is limited to two varieties, Hitogokochi and Kinmon-nishiki, both of which originated in Nagano Prefecture.

Until a few years ago, they also used “Yamadanishiki” and other varieties, but they have switched to all of them. It is true that some brewers still want to use Yamada-Nishiki, and in fact, Yamada-Nishiki is considered the king of sake rice. However, Yamada-Nishiki is a sake rice native to Hyogo Prefecture and is best suited to growing in the climate of Hyogo Prefecture. So, once we decided to use locally grown rice, we thought we should adapt the variety to the growing environment of Nagano Prefecture and control the taste of the sake that our own brewery aims to produce.

Behind this decision is a strong will to maximize the agricultural potential of Nagano Prefecture, which is rich in nature, as the mission of a local company. This commitment to the local community can also be felt in the words posted throughout the brewing room.

Love and Gratitude” for Sake and its Ingredients

The Daishinshu Brewery boasts the largest production volume in Matsumoto City. The new brewing room is designed with work efficiency in mind and feels larger than it actually is because there are almost no obstructions in the room.

The room is so bright and open that it is hard to believe it is a sake brewery, and just by looking around you can tell that it is a comfortable working environment. Looking around the room, one can see signs everywhere.

The words “Love and Gratitude” are written by each employee before the start of the year’s sake brewing. It is a traditional way of marking the beginning of the season at the brewery, and it is written with the intention of expressing love and gratitude for the sake to be made and the natural environment that surrounds the brewery.

The idea that only the best can be made if the brewery is filled with love and gratitude is still alive and well at Daishinshu Sake Brewery. This philosophy has led to facilities that prioritize the work environment and sake brewing that is rooted in the local community.

A mountain is formed by the accumulation of dust

The Daishinshu Sake Brewery has never done anything out of the ordinary, but rather has continued to pursue the taste of its own sake.

The words of the previous master brewer, “I want a harmonious and mild sake,” remain the basis of their brewing to this day, as they strive to create sake that will be loved by all. They do not drastically change the taste of sake or the way it is made, but rather continue to study the basics, believing that the raw materials and the processing of raw materials determine the quality of the sake.

The process is not flashy, but the company takes everything they think is good and updates it one step at a time.

President Tanaka believes that the dust accumulated in this way will eventually form a large mountain that will become a new foundation, and that this is the way the Daishinshu Brewery should be, and he is devoting himself to sake brewing every day with an eye to the next 100 years.

The post Daishinshu Sake Brewery,” which has become a representative sake brewery in Shinshu, confronts the taste of sake it believes in. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Sake Sengano, a sake brewery where Shingen Takeda also served

Kawanakajima-cho, Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, is famous for the numerous battles between Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi, the famous generals of the Warring States Period. Located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture, this town has the oldest sake brewery in Nagano Prefecture and the seventh oldest in Japan. It is “Shusen Kurano,” founded in 1540. At the time of its founding, the brewery operated under the trade name “Chino Shuzo,” but changed to its current name in 2007 following the retirement of the previous president.

The new trade name, which is a recombination of the old name, shows the feminine sensibility of Mariko Chino, a pioneer female toji in Nagano Prefecture. Mariko was born and raised in Kawanakajima, the only daughter of the brewer. She was attracted to sake brewing after studying brewing and microbiology at Tokyo University of Agriculture. After two years of training at the National Brewery Research Institute of the National Tax Administration Agency, she returned to her hometown to renew her appreciation of sake. In the spring of 2000, eight years after beginning his apprenticeship under the previous toji, he was appointed to the position of toji two years earlier than planned due to the sudden illness of the previous toji.

From Normal Sake to Specified Name Sake

Since assuming this position, Mariko has often been the focus of attention for her role as a female toji, but her true appeal lies in her sense and sensibility for sake brewing. The sake brewed by her has won many awards at sake competitions.

Incidentally, before Mariko became the toji, Sake Sengano (then known as Chino Shuzo) was a sake brewery rooted in the local community, brewing mainly a type of sake called “ordinary sake.

Ordinary sake is a reasonably priced sake that is sold at supermarkets and other mass merchandisers. Compared to “Tokutei Meishu,” which includes ginjo-shu and honjozo (hon-jozo), sake is more casual and easily used for everyday dining. However, since Mariko took over as toji (master brewer), she has focused on the development of the aforementioned tokutei meishu (special name sake).

Kawanakajima Genmai,” a sake made in pursuit of her own sensibilities

Until then, the brewery brewed two types of sake: “Katsura Masamune,” a robust-flavored sake suited to the salty taste of pickles and miso, and “Kawanakajima,” a nigori sake. The new brand “Kawanakajima Genmai” was created. The launch of the new brand was influenced by the fact that at the time, consumers were becoming less and less interested in sake due to diversification of sake products, and production of mainstay products was declining year by year.

In order to always offer “Shiboritate” (freshly brewed, unfiltered, aromatic sake), it is necessary to shorten the brewing span and bottle freshly brewed sake as consistently as possible, which means that the operating period is about twice that of a typical sake brewery. Of course, the workload increases accordingly, but Mariko devoted herself to this task, even sparing time for sleep, in order to produce the ideal sake.

After the Genmai series was launched, Mariko focused her efforts on creating sake that met the needs of the times, and through repeated trial and error, increased the number of products, including rice types, rice polishing ratios, and yeasts, until the Genmai series alone now boasts a lineup of 13 products. Despite the shift in focus from regular sake to sake with a specific name, production has more than doubled since he first took over as toji.

Utilizing local fallow rice paddies, the brewery has been able to give its own brewery a unique character other than just deliciousness.

As a result, the percentage of Tokutei Meishu, which is priced higher than regular sake, has increased, and the production volume has also increased, which means that Genmai’s branding has been a great success. However, Mariko humbly admits that this is not due solely to her own efforts, but also to the fact that she was able to ride the wave of the recent sake boom.

After 20 years as a toji, my strong impression of the current sake industry is that there are no major failures in any of the breweries’ sake, and that all of the sake tastes good on average. This is a wonderful thing, but perhaps it is because the basic formula for sake brewing has been established, and there seems to be a lack of individuality in each sake.

Mariko therefore decided to make the sake brewery unique by getting close to the local community and utilizing idle rice paddies to grow sake rice on a contract basis. Kawanakajima, where Sake Sengano is located, is the largest living area in Nagano City, and urban development has been active since the time of the Nagano Olympics. Perhaps because industry developed in proportion to this, many people gave up their farmland as the generations changed.

Incidentally, it is said that if rice paddies are not used for a year, crops will not grow for three years, so it is important to take good care of the paddies. Therefore, from the beginning of her career as a toji, Mariko gradually sought cooperation from local farmers and started a project to reuse the abandoned rice fields as rice fields for sake rice production before they become fallow and fall into disrepair, and the brewery purchases all of the rice from these fields.

While there have been nationwide efforts to utilize fallow rice fields, this project has continued for more than 20 years largely because of the cooperation of local full-time farmers. In the first place, to cultivate enough rice to make sake, specialized farm equipment is essential, not to mention manpower. If the project were to recruit ordinary people who just want to try farming in order to expand the denominator, the project would often run into problems and come to a halt.

Toward a Distinctive Sake Brewery that is Close to the Community

Because they are full-time farmers, they can use their own farm equipment and accumulated know-how to take care of their own fields in a relatively easy way. In addition, the network of farmers allows them to smoothly lease land for sake rice production in the event that a neighboring rice field stops farming, thereby preventing the field from becoming fallow.

In this way, the company is able to distinguish itself by using locally grown Hitogokochi and Miyamanishiki rice, which are produced with the cooperation of the local people. As of 2024, efforts to utilize fallow rice fields have spread not only to the surrounding areas but also to neighboring towns and villages. This not only leads to effective utilization of idle fields in the region, but also provides local farmers with a new source of income and helps alleviate the shortage of successors.

Having been a sake brewery rooted in the community for about 500 years and supported by the people who live there, it is now time to use their own sake to give back to the life and economy of the community. Mariko hopes to be a sake brewery that is close to the community.

The post Sake Sengrano, the oldest sake brewery in Nagano Prefecture, aims to be rooted in the community / Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Why Apple Cultivation Thrives in Nagano

Nagano Prefecture boasts the second largest production of apples in Japan after Aomori Prefecture. The fruit is recognized as a specialty by all residents of Nagano Prefecture, so much so that even the signs posted on highways to indicate the border between the two prefectures have an illustration of apples on them.

The area where apples are grown is not limited to a specific region, but spans the entire prefecture, from north to south. The prefecture’s wide production area is not limited to a specific region, but spans the entire prefecture, from north to south, and because of the large amount of apples shipped, Nagano’s growing techniques are also highly developed, and the number of apple farmers who have won prestigious national awards is one of the highest in Japan.

Why is Nagano Prefecture suitable for apple cultivation? One of the main reasons is the climate. Aomori Prefecture is no exception, but when one looks around the world, Kazakhstan, which is said to be the native country of apples, Normandy in France, one of the world’s leading apple-producing regions, and Wenatchee, Washington, all suffer from severe cold weather. Conversely, warmer climates result in apples with softer flesh and less flavor and coloring.

Too cold temperatures also make it difficult for the apples to ripen. Therefore, the conditions for growing delicious apples are not only cold weather, but also an area with a high percentage of sunny days, where the sun’s rays mitigate the low temperatures. The cool autumn temperatures and the difference in temperature between day and night in high altitude areas are also important factors in preserving the flavor of apples.

The combination of these favorable conditions for apples makes Nagano Prefecture famous for its high-quality apples, and Yamanouchi Town, located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture, is particularly famous for its high-quality apples. The town is located at the foot of the Shiga Kogen Plateau, which attracts many skiers in winter, and the autumn wind blowing down from the plateau is especially cold in Nagano Prefecture, making the apples delicious.

Yamanouchi Town has produced more winners of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award than any other town in Nagano Prefecture, and among these legends, there is an apple farmer who has won many awards, including the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award, and is called an “ace. Mr. Shohei Yumoto is the representative of ” Ringo-en Yumoto ” ( Apple Orchard Yumoto ).

The Characteristics of Shinano Sweet and the Purpose of Cultivating Delicious Apples

Mr. Yumoto’s farm grows about 10 varieties of apples, including the standard Fuji and Tsugaru varieties, as well as popular Nagano Prefecture original varieties such as Shinano Sweet, Shinano Gold, Akiei, and Shinano Dolce, which originated in Shinshu.

The ” Shinano Sweet ” in particular is Mr. Yumoto’s best work. It is a thoroughbred of the apple world, with Fuji and Tsugaru as its parents. He does not pick apples early, but harvests them when they are fully ripe. The average sugar content is 15%, but it is not only sweet, it is also balanced with acidity to achieve the highest level of umami, creating a rich yet refreshing taste. The glossy red color that makes you want to pick it up is also captivating. It is a gem that will make apple fans across the country swoon.

Some growers grow dozens of varieties of apples, but Mr. Yumoto carefully selects the varieties he grows on the premise that he can keep an eye on all the apples he grows.

Of course, selecting the right variety alone is not enough to produce high quality apples. What is most important is the preparation of the apples before they are harvested. This is the pruning work that is done during the winter season. The purpose of pruning is not only to remove unnecessary branches, but also to produce high-quality flower buds, which are essential for producing delicious apples. From here, strong flowers and leaves are produced and apples are borne. The next year, or the year after that, the tree’s frame will be built and its vigor will be adjusted while considering where on the tree the flowers will bloom and the apples will be borne. He says that the tree is in its best condition when it is bearing apples and the nourishment is reaching the tips of the drooping branches.

The important thing to remember here is that pruning, as mentioned above, creates the flower buds for the next year and the year after, and the quality of that year’s apples has already been determined by the pruning done prior to last year. In other words, the pruning done that year is like an investment in advance, with an image of what will happen a year or more in the future.

Thus, apples are carefully nurtured over the course of a year, starting with pruning that determines how the fruit will develop next year, artificial pollination to produce fruit, fruit picking to grow larger and improve quality, leaf picking to expose the fruit to the sun and improve color and taste, and harvesting.

Apples grown in this way produce a rich flavor.

Today, preservation technology has developed, and the preservation method called CA storage, which keeps apples fresh for a long time by reducing the oxygen in the air inside the storage and increasing the carbon dioxide, has become widespread, especially in Aomori, a famous apple-growing region. Thanks to this method, apples can now be delivered to the table even in the summer, when they are out of season.

The fact that such technological developments have made it possible for more and more people to enjoy delicious apples throughout the year also means that consumers have raised the bar for apple quality. In Japan, there are currently about 2,000 varieties of apples, and about 100 varieties for food use alone.

This is why Mr. Yumoto feels strongly that he must pursue even higher quality and promote the taste and flavor of Yamanouchi apples throughout Japan.

At the same time, he is grateful to have been surrounded by legendary producers, and he would like to return the favor to the region by passing it on to the next generation.

Nagano Prefecture is home to apple farmers who make the most of regional characteristics. We cannot take our eyes off Mr. Yumoto, who is an evangelist for the charm of apples grown in the deep snow and rich nature of Yamanouchi Town.

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It all started with Kikkoman’s wine division

Manns Wine Komoro Winery is located in Komoro City in eastern Nagano Prefecture. The winery boasts the largest site in Nagano Prefecture, with a company building, vineyards, a brewery, a store, and a 3,000-tsubo Japanese garden on a vast site.

Manns Wine, which started in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture in 1962, chose Komoro City as a candidate site for its next winery. The city’s low rainfall, long hours of sunshine, and well-drained soil are ideal for winemaking, and in recent years, the Chikumagawa River basin, including this area, has been called “Chikuma River Wine Valley” and is attracting attention as a major production area for high-quality Japanese wines.

Mann’s Wine had already recognized the potential of this land and built its second winery there in 1973, long before the area was called “Wine Valley” and was highly acclaimed by many wine lovers.

It is not surprising that Mann’s Wine started as the wine division of Kikkoman, a major soy sauce maker. The “Mann” in Manz is the “Mann” in Kikkoman. In addition, it is also named after the Latin word “manna,” which is a food given from heaven, as described in the Bible.

At a time when Japanese wines were not yet as good as those of Europe and other wine-producing countries, Mann’s Wine was born out of a desire among employees to help develop Japanese wines, since the company’s business was brewing.

In 1981, Manns Wine was born out of a desire to create an environment that would enable the production of stable, high-quality wines that could compete with the world’s best wines, since Mann’s Wine had delivered “consistent good taste at all times” to dining tables throughout Japan as a soy sauce manufacturer. In 1981, the company began planting Chardonnay in addition to the Zenkoji grape (Ryugan), an indigenous white wine grape variety that originated in Nagano Prefecture.

However, the variety had little experience in cultivation in a place with little familiarity with the land. At first, they had to go through a trial-and-error process. He devised an epoch-making cultivation method that protected the grapes from rain and harvested ripe grapes by covering the entire hedge with a roll-up plastic sheet, and in 1987, he applied for a patent as Mann’s Rain Cut Hedge Cultivation Method. The following year, just before the 1988 harvest, an unseasonably heavy snowfall caused most of the shelves at Zenkoji (Ryugan) to collapse, but the Raincutt hedge cultivation system escaped damage at this time. This was a turning point in the conversion to hedge cultivation and European varieties, and served as a major stepping stone for the later “Solaris” series.

Solaris” wine finally born in Nagano

Over the years, Manns Wine has established cultivation methods and pruning that take advantage of the region’s unique soil. Some have pointed out the handicap of the cold winters in this region, but Bordeaux in France, a region known for producing excellent wines, is actually a very rainy region, and is not suited for grape cultivation in the same way.

Nevertheless, the winery believes that it is only by continuing to find varieties that match the region and taking on the challenge that it will be able to produce wines of excellent quality, and it has been earnestly facing the challenge of making wines that are unique to Komoro. The Chardonnay vines on the winery’s own farm, which have grown along with the winery’s history, are now the oldest European varietal vines in the upper Chikumagawa River Wine Valley, and they produce a deep and complex flavor with a sense of full potential that has many connoisseurs in stitches.

In 2001, the ” Solaris ” series of premium domestic wines was born. The flagship wine, named after Mann’s Wine’s iconic sun-shaped logo, is the culmination of the company’s long history and has won awards at prestigious wine competitions, been selected for first-class flights on domestic airlines, and is highly acclaimed around the world, exceeding expectations. The company has won awards at prestigious wine competitions, and has been selected for first class travel on domestic airlines.

At the same time, the company has also taken on the challenge of producing wines with individuality. The company developed an original variety, Asama Merlot, by crossing Merlot with Asama, which was created through in-house crossbreeding of Zenkoji Ryugan and Chardonnay. The grapes are characterized by their small size, bright color, firm acidity, and moderate astringency, making them easy to pair with meals. Over the past half century, Mann’s wine has become a popular partner for daily meals. It has supported the development of Japanese wine. It is no exaggeration to say that Mann’s Wine has finally established its position as one of Japan’s leading winemakers.

Taking full advantage of its location in Komoro City, Mann’s Wine aims to ” make Japanese wine from Japanese grapes ” with quality on par with the world’s best wines. Just as Kikkoman’s soy sauce is used around the world, Mann’s Wine is also striving to produce “Japanese wine” that represents Japan and is loved around the world.

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