Project 2
信州の米と、水と、
人の手から生まれた奇跡
あたりまえのやり方では、これまでなかった高級酒は造れない。まず、稲作は無農薬・有機肥料。一株一株がしっかりと光を浴び、風が株間を吹き抜けることにより稲が伸びやかにそだち、豊かな実をつけるように、稲の間隔を通常の２倍あけ、人の手で植えることにした。次に、水。酒の風味を決めると言われる仕込み水には、梓川水系の井戸水を使用。北アルプスの山々に積もった雪が、何十年もの時を経て濾過され、梓川に流れ込んだ水である。その水質は、やわらかな口当たりと、きめ細かい舌触りをつくっていく。そして造りは、すべての工程に最も手間のかかる吟醸づくり。米の雑味をなくすため、麹米は38％、掛米は40％まで削る。
ゆっくりと発酵させたもろみを、蔵人総出で行う「袋搾り」で上槽する。麻のような布袋から垂れる酒のみを抽出するのは、芳醇な香りや米の旨み、なにより生まれたままの表情や個性を残すためだ。気の遠くなるような手間暇をかけて、奇跡の味わいは完成する。
Miracle born from rice, water, and human hands in Nagano.
To create an unprecedented premium sake and set a new high-standard which up to now has
never
existed, the
normal is no longer acceptable.
For the first point, the rice should be cultivated using no pesticides and organic fertilizers. The rice
plants will be planted by hand, with twice the usual distance between the rice plants. This helps plants
to
expose to sunlight and to have the wind blow between them, which allows the rice to grow and bear
abundant
fruit.
The second point is the water. Our brewing water, which is said to determine the flavor of sake, is
sufficient water from the Azusa River system, filtered through decades of snow in the Northern Alps'
mountains. This water quality creates a soft mouthfeel and pleasing texture on the tongue.
The brewing process is called the Ginjo-zukuri, the most time-consuming method of making Ginjo sake. The
koji rice is polished to 38%, and the kake rice to 40%, to eliminate unwanted taste from the rice. After
slow fermentation, the "moromi" will be pressed in a “fukuro shibori (bag pressing)" method, in which
only
the sake that drips from the hemp-like cloth bag is extracted. This is to preserve the mellow aroma and
the
flavor of rice to express the character of the sake as it was born.
The miraculous taste achieves through time-consuming and labor-intensive processes.
To create an unprecedented premium sake and set a new high-standard which up to now has
never existed, the normal is no longer acceptable.
The rice should be cultivated using no pesticides and organic fertilizers. The rice plants will be
planted by hand, with twice the usual distance between the rice plants. Our brewing water, which is said
to determine the flavor of sake, is sufficient water from the Azusa River system, filtered through
decades of snow in the mountains.
The brewing process is called the Ginjo-zukuri, the most time-consuming method of making sake. After
slow fermentation, the "moromi" will be pressed in a “bag pressing" method, in which only the sake that
drips from the hemp-like cloth bag is extracted.
