Sake & brews ── Nihonshu (sake)
Junmai Ginjo-shu
Junmai ginjo — rice-only sake milled to 60% or less
Sake made purely from rice milled down to 60% or less, with no added alcohol. Fermented slowly at low temperature under what's called ginjo brewing, the style is said to bring out fruit-like aromas while keeping the rice sweetness close to that of junmai.
What it's made of
Only rice, koji, and water go in, and the rice is milled down to 60% or less of its original size. Polishing away the outer protein and fat is said to strip out sources of off-flavor and let through the apple- or pear-like aromas typical of ginjo brewing. The category aims for both the rice sweetness of junmai and the fragrance of ginjo at once, and is considered a relatively recent addition to the naming system.
How it's made
It's fermented using what's called ginjo brewing — a slower mash held at a lower temperature than usual. Because the yeast works more gradually at low temperature, aromatic compounds are said to stay in the sake rather than boiling off, giving a clean profile with little off-flavor. The koji rice itself is also polished to a high degree, said to be a further step toward heading off off-flavors before fermentation even starts, and the whole process is said to take noticeably longer than an ordinary brew.
Why it took this shape
The 60%-or-less milling standard with no added alcohol is said to have been set when the naming system was reorganized in 1989. Unlike ginjo, which allows added brewing alcohol, this category is said to have been created to chase the same aromatic lift using rice alone, and has since been treated as a style suited to gifts and special occasions, holding fragrance and rice sweetness together at once — a relatively recent face within the junmai family.
Before you go
- Enjoying a bussanten (regional products fair)A guide to what's sold at a bussanten (regional products fair), how to find one, when it gets crowded, shelf life and taking food home, and how to fit one around a trip.
- How to use an antenna shopA guide to what's sold at an antenna shop, its restaurant or eat-in counters, its tourist-information role, the cluster of shops around Ginza and Yurakucho, and how to use one before a trip or for last-minute souvenirs.
- Sake brewery tours in Nada GogoNada Gogo, spreading from Kobe to Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture, is said to be one of Japan's leading sake-producing areas. Many breweries here have visitor facilities open for touring.
Dishes in the same style
- Akita no SakeAkita sake, brewed with soft water in deliberate contrast to Nada's hard water, aiming for a mellow, delicate character. Breweries buried in snow are said to gain a natural insulating effect from it, a tradition of slow, low-temperature fermentation built around that climate.
- Daiginjo-shuSake made from rice milled to 50% or less with brewing alcohol added — among the officially defined categories, the deepest level of milling, aimed at a pronounced aroma and light body, born of elaborate brewing techniques honed for tasting competitions.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Contrast
- Junmai Daiginjo-shuSake made from rice alone, milled down to 50% or less of its original size — over half the grain polished away, leaving little off-flavor and, combined with slow low-temperature fermentation, a pronounced aroma. Considered the deepest-milled of the officially defined categories.
- Junmai-shuSake made from nothing but rice, koji, and water, with no added brewing alcohol. Without that extra ingredient to lean on, the rice's own richness and weight are said to come through directly, and the law sets no fixed milling requirement — the most rice-forward of the officially defined categories.