Zao Noboriryu Junmai Daiginjo Sake

Zao Noboriryu is produced by Zao Shuzo in the city of Shiroishi in Miyagi Prefecture. The Zao team is one of the youngest in the country; all employees, including the toji, are between their 20s and early 30s. The small brewery's sake has won numerous awards. Zao Shuzo is the 11th most award-winning sake brewery in Japan.

Zao Noboriryu is a Junmai Daiginjo sake, i.e. a sake of the highest quality with a high degree of polish of 45%. The design of the label, the dragon ascending into the sky, was created by Kikuta Ishu, one of the four great painters of the Date clan (Date-shi) of the late Edo period, and is extremely popular as a gift in Japan. This sake impresses with its balance of sweetness, acidity and spiciness. It is very complex and also impresses with its fruity-sweet aroma. The pronounced rice flavor is great.

Zao Noboriryu can be used in a variety of food pairings. It goes well with Japanese dishes with raw fish, but also with Western dishes such as Wiener schnitzel. Noboriryu is also fantastic with intense and spicy Chinese dishes. You should definitely enjoy this sake well chilled. We recommend a special sake glass or alternatively a white wine glass.

Find out more about sake from Miyagi Prefecture here.

Junmai Daiginjo sake
Japanese alcoholic drink based on rice
Rice polish: 45%
Rice variety: Miyamanishiki
Sake Meter Value: +3
Net quantity: 720ml
Alcohol: 16% vol
For sale to persons of legal age only
Importer: Ginza Berlin GmbH, Pfalzburger Straße 20, 10719 Berlin

Zao Shuzo was founded in 1873 at the foot of the Zao Mountains in the city of Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture. It is the only sake brewery in the city. At the time of its founding, it was a small, independent sake producer, producing only 4,500 liters of sake. Today, Zao Shuzo is the 11th most awarded sake brewery in Japan. Since its foundation, the brewery has consistently dedicated itself to quality-oriented sake brewing. Only local rice from Miyagi Prefecture is used. Miyama Nishiki and Kura no Hana, special sake rice varieties for the production of premium sake, are grown by farmers in Shiroishi City and the neighboring town of Kakuda in cooperation with young farmers from the region. The area is blessed with particularly soft water from the Shiroishi River, making it ideal for sake production. The sake kasu (sake lees), which is left over from the brewing process, is used as a fertilizer component for the rice fields, so that sake becomes rice again.
Another special feature of Zao Shuzo is the average age of its employees. The team is very young, with all employees aged between 20 and 35. In 2016, a 28-year-old toji was hired. The taste of the sake has changed since then. While it used to have a very rich taste, Zao's sake is now extremely fresh and clear.