Chiyo Shuzo

Current brewery President and Toji Tetsuya Sakai took over operations in 2007. Previously a wine maker who started his career at Grace Winery for 5 years along with a 3 month stint in California, Sakai san brings an interesting approach to sake making. His sakes deliver pronounced, but clean acidity and impeccable balance. He believes that unpasteurized sake can be brewed to be stable, balanced and ageable; an uncommon practice when producing Namazake. Most of his sakes have a bit of residual CO2, which gives off a refreshing, spritzy feeling.

In 2000 Sakai-san started creating a range of sake to specifically showcase local regionality. Named after the nearby mountain this range is called Shinomine.

As of 2024 Sakai-san manages around 5 hectares of rice paddies where he grows Yamada Nishiki, providing about 15% of their rice needs each year. The remaining rice is sourced from 26 rice farmers spread across Nara and nearby regions. Sakai-san focuses on producing elegant and focused sake whilst keeping alcohol in a slightly lower range of 14-16%. A fastidious approach to producing a high quality koji are the building blocks of the Chiyo style - crisp, clean and characterful. Simply superb stuff!