Kuheiji Kuno, 15th generation of Manjo Brewery
Departing from “Brewster Kuheiji”

Manjo Jojo is a sake brewery in Nagoya that was founded in 1647 during the era of the third shogun Iemitsu. The 2010th generation owner of this sake brewery, Kuheiji Kuno, known for the brand ``Brewer Kuheiji,'' has been cultivating Yamada Nishiki sake rice in Kurodasho, Hyogo Prefecture since XNUMX. This is unusual in a world where division of labor is commonplace, with farmers working on rice growing and sake brewing working at sake breweries.

Why did Kuno start growing rice? To tell that story, we have to rewind the clock some 15 years.

It's been a long time since Japanese people stopped drinking sake. Domestic shipments of sake began to decline after peaking at 1973 million kiloliters in 170, plummeting to 2003 kiloliters in 87 and 1000 kiloliters in 2008. Currently, it is hovering around 65 kiloliters. Meanwhile, a Japanese food boom is occurring overseas, and interest in sake is only increasing. So Kuno decided to expand overseas.

Traveling overseas with Japanese sake
The potential of sake was discovered

The first target was America, the largest overseas market for sake. However, Kuno cut short the deal in the United States. He says, ``He felt the difference in food culture.''

"I had a sommelier taste our sake, and he said, 'Wait a minute,' and pulled me into the backyard. When he came back about five minutes later, I was surprised. Especially when our sake was made into a cocktail."

Next we headed to Europe. Paris, France is the capital of gastronomy. In 2006, I visited Taillevent pretending to be a regular customer, hoping to conquer it from a three-star restaurant. The previous owner, Jean-Claude Vrina, is still alive and well, and this was the year before he dropped the star.

Near the end of the meal, Kuno took out the sake he had made and said to Mr. Vrina, who was going around the table to greet him. “Would you like to try this sake?”

Mr. Vrina is also known as the foremost wine expert of our time. He took a sip of Kuno's sake and, like an American sommelier, retreated to the backyard. Anxiety flooded Kuno's mind. However, when he returned a while later, he had a dish of lobster in his hand. Mr. Vulina serves it to a patron at another table and invites him to try it with Kuno's sake, which is poured into a black glass so that no one can see what's inside. I heard a voice from the table say, "Formidable!"

Mr. Vrina said this to Kuno. ``There are some dishes that don't go well with wine because the aroma gets in the way.However, this sake you made doesn't interfere with the dishes.I think it goes particularly well with sea foods.'' That evening, Kuno returned to his hotel, skipping along the Champs-Elysées, feeling like he was climbing to heaven.

Pierre Gagnaire, Guy Savoie, Paul Bocuse... When French chefs and sommeliers also asked people to sample the product, they all gave positive feedback, and business began. It is clear from their serious looks and accurate comments that this is not just lip service. However, as business in France became more active, a conflict arose within Kuno. It was their question about rice.

Inspired Kuno to make rice
What is the reason?

“What kind of rice is there?” “Where is the rice field located?” “Is it grown without pesticides?”

In the world of wine, questions about grapes are commonplace. After all, the quality of the grapes determines 8% of the outcome of the wine. So if you give a sommelier a glass of wine, before asking how it was made, he will ask questions about the grapes themselves. If you let them sample sake, it is natural that they will first ask about the rice. Kuno told them the stories he had heard from rice farmers. but…….

"I'm starting to feel guilty."

Kuno thought that simply providing information he heard from rice farmers would lack realism. "I don't think we can bridge the gap between us and them unless we make rice ``realistically'' with our own hands." One day, in the midst of these conflicts, a staff member of the company said this to me. "Boss, let's make some rice."

Encouraged by these words, Kuno begins farming rice. That was 10, 2010 years ago.

The location is Kurodasho in Hyogo Prefecture. The land is said to be ideal for growing Yamada Nishiki, the highest quality rice suitable for sake brewing, due to its sunshine hours, precipitation, and temperature differences.

They created an agricultural corporation to acquire the rice fields and initially began growing rice under a land lease agreement. Unless a farmer continues to work diligently for at least six months, he is not recognized as a ``farmer'' on the land. After seeing the young staff working on the farm early every morning, the local people gradually began to recognize them. Currently, we manage 15 hectares of rice fields ourselves. Of this, 5 hectares are owned by the company and 10 hectares are leased.

Just as vintage is a hot topic in the world of wine, Kuno says, ``Rice production also has drama every year.'' Especially since 2010, when Kuno and his colleagues started growing rice, climate change has become more pronounced, with record heat waves, heavy rains, and gigantic typhoons hitting the Japanese archipelago. There is no way that this climate does not affect the properties of rice.

"I was surprised at how much it differed from year to year. In particular, the hardness of rice was completely different from year to year."

In 2011, they first brewed their own sake, ``Kurodasho ni Born''. In 2018, Kuno Kuheiji Honten Kurodasho Machida Taka was born using only Yamada Nishiki from Machida Taka, the first rice field they owned in Kurodasho. In terms of wine, it is a single-tambo sake, not a single-vineyard sake.

In 2018, a typhoon hit the Kansai region when the flowers were in full bloom, resulting in poor pollination and a 20% drop in harvest. And then the temperature dropped. It is said that as the temperature drops, the quality of rice becomes softer. Soft rice is highly ripe and produces a large volume of sake.

When you pour it into a glass and smell it, it's certainly not flashy, but the aroma of ripe pear and white peach spreads out comfortably, and in your mouth you can feel the saliva-inducing umami and clean acidity. This sourness is something that Kuno cannot compromise on when making sake. This is because acid is the lifeblood of sake that goes with food. This is also the reason why it is supported by overseas chefs and sommeliers.

In March of this year, a sake brewery was completed in Kurodasho, and the second phase of construction is currently underway. In the future, the rice grown in the rice fields managed by Kurodasho will be brewed in this warehouse, with the aim of turning it into a domaine in terms of wine. Meanwhile, in Nagoya, sake is brewed using purchased rice. This is Maison (negociant).

``It seems that the origin of the word ``discover'' is ``to peel off the cover.'' Up until now, because sake has a long history, the cover was thick and it was difficult to take on new challenges. I think so.”

Following his discovery of sake, Kuno also ventures into the world of wine. More on that next time.

(Titles omitted)

Kuheiji Kuno

Manjo Jozo Representative Director Brewer

Born in Nagoya in 1965. The 97th generation of Manjo Brewery. After dropping out of university, he continued his acting career, but due to his father's illness, he took over the family business. From the mechanical mass production and subcontracting work style of his predecessors, he returned to small-scale production and handmade farm work. He launched a new brand, ``Brewer Kuheiji,'' and released it in 2010. He is actively trying to expand overseas. He started growing rice in 2016 and started producing wine in Burgundy, France in XNUMX.