Monthly Tasting: Craft Sake “non°” & Chestnut Confection
nondo is a sake brewery in Tono, Iwate, deeply committed to the craft of rice cultivation and fermentation.
This season, we invite you to discover nondo’s newly released flagship, Tan no Kigoruairaku No. 5.
While most sake breweries purchase their rice from farmers, nondo’s brewmaster, Mr. Sasaki, personally cultivates Tono No. 1, a traditional rice variety native to Iwate that had once been on the verge of disappearing. He grows it without pesticides or chemical fertilisers.
In modern sake brewing, it is widely believed that polishing rice removes impurities and produces greater purity. nondo takes a different approach, fermenting the rice almost entirely unpolished.
“The complexity of rice lies in its outer layers. If the rice is healthy, there is nothing that needs to be removed.”
This philosophy gives nondo’s sake an approach that, in some ways, feels closer to winemaking.
The many expressions of the rice fields—its joys and sorrows, its changing moods—are captured in every drop.
After being prepared with the rice bran intact, the sake is fermented for more than 150 days in wooden vats, followed by approximately one year of maturation in wine barrels. The result is a profound depth of umami, layered acidity and delicate oak nuances, brought together through a patient, unhurried approach to brewing.
To accompany this sake—a toast to the 2024 harvest in Tono—we have selected a Japanese confection that evokes the bounty of autumn.
Yama-miyage is a signature confection from Shiose Sohonten, established in 1349 and recognised as Japan’s oldest confectionery house.
Carefully crafted with autumn’s treasured chestnuts and wrapped in Shiose’s distinctive Momoyama confectionery made with white bean paste, each piece is shaped like a little chestnut.
The sake’s complex acidity meets the mellow, comforting sweetness of chestnut.
Enjoy the flavours of autumn, shaped by the land and climate of Japan.
Autumn’s Bounty: Craft Sake “non°” & Chestnut Confection
Price: ¥2,000 (tax included)
Serving: 30ml
Sake: non° The Emotions of Rice Fields– Wine Barrel No.5
Bottle: ¥9,900 (500ml)
Period: 1 September 2026 –
Reservations
To reserve a tasting at our Ginza flagship boutique, please complete the booking form below.
- Walk-in tastings are also available; however, priority will be given to guests with reservations.
- Reservations are not available at our Osaka Shinsaibashi boutique. Walk-ins only.
Ginza Flagship Boutique
Tastings available: 11:00–20:00 (Last order: 18:30)
Osaka Shinsaibashi Boutique
Tastings available: 10:00–20:00 (Last order: 19:00)
