あるがままの田んぼをまるごと醸す「全風土醸造型」への挑戦 LINNÉ 800 米〈心拍〉開発秘話

Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture, is designated as a “Special A District” for Yamada Nishiki, the pinnacle of Japanese sake rice. In this miraculous terroir—representing just 1% of all sake rice production, preserved through the tireless efforts of our predecessors—we are confronting the challenge of restoring abandoned farmland. Created in collaboration with the craft sake brewery LINNÉ, “800 KOME <Shinpaku>  [Yao Kome Shinpaku]” embodies a new philosophy we call “Whole-Terroir Brewing.” It is a sake brewed not only with beautiful sake rice but also with off-spec rice and the wild plants that grew alongside them in the very same field.

Ordinarily, such off-spec rice and wild plants are discarded as “failures,” leaving the farmer to bear the economic burden alone. Carefully removing weeds to grow high-quality rice is the fundamental theory of farming and an important duty to maintain the beautiful landscape of the region. However, faced with the diverse life sprouting vigorously in this restored field, we arrived at a single question.

“Could we brew all the life that survived this harsh environment in the same soil into a single sake?”
It was Shoya Imai, representative of the Kyoto-based craft sake brewery LINNÉ, and his team who responded to this seemingly unconventional question with profound understanding and outstanding technical expertise.

Tracing the historical fact that “Hie is one of the five primary grains and was once a staple food,” they made the decision to purchase all the Yamada Nishiki, Kinuhikari, and Hie harvested from our fields at a fair price. The brewer chose to share the reality and risks faced by the farmer. Without this true partnership, this project would never have been realized.
Transforming both the beautiful and the off-spec into value within a single tank as the “terroir” of the land—this is the new form of sake brewing we have defined as “Whole-Terroir Brewing.”

Through LINNÉ’s brewing techniques, the Hie—which would normally be eliminated—was processed into “white koji” (malted grain). This has resulted in an astonishingly profound flavor profile that transcends the traditional boundaries of Japanese sake.

When poured into a glass, the rich umami of the Special A District Yamada Nishiki forms the base, layered with refreshing aromas reminiscent of herbs and botanical tea derived from the Hie white koji.
First, we recommend chilling it well and enjoying the expansive, complex aromas in a wine glass. Furthermore, its potential when served as “Kanzake” (hot sake) is truly remarkable. Heating the sake allows the umami of the rice and the acidity of the white koji to melt together seamlessly, offering a deep, comforting sense of its grain origins. Because its profile changes with the temperature, it pairs beautifully with a wide variety of cuisines.

Enjoying “800 KOME <Shinpaku>  [Yao Kome Shinpaku ]” directly contributes to preserving the beautiful rural landscapes of Miki City for the future. We invite you to savor the unvarnished breath of nature unfolding in your glass.