The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Nanawarai
No.140 · Brewery Profile
Nanawarai七笑 · Nanawarai Shuzo 七笑酒造
Nanawarai has represented the Kiso Valley since 1892, brewing with subsoil water from Mt. Kiso-Komagatake in one of Nagano’s coldest inhabited regions. Its name recalls a legendary village near the Kiso River’s headwaters associated with the medieval general Yoshinaka Kiso, and for generations the sake served a practical purpose as much as a ceremonial one: warming travelers making the difficult mountain crossing on the old Nakasendo Road.
Who makes Nanawarai?
Nanawarai Shuzo has represented the Kiso Valley in Nagano since 1892, brewing with subsoil water from Mt. Kiso-Komagatake in one of the prefecture’s coldest inhabited regions. Its name recalls a legendary village near the Kiso River’s headwaters, associated with the medieval general Yoshinaka Kiso, and for generations the sake warmed travelers making the difficult crossing on the old Nakasendo Road.
What does Nanawarai taste like?
Tagged Rich & Umami and Dry & Crisp. The Nanawarai Junmai Ginjo Yamabe-nishiki is a clean, pure ginjo rating 3/5 on both body and aromatics; the Nanawarai Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu, unfiltered, undiluted and unpasteurized, is fuller and richer at 4/5 on both the body and dry-rich axes, released once a year in limited quantity.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Nanawarai Junmai Ginjo Yamabe-nishiki, the clean, standard expression, before seeking out the once-yearly Muroka Nama Genshu for a fuller, unfiltered take.
How does Nanawarai compare to other Nagano breweries?
Nagano also lists Masumi, tagged Elegant & Refined, Daishinshu, tagged Elegant & Refined and Dry & Crisp, and Reijin, tagged Elegant & Refined and Dry & Crisp. Nanawarai is the prefecture’s only Rich & Umami entry, giving it a fuller, richer profile than its more uniformly refined peers.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Nanawarai reference?
A legendary village near the Kiso River’s headwaters associated with the medieval general Yoshinaka Kiso.
What historical purpose did Nanawarai’s sake serve?
It warmed travelers making the difficult mountain crossing on the old Nakasendo Road.
How many bottles does Nanawarai make?
Two on this page: the standard Junmai Ginjo Yamabe-nishiki and the once-yearly Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu.
The bottles
Nanawarai Junmai Ginjo Yamabe-nishiki七笑 純米吟醸 山恵錦
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“A clean, pure ginjo from subsoil water off Mt. Kiso-Komagatake.”
Nanawarai Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu七笑 純米吟醸 無濾過生原酒
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Unfiltered, undiluted and unpasteurized — one limited bottling per year.”
Reading the bars: an editorial flavor reading (0–5) of each bottle — Dry→Rich, Light→Full, Subtle→Aromatic, Low→High acidity — not laboratory values. The colored badge is the SSI four-type classification (薫酒 Kunshu · 爽酒 Soshu · 醇酒 Junshu · 熟酒 Jukushu). SMV and acidity appear only where the brewery publishes them.
Sources: nanawarai.co.jp · naganosake.jp