What Is Junmai Ginjo Sake?
Inside Ginjo brewing, with Dewazakura.
Junmai Ginjo is sake made without added distilled alcohol, using rice polished to 60% or less of its original weight and slow fermentation at low temperatures. The name describes a brewing approach, with room for each brewery to give it a character of its own.
what the name tells you
Junmai identifies sake made without added distilled alcohol. Ginjo describes the brewing approach and its characteristic fragrance and flavor, with rice polished to 60% or less of its original weight. That percentage tells you how much grain remains after milling.
The National Research Institute of Brewing’s classification table gives polishing limits of 60% for Junmai Ginjo and 50% for Junmai Daiginjo. These are maximums, so the thresholds overlap: rice polished to 50% meets both polishing limits. Under Japan’s National Tax Agency labeling standard, a brewery can use a designation whose requirements the sake meets. Polishing alone does not determine the label.
Our guide to Junmai Daiginjo explains the neighboring grade and its requirements. For the brewing process behind both, begin with What Is Sake?
why is label azur called junmai ginjo at 50% polishing?
Because 60% is a ceiling, not a target. Our US LABEL AZUR with Dewazakura has a 50% rice-polishing ratio, comfortably within the Junmai Ginjo limit. Reaching 50% does not require a brewery to label its sake Junmai Daiginjo: the brewery chooses a designation the sake qualifies for. LABEL AZUR is labeled Junmai Ginjo.
a brewery that opened up ginjo
Dewazakura was founded in 1892 in Tendo, Yamagata. In 1980, it released Oka Ginjo, helping bring a style then associated largely with competitions to a wider public. That history helps explain Dewazakura’s place in the style’s development beyond competition brewing.
For LABEL AZUR, Dewazakura brings that knowledge to its collaboration with Régis Camus. The brewery's own finished sakes form the composition. Our Assemblage story follows that work in more detail.
what to put beside it
Langoustine and delicate sashimi are our suggestions for seafood. Goat cheese and salads offer another way in, especially for a lunch where several plates are shared. These pairings are suggestions for LABEL AZUR; the grade alone does not prescribe the food.
Pear, apple and white grape, with a silky, dry finish, make LABEL AZUR an inviting choice if you enjoy dry white wine. Serve it chilled at 45 to 50°F (7 to 10°C) in a white wine glass. Our article on the glass we choose explains the serve.
