• Origin: Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
• Grade: A5
• Marble Score: 10-12
• Lineage: Japanese Black (Kuroge)
• Certificate Included

⭐ A5 Shinshu Apple-Fed Ribeye — Japan's Apple-Finished Wagyu

Shinshu-gyu is Japan's apple-fed Wagyu. In the orchards around Matsumoto City, high in the Japanese Alps of Nagano Prefecture, a small herd is finished on the region's signature fruit. Nagano is Japan's second-largest apple region after Aomori, and the apples that don't make grade for market go to the cattle.

The diet does something measurable. The fat sets softer and the finish carries a distinct sweetness — apple and melon notes that sit on top of the usual A5 richness rather than replacing it. It is the same idea behind Takamori's sake lees and Sanuki's olive pulp: change the feed, change the fat.

Certified Shinshu-gyu is rarely seen outside Japan. Roughly 300 head reach the United States in a year. Of the 300-plus Wagyu brands in Japan, fewer than 5% of US-imported A5 carries a BMS 12 designation — this program does.

This is the Ribeye — cut from the rib primal, the most heavily marbled section of the animal. You get the wide snowflaked eye plus the spinalis cap, the richest bite on the carcass, and on apple-fed Shinshu the cap is where that sweet finish reads clearest.

Flavor Profile

• Sweet, clean finish — apple and melon over the A5 richness
• Softer-setting fat than most A5; melts almost on contact
• Full BMS 10-12 marbling without the heaviness
• Spinalis cap carries the apple note most clearly

How to cook it: hot cast iron, no added fat, roughly 60-90 seconds per side. Salt only. Rest briefly, slice across the grain, and serve small — 4 to 6 oz per person is plenty at this marble score.

If you've tried our Takamori Sake-Fed or Sanuki Olive-Fed, this completes the set. Each order comes with a certificate of authenticity. Steaks sold individually.

Click here to learn more about marble scores.

Each portioned piece is individually packaged and vacuum sealed. In order to maximize freshness during delivery, we blast freeze our cuts and ship them with dry ice in a reusable insulated box. Thawing is natural and may occur.

To learn more about how we ship our products and how to properly receive them, please visit Shipping Info for further detail.

All sales are final.