Kuroushi Junmai

Kuroushi Junmai (黒牛 純米酒) is made of Yamadanishiki rice milled to 50% (kōjimai) and Gohyakymangoku rice milled to 60% (kakemai). It is a local sake (jizake) that has attained significant popularity in Wakayama Prefecture and is sold nationwide. It has a soft aroma and a wide range of flavours that bring out the umami of the rice. It is a delicious sake to be enjoyed with meals and can be enjoyed in a wide range of ways, from warm to chilled.

Nate Sake Brewery in Kuroe, Wakayama, was founded in 1866. Kuroe, Kainan, located ten kilometres south of Wakayama City, is an artisan town that has flourished as a lacquerware production area since the Muromachi period. It used to be a secluded inlet and a scenic spot, referred to in the Man'yōshū as "Kuroushigata" (黒牛潟, "Black Cow Cove"), as there were black cow-shaped rocks on the beach near the warehouses. Later, due to upheaval and land reclamation caused by earthquakes, the urban area of Kuroe was formed, taking its name from Kuro-ushi (black cow).

In 1866, Nate Genbei (名手源兵衛) started brewing sake with the prosperous lacquerware artisans of the time as customers. Born as the third son to a family of self-sufficient farmers in Konan, Yasuhara Village, Genbei was apprenticed to a fertilizer merchant (名手屋 Meiteiya) and partly given the business. He initially tried to make candles but failed. He later borrowed 200 ryō from his family to buy shares of a sake brewery slightly north of the current brewery. His comeback as a businessman and sake brewer was successful.