The town of Kuroe where ”Nate Shuzo” is located, used to be surrounded by a beautiful inlet. And as the name implies, there was a large black rock.
The rock was named ”Kuroushigata” because it repeatedly emerged from the waves like a black cow. The scene is even sung in the old literature, Manyoshu.
The inlet which surrounded the town of Kuroe disappeared due to an earthquake which occurred a long time ago. Currently, there is only a canal in its place, but the name ”kuro ushi”, or ”black cow”, still exists today as the name of a ”sake”. The ”sake” is ”Kuro Ushi”, a locally brewed ”junmaishu” made at Nate Shuzo.
”Hot spring” and ”food ingredients” which bring relaxation to body and soul
The water from the brewery’s well is from the same stream as ”the water of the black cow” at Nakagoto Shrine, considered to be one of the top 50 water in Wakayama. The ”junmaishu sake” brewed with that clear clean water has a ripened deep aroma and smooth texture.
They utilize spring water and domestic rice to make ”junmaishu sake” which makes up for 95% of their total output. Since they also have a policy to ”make premium ”sake” (”junmaishu”) that customers feel familiar with”, they ship more than 60% of their ”sake” within Wakayama prefecture.
Nate Shuzo also opened ”Sake Making Museum, Onko-Densho Kan (Learning New Things from Old Tradition Museum)”, collecting and displaying equipment which was traditionally used to make ”sake”. Visitors can familiarize themselves with quality ”sake” by taking a close look at the history of ”sake” brewing.
