Tamagawa Sake Brewery

Tamagawa Sake Brewery is said to have been founded in 1673 (Kanbun 13) in Suhara, Uonuma. Deep snow surrounds the area in winter, and the brewery has always made its sake in step with the snow.

In 1989 the brewery built a snow storage room by covering natural snow with insulating sheets. Inside, the temperature stays at 2–3°C, and daiginjo rests there at low temperature all year round. Echigo Yukikura, a daiginjo aged in this snow room, won a gold medal at the 2024 Annual Japan Sake Awards.

The brewing water, called Oshimizu, springs from partway up the hill behind the brewery. At Echigo Yukikura-kan, the brewery’s visitor facility, you can step inside the snow room and taste the sake. WAIN99 carries It’s the key, a light junmai ginjo.