Tomiō (Kitagawahonke)

Kitagawahonke has been brewing sake in Fushimi since at least 1657, starting when innkeeper Funaya Shirobe noticed that the soft spring water from Fushimi made excellent sake for merchants traveling the Ujigawa River. Now run by its 14th-generation president, the brewery still uses the same source water alongside Yamada Nishiki rice and locally developed Kyo-no-koto yeast. Their flagship junmai ginjo, Tomio, won consecutive gold prizes at the Annual Japan Sake Awards for 18 straight years starting in 1983. The name Tomio comes from a classical Chinese text and translates roughly as a rich heart leads to a happy life.