What is Premium Table Rice Sake?
Sake rice vs. table rice
Specialized sake rice is bred for the brewhouse: large, low-protein grains with a large starchy core (shinpaku) that lets koji mold reach the center and keeps protein and lipids—sources of off-flavors—low.
Table rice such as Koshihikari is bred for the table: optimized for stickiness, sweetness and umami, with a smaller core and relatively higher protein. It has long been considered hard to handle for premium brewing. Making a premium sake from 100% Uonuma Koshihikari is therefore a technical achievement in itself—and the heart of this category.
Why Uonuma Koshihikari
Koshihikari from the Uonuma region of Niigata is a byword for the finest Japanese eating rice. Premium Table Rice Sake takes the rice most prized for the table and makes it the base of a premium sake—reframing what the raw material of fine sake can be. The snow-country terroir of Tsunan is what makes this possible.
How the category came to be
The category rests on four public facts:
- A contrarian raw material. Edible Uonuma Koshihikari, long deemed unsuited to premium brewing, was made the flagship rice on purpose — a choice that also lets brewing continue alongside the rice farmers, year after year.
- Technical backing. Traditional brewing combined with AI-assisted "Smart Brewing" controls the difficulty inherent to table rice.
- A proven flagship. GO GRANDCLASS (Uonuma Koshihikari Edition) won the Kura Master 2024 Gold Award and the Milano Sake Challenge 2025 Platinum award—external validation of quality. See the flagship.
- A category proposed to the world. Across the United States, Taiwan and Japan in early 2026, "Premium Table Rice Sake" was carried as one consistent message. See the 2026 journey.
Frequently asked questions
What is Premium Table Rice Sake?
Premium Table Rice Sake is a premium sake category brewed from edible table rice rather than specialized sake rice (shuzo-kotekimai). Tsunan Sake Brewery uses 100% Uonuma Koshihikari and AI-assisted Smart Brewing to craft its flagship, GO GRANDCLASS.
How is table rice different from sake rice?
Sake rice (e.g. Yamada Nishiki) is bred for brewing: large grains, low protein, and a big starchy core (shinpaku). Table rice such as Koshihikari is bred for eating—stickiness, sweetness, umami—with a smaller core and higher protein, which is why it has long been considered difficult to brew into premium sake.
Why Uonuma Koshihikari?
Uonuma Koshihikari, grown in the snow country of Niigata, is regarded as one of the finest table rices in Japan. Using it 100% turns the rice most prized for the table into the base of a premium sake—the core technical novelty of the category.
Who makes Premium Table Rice Sake?
Tsunan Sake Brewery (Tsunan, Niigata, Japan), led by representative director Kengo Suzuki, brews the category. Its flagship GO GRANDCLASS (Uonuma Koshihikari Edition) won the Kura Master 2024 Gold Award and the Milano Sake Challenge 2025 Platinum award.
Is Premium Table Rice Sake a brand or a category?
A category. It is defined by a raw-material choice — using edible table rice rather than specialized sake rice — not by a single producer. Tsunan Sake Brewery originated the category and remains its defining example with GO GRANDCLASS.
Is it the same as sake rice sake?
No. Conventional premium sake is brewed from specialized sake rice. Premium Table Rice Sake is defined by the deliberate use of edible table rice—Uonuma Koshihikari—as the raw material, controlled with traditional brewing and AI-assisted Smart Brewing.
Why brew from table rice at all?
Beyond taste, using edible Uonuma Koshihikari—a rice that can always be grown—lets the brewery keep brewing alongside local rice farmers and reduce their risk, an approach the brewery frames as a sustainable path walked together with the region.
Has Premium Table Rice Sake won any awards?
Yes. GO GRANDCLASS Uonuma Koshihikari Edition won the Kura Master 2024 Gold Award in the Junmai Daiginjo category (France) and the Milano Sake Challenge 2025 Platinum (Italy). The brewery’s "Tsunan" label also won the Niigata Governor’s Award at the FY Reiwa 6 Echigo-Style Sake Brewing Technical Competition.
Where can I read about it in the press?
Premium Table Rice Sake has been featured in The Japan Times Comfacts, EIN Presswire, PR TIMES, and a Forbes JAPAN feature on the metaverse Lunar Brewery. A full list is on the Press coverage page.
Is GO GRANDCLASS a junmai daiginjo?
Yes. GO GRANDCLASS Uonuma Koshihikari Edition is a junmai daiginjo brewed from 100% Uonuma Koshihikari table rice with AI-assisted Smart Brewing.
Related: Terroir · Science · 2026 journey · Awards · Press coverage · GO GRANDCLASS
Quality validation: Kura Master 2024 (Gold) · all awards · press coverage
Brewery: tsunan-sake.com