明治元年（1868年）に渡辺平十郎が現在地で酒造業を始める。第二次大戦時に陸軍で出征した４代目の渡辺清造を若くして失い、大きな痛手となったが、家族の奮闘でしのぎ、現在に至る。現代表の渡辺吉樹は６代目。

平成13年（2001年）を最後に杜氏制度を廃止して、社員による酒造体制に移行する。平成15年度（2003年）から米作りに着手し、自社栽培による原料米生産を本格的に展開し、平成24年には農業生産法人株式会社根知ライスファームを設立する。

日本酒の本質的な価値は、原料米の生産から酒造りまで、酒蔵のある土地で手がけることにある。根知谷の水と米で日本酒を造り、根知谷とともに生きてゆく。それが私たちの生き方です。

Watanabe sake brewery was established by Heijuro Watanabe in 1868,located same land as it is now. During World War Two, Watanabe family fought to protect the brewery even though they lost a young successor Seizo Watanabe the fourth who entered the army. Their effort made the company stand and continues up to today. The head of the brewery now is Yoshiki Watanabe the sixth.

Until 2001, Watanabe had worked under the Toji (the master brewers) system. But he determined to discontinue the system to break through the situation with no growth. His challenge was a big change to a new system of brewing by the staff not only Toji. He seriously trained the staff for years to reach a certain level at each section of its need. We also started rice cultivation in 2003 and set to work on full-scale sake rice production for our own sake unlikely most sake brewers. In 2012, we formed an agricultural production corporation called “Nechi rice farm Co.,Ltd.”

Watanabe sake brewery believes in our philosophy that essential value of sake is producing local sake with sake rice made in its local land. That makes sake even more characteristic and gives its own aroma of blessed nature. Our way of living is always to be with Nechi-valley, to make sake with rice and water from there, and most of all, to live with it and adore beautiful Nechi-valley.