Château Uenae
Hokkaido Snow Beef
BEYOND CRAFT WAGYU, THE CULT WAGYU.
~Hokkaido Snow Beef is a title given only to the beef made by Château Uenae.~
The legendary Wagyu -- raised by a home-grown distinguished dermatologist Dr. Asanuma -- is called Cult Wagyu; also known as Hokkaido Snow Beef.
Château Uenae is located right by the precious wetland the Lake Utonai, which preserves the spectacle of YuufutsuWilderness and is registered as a protection area by the Ramsar Convention.
Hokkaido Snow Beef is named so because they are raised in the severe cold of Hokkaido and the marbling patterns resemble snow crystal.
Since Château Uenae is completely a private ranch and the number of cattle is extremely low, Hokkaido Snow Beef had never left Hokkaido till 2014.
They conduct an integrated production as a Craft Wagyu farm ; from breeding, calf rearing and fattening elite Wagyu that are born between Hokkaido's proud super bulls and cows of Chateau Uenae’s own superior bloodline till they are shipped finally as the Hokkaido Snow Beef.
Even now that it has become world-famous, they emphasize on quality control, and only a limited number of cattle are shipped as Hokkaido Snow Beef.
.jpg)
.jpg)
At the ranch, they regularly do brushing and hoof cutting, and frequently replace litter of their beds although a large amount of straws and sawdust are required. In this way, a thorough management system is operated to keep the Hokkaido Snow Beef's taste and flavor safe from any other influences.
They use the finest fodder blended with well-selected grains like locally grown sweet corn: which is also good for human, and that enables them to create a very rich taste with super clean flavor.
In heavy snowfall areas, cattle barns must bear the weight of snow, so the operational cost comes highest among all the Craft Wagyu farms in Japan, but the temperature difference peculiar to Hokkaido makes the beef well firmed and superior taste, that the melting point of fat is lower than other Wagyus as to bring a good melting feeling in your mouth.
*The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.
A MEMO FROM DR. ASANUMA
Hokkaido Snow Beef Begins
Chateau Uenae Farm started out as a research farm run by Japan’s leading dairy and livestock product manufacturer. Committed to producing some of the best Japanese beef in the world, the farm’s staff toiled tirelessly for years to introduce better breeds of cattle, and the beef they produced came to be prized in Japan. Despite having developed this popular beef, the manufacture decided in 2002 to close the research farm. I was truly shocked to learn about the closure and considered every possible avenue to pass down this premium beef to future generations, ultimately deciding to take over the farm myself. The scale of the farm, however, proved to be far too big. I was only able to hire a small number of the farm’s original staff, primarily leaders who had been engaged in research and breeding. I also had to reduce the number of cattle harvested each month to approximately one-tenth of that at its peak.
We have harvested only a small number of cattle each month chiefly for private consumption purposes. This means only a limited amount of beef is available for export. Our “wagyu meister” who serves as our farm’s beef specialist, ensures that we only export beef we can deliver with confidence, and seven years have now passed since we started exporting our Hokkaido Snow Beef.
Lake Utonai @ Tomakomai
Road to the Château
