Japan is an emerging wine country producing light and delicate wines that go perfectly with Japanese food. The two main grape growing areas are Yamanashi (producing Koshu in Koshu Valley) and Nagano. Vineyards are also being set up in Hokkaido that is growing quickly. The traditional white grape variety Koshu is predominantly grown in the Koshu Valley in Yamanashi, whilst is Nagano you have the larger more commercial wineries and cellar doors. In Nagano traditional French and international grape varieties tend to be grown.
To visit wineries, it is preferable to have a knowledgeable guide who has relationships with the owners as many do not open to the public and the guide can assist with translation when required. We suggest contacting Morey at ‘Winery Tours Japan’ where he will be able to customise a tasting to your specific requirements.
In June 2025 we did a three-day tour of Yamanashi, Koshu Valley that is about 1.5hours from Tokyo by bullet train. There are around 70 wineries in the area and during our stay we did a number of tastings including at Grace Wine (established in 1923 and run by 4th generation where in addition to the Koshu based wines we were recommended to try ‘Gris de Koshu’ and the Alsace Pinot Gris); Haramo Winery (where Furuya-san is the respected wine maker and Head of the Katsunuma Wine Association) where we were able to taste his private reserves Lumiere, Kai Winery; Kizan Winery; DomainQ; Kubidera-san (one of the few Pinot Noir growers in the region); Soleil Winery (a young couple making Koshu Pinot blend).
To complement our Koshu wine purchases, we also purchased some Riedel Koshu glasses to bring back to Australia.
For accommodation we stayed in Fuefukigawa Onsen Zabou, a traditional boutique luxury hotel located next to the Fuefuki river with its own hot spring. The hotel is run by the family that also run the Maruki Winery, with their wine freely available in the library throughout your stay.
We complemented our Koshu Valley trip with a tour of Nagano Basin that consists of 5 separate wine regions:
- Kikyogahar Wine Valley, is one of the oldest regions wiyth Niagara and Concord grape varieties;
- Nihon Alps
- Tenryugawa
- Yatsugatale
- Chikumagawa, that lies between Karuizawa and Nagano and predominantly grows Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
We focused our visit on the Chikumagawa region given our interest in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and visited a number of very interesting wineries.
The Manns Wines Komoro Winery, owned by Kikkomen, produce 100 ton each year. Solaris is their premium label and their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are very good. They also have ‘Ryugan’ grape variety that was interesting. A walk through their beautiful gardens with its’ 1,000-year-old vine is an absolute must to see, on any visit.
Other places where we did a private wine tasting included Obuse Winery also known as Domaine Sogga, which is considered one of the best wineries in the region, with all their wines being rated above ‘90’. The wine maker is Akihiko Soga.
We were lucky to have an intimate wine tasting experience at Cave Hatano and thought their Chardonnay was particularly good.
The styles of Chardonnay were quite varied with the Chateau Mercian Chardonnay with slight oak whereas the Suntory Tomi No Oka Winery Chardonnay was more mineral driven in style.
It was fascinating to see the different trellising style used in Japan and to see the individual parachutes that are hand tied onto each bunch to protect them. (2025)
