What is a winery that wine lovers are interested in?
Sakaki-machi, Hanishina-gun, Nagano Prefecture, is dotted with the headquarters of many industrial product manufacturers that have a global market share. Although the town is famous for its industry, it does not have the industrial landscape of an urban industrial area. Located in the northeastern part of Nagano Prefecture and surrounded by mountains, the town is a small town of about 15,000 people rich in nature with the Chikuma River, a first-class river, flowing through the middle of the town. In a corner of this peaceful town, there is a winery that has attracted the attention of wine lovers.
The winery, Sakaki Budoshu Brewery, was established in 2018 by Atsuto Narisawa, who was born and raised in this area. Mr. Narisawa was a manager at a major restaurant company in the prefecture and became a certified sommelier while working there. As he learned about the marriage of wine and food and its depth, he became interested in brewing. Later, while working independently and operating several restaurants in Nagano Prefecture, he cultivated a vineyard for wine grapes in Sakaki-machi and opened a brewery.
Sandy gravel soil, a rarity in Nagano Prefecture
Mr. Narisawa’s decision to cultivate vineyards in Sakaki is not only due to his love of his hometown. The most important reason is that this land has sand and gravel soil that is very suitable for wine grape cultivation. The soil is said to be similar to that of Bordeaux, France, and pebbles can be found when a hoe is lowered. The soil drains very well and is resistant to root rot, which allows the roots to grow deep, and the characteristics of the terroir appear in the grapes. The plan worked, and within a few years of cultivating the land, the region began to produce wine grapes with potential that exceeded expectations. The soil is also the source of unique products not found in other regions, such as “Nezumi Daikon,” a traditional Shinshu vegetable with a strong pungent flavor that is a specialty of the region. Mr. Narisawa continues his daily efforts to produce grapes that fully express the unique characteristics of the region.
One of the highest rates of sunny days and temperature differences between day and night in Japan
There are other advantages to growing grapes in this region. These are the sunny weather rate and the temperature difference between day and night. Sakaki Town has a central highland inland basin climate with low precipitation throughout the year and one of the clearest weather rates in Japan. Low rainfall during the growing season reduces disease damage to wine grapes. The temperature difference between day and night averages more than 10°C per month. This temperature difference increases sugar and acid levels, which are important factors that enhance wine quality, such as depth of flavor and alcohol content.
Mr. Narisawa sensed the high potential of these excellent growing conditions, and he continued to communicate that “Sakaki Town is a good place to grow grapes for wine. This has been a major factor in the “Sakaki Winery Formation Project” being promoted by the town of Sakaki. In this project, the town has applied for a special zone to relax the minimum amount of vinification, establish a winery, allow local companies and individuals to participate in the project, and expand the area under cultivation. In the Chikuma Wine Valley in the Chikuma River basin in eastern Nagano Prefecture, which is said to be suitable for the cultivation of high-quality wine grapes, efforts are underway to make the town a particularly outstanding wine-producing region.
Taste of Wine in Reverse
Mr. Narisawa’s wine is made from Sakaki-machi grapes, which he considers to have all the right conditions. He says that his image of the taste he was aiming for was “backward calculation. Mr. Narisawa is now the representative of a winery, but his roots are in restaurant management. That is why he has always worked backwards from the food to make wines that go with it. The pursuit of taste that accompanies the meal, rather than the individuality of the wine itself. Because he has been involved in the restaurant business all his life, Mr. Narisawa takes pride in knowing more than most people about the necessity of wine to color the mealtime experience. Kaori Howard, who studied winemaking techniques for 12 years at Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma, California, has joined Sakaki Budoshu Brewery as the winemaker in charge of winemaking. She is one of those who, like Narisawa, is fascinated by the individuality of the wine grapes produced here and wants to develop her own wines so as not to waste their potential. With an emphasis on Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s unique style, they aim for consistent quality and quantity, and their wines, which transcend logic and taste delicious, have received high acclaim, including a three-star rating at the Japan Winery Awards.
In particular, Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s best “Vino della Gatta” is a wine worthy of being called a top cuvée. The number of bottles brewed is limited to about 100 a year, so it is not sold wholesale at all, and only one bottle per person can be purchased at the Sakaki Budoshu Brewery’s winery store. Of course, the taste is well worth it. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot harvested from the company’s own vineyards are blended according to the quality of the fruit, and the wine, which fully brings out the characteristics of the terroir, is as powerful as the best wines in the world. The wines have a firm body, yet the sharp, dry mouthfeel and rich fruitiness attract many people, many of whom travel from far and wide to taste this top cuvée.
Cats and their love for the region bring people together.
The wines produced at this winery have another trick to make people smile. It is the etiquet with a cat on it. The top cuvée is Mie Komatsu, a contemporary artist who has held many solo exhibitions in Japan and abroad and is highly acclaimed around the world since she attracted attention as a “too beautiful copperplate artist,” and the second cuvée is RONIN -GLOBUS The second cuvette will be created by OZ-Ogashira-Yamaguchi Keisuke, a painter and artist who has won the top prize at the “RONIN -GLOBUS – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM” held in New York. Both artists are from Nagano Prefecture, and in the case of Mr. Komatsu, he is based in Sakaki Town, where his winery is located. Because they are artists who know the local area well, they were able to convey the appeal of the wines produced here and create an original etiquette that leaves a lasting impression on those who see it. In addition, Mr. Narisawa has given cat-inspired names to almost everything related to his business, including his own restaurants Nekono Wine, LA GATTA, and Koumonoya Kitten, as well as his own vineyards named Tama, Kuro, and Tora. Of course, it all started with Mr. Narisawa’s love of cats, but his unique ideas happened to resonate with a wide range of generations and spread to cat lovers nationwide. The company’s image as a restaurant business had preceded it, but it quickly gained recognition as a winery.
Although not directly related to the taste of the wine, Mr. Narisawa hopes that such trivial details as the cat-painted etiquettes and the vineyard named after a cat will trigger an increase in interest in and visits to Sakaki Town, even if just a little. Although it was in Nagano City, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, that Mr. Narisawa opened his first restaurant after becoming independent, he has always been concerned about the lack of tourism resources in his hometown, Sakaki Town, and wished he could take action to help attract tourists to the area. In that sense, we aimed to create a place where people would come from outside, using a cat familiar to Japanese people as the image of the winery.
Starting in 2019, the winery is also organizing wine events in Sakaki Town in order to make wine permeate the town as a new culture and to establish fans of Sakaki wine. Step by step, Mr. Narisawa is actively taking action to enliven his beloved hometown with his beloved wine. I want to make Sakaki a major wine-producing area when I have grandchildren, and I want the people living in the area to be proud of that. We can’t leave anything out now to make that happen.” In his eyes, we can see such a scene several decades from now, when many people visit the matured vineyards and enjoy a meal with wine made from grapes harvested in the vineyards.
