1. What is Takahata Winery?

Takahata Winery is a popular spot that attracts wine lovers from all over the country, as it not only produces wine but also offers tastings, light meals, and events.

The parking lot is large enough to accommodate large buses and is free to park, so you can enjoy yourself without worrying about time.

Get off the car and walk to the winery.
You will be greeted by colorful flowers blooming along the sidewalk.

Takahata Winery is a California-style, all-wood building.
It is the largest winery in Tohoku.

The premises consist of a wine production factory, winery shop, a building housing a café, and vineyards.

You can freely visit everything except the vineyards.

There are also toilets that are convenient for children and wheelchair users.

2. Start the tour! Inside the winery

If you would like to visit, please enter through the entrance on the left side of the building as you face the front.

In the information room next to the reception desk, you can learn about the history of Takahata Winery.

Takahata Winery was established in 1990.
The town of Takahata has been cultivating grapes for over 100 years, and the town has taken the lead in attracting wineries to the area in an effort to promote tourism as a “wine village.”

Since its founding, the company has set a 100-year vision of using ingredients produced in Takahata town to produce high-quality wine that can rival the world’s famous wine-producing regions, and has striven to hone its techniques.

“We’ve borrowed the name Takahata from our wine list, so we hope this will be an opportunity for people to get to know Takahata through their wine.”
This is what Public Relations Officer Naohiko Takahashi said.

By making wine together with local grape growers, we hope to revitalize the local area.
It is a wine that is packed with love for the region.

3. Uncompromising winemaking

Takahata Town boasts the largest production of Chardonnay Variety and Delaware Variety among municipalities in the country.

Blessed with mineral-rich soil and under weather conditions with large temperature differences, the company’s commitment to cultivating the grapes involves carefully choosing the timing of thinning the bunches as close as possible to maximize sweetness.

Delicious wine is made from grapes grown by honest producers and by uncompromising employees.

In order to eliminate sources of impurities such as rotten fruit, each Pinot Noir grape is carefully selected before brewing.

In order to maximize the variety’s potential, the wine is fermented in small batches from each grape vineyard.

The harvested grapes are kept with the skins on and then pressed sequentially over a period of 1 to 2 weeks to produce juice.

How can we determine the individual characteristics of the grapes, remove impurities such as bitterness and astringency, and squeeze out the purest juice while retaining the potential of the ingredients?
Each and every step of the process, including temperature control, requires many years of experience and technical skills.

After that, wine yeast is added to the clarified juice and fermented slowly over time.

During the wine bottling process, we create a bottling plan for each type of wine, and carry out thorough hygiene control before bottling, ensuring that the bottling takes place in a clean environment.

The production line operates for about 100 days a year.
Part of the manufacturing line inside the building is glass-walled, so you can even observe it!

4. At the top of the world's three major competitions

Takahata Winery has won numerous awards at the world’s most prestigious wine competitions using grapes grown locally in Takahata town.

In 2021, the wine won gold medals at two competitions: the IWSC (International Wine & Spirits Competition), the largest in Europe with a history of over 50 years, and the DWWA (Decanter World Wine Awards), which has approximately 20,000 wines entered from all over the world.

In May 2023, it became the only Japanese wine to win a gold medal at the IWC (International Wine Challenge), achieving the remarkable feat of winning all three of the world’s major wine competitions.

This year, out of 9,000 white wines collected from around the world, the 2021 Takahata Winery Les Trois Chiseaux d’Oura en Kamiwada Cheldonnaise won the gold medal.

This wine is made using 100% fruit from Oura Farm, where three generations of the same family have been growing grapes for wine.

From soil management, pruning, yeast selection, barrel selection, and even lid making, this is a wine where artisans have poured their efforts into making delicious wine.

Mr. Naohito Takahashi, the person in charge, said,

“Entering wine competitions around the world and receiving recognition can be a great stepping stone to entering overseas markets.”
“I want to spread the word that good wine can be made in Takahata.”

He said he hopes that these efforts will help him give back to his local community.

5. Winery Shop

Now onto the much-anticipated winery shop.

Here you can enjoy free wine tasting.

The shop is connected to the winery so you can enter from both the inside and the outside.

The shop always has 40 to 50 types of wine in stock, including wines that are only available in the shop.

There are plenty of sweets and cute miscellaneous goods that can only be purchased here, as well as local specialties from Yamagata Prefecture.

You’ll also find delicious items that go perfectly with wine.

With a wide range of options, from authentic vintage wines to sparkling wines, you may have trouble choosing.

This is the corner for their signature product, “Lady of Mahoroba.”

Sweet dessert wines made with cherries and peaches are also popular.

Tasting your favourite wines —

On this day, tourists who arrived in large buses were lining up for tastings.

There will be 6-8 different wines available for tasting.

They mainly introduce wines that can be enjoyed by those who are new to wine or don’t like alcohol.

Tasting wine while listening to explanations is an exceptional experience.

We also have a wide selection of wine goods.

How about picking up some cute “bottle stoppers” (from 825 yen) as a souvenir?

This moist and fluffy “wine cake” is an original product of Takahata Winery.

Red and white are both 1,620 yen

Adult’s sorbet, “Adult Wine Sorbet,” made using wine from Takahata Winery, also looks delicious.

Red wine & blackcurrant, white wine & La France pear, both 324 yen each

6. Café "Gozzonere"

After enjoying the wine, fill your stomach at the café “Gozzonare” located inside the building.

The restaurant’s name is apparently derived from a Yamagata dialect phrase meaning “Enjoy a feast (gotsuo).”

The menu includes pizza, pasta, cheese, nuts, and more, and you order by purchasing a ticket from the ticket machine.

This time I ordered the most popular “Margherita pizza” (700 yen).

The crust is thick, but there’s actually plenty of cheese inside! It’s irresistible for cheese lovers.

The dough is chewy and the size is just right for one person to eat.

What’s more, at this café you can taste special wines that have won awards in competitions (for a fee).

To accompany your wine, we offer the “Three kinds of cheese” (400 yen) and “Seven kinds of nuts set” (200 yen), which you can try and compare.

We also offer wine tasting sets and wine cocktails, so you can enjoy wine to your heart’s content at a reasonable price.

They also have rich grape juice, so if you can’t drink alcohol, why not give it a try?

7. Soft-serve ice cream stand

There is also a soft-serve ice cream stand outside.

The most popular item is the soft-serve ice cream, which is made with “Mahoroba no Kifujin” white wine and can only be tasted here.

The alcohol content is less than 1%, so it’s not drunk enough to make you drunk, but for those who can’t handle much alcohol or those who are drivers, we recommend the seasonal limited editions or the “Grape” (350 yen), which is full of Kyoho grape puree and grape juice.

Rich yet refreshing “grape” soft-serve ice cream

Enjoying soft-serve ice cream while looking out over the vineyards in the rest area in the central plaza is a special experience.

8. Vast company-owned farm

Takahata Winery’s own farm covers an area of approximately 4 hectares.

On our vast estate, we grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using the hedgerow method.

*You cannot enter the vineyards.

July to September is the important period before harvest.
During this period, bird damage increases, so bird netting is installed.

Takahata Town has adopted a “sideless method,” which is rare nationwide. By not covering the sides with vinyl, the plants are well ventilated and are not exposed to direct rain, which helps prevent the occurrence of pests and diseases.

From September to October, just before the harvest, the apples ripen as they alternate between hot and cold days and nights, and are then harvested when they are fully ripe.

The long-awaited Pinot Noir on harvest day

9. A variety of events

Takahata Winery hosts various events throughout the year, including grape harvesting experiences.

In addition to events such as the Spring Festival (May) and Wine Festival (October), we also hold a Pinot Noir harvesting experience on the Sunday around September 10th, and a Night Harvest around October 20th.

Pinot Noir harvesting experience

The midnight (2:00-6:00) night harvest (nighttime harvesting experience) is apparently attended by many people from outside the prefecture every year.

The dates are determined depending on the grape growing conditions and may be postponed or canceled, so be sure to check social media!

Night Harvest

10. Message

Finally, we received a message from Takahashi.

“I think there are very few wineries nationwide that produce a full lineup ranging from authentic wines to sweet dessert wines. I would be happy if you could sample a variety of wines and use our winery as an opportunity to enjoy your wine life.”