Chiba

船越ワイナリー

千葉県多古町

PROFILE

Official Website

OFFICIAL WEBSITEtako-wine.com

Legal name: 株式会社船越ワイナリー
Location: 〒289-2244 千葉県香取郡多古町船越2006
Representative: 勝又純一
Phone: 047-985-5997
Email: mailto:info@funakoshi-winery.com

ABOUT

A winery established in Tako Town, Chiba Prefecture, in 2020.

With the concept of “rich time spent enjoying wine,”

its wines brighten special occasions—family celebrations, gatherings and local festival tables—

and add an accent to ordinary everyday meals.

The winery works to make wines that stay close to daily life.

FEATURE STORY

Taking on Chiba-Grown Wild-Grape Varieties

The winery currently grows a range of varieties, with particular emphasis on grapes related to wild Japanese grape species.

It now has approximately 0.6 hectares under cultivation and plans to expand by making use of nearby abandoned farmland.

The team is working toward wines made from grapes grown in Tako Town, including several varieties such as Yama Sauvignon.

Harvests of Yama Sauvignon were expected to begin in 2024, raising expectations for the winery's first releases made from its own grapes.

The winery is also focusing on Super Hamburg, a table-grape variety grown in the Funakoshi area for more than 50 years. With its juiciness and lively acidity, it is seen as another promising expression of the local area.

High Local Expectations: A Cross-Industry Team Starts Making Wine

The Funakoshi area, including Tako Town, is one of the region's major rice-growing districts.

Grape cultivation also has a history of more than 50 years, and a neighboring town is said to have had a cooperative winery more than 90 years ago.

Over time, however, those cooperative winemaking operations disappeared, while population aging, depopulation, and the abandonment of farming have accelerated in recent years.

Funakoshi Winery was started by people from different industries who shared the idea that creating a new local industry could help address these challenges.

After soil analysis showed relatively high mineral content and suggested potential for wine-grape cultivation, the project began in 2020.

Local residents are said to look forward eagerly each time a new wine is made.

Learning Winemaking from Go Shiose of Le Milieu

The winery currently releases wines from Yama Sauvignon, Muscat Bailey A, Gassan Ichigo, wild grapes, and other varieties.

Winemaking is carried out under the guidance of Go Shiose of Le Milieu in Nagano Prefecture.

Many of the wines have a pure character that expresses their grape varieties directly, making future wines from the winery's own grapes especially anticipated.