鎌倉ワイナリー

There are no stainless-steel tanks in sight inside the winery. Instead, rows of unfamiliar plastic egg-shaped vessels — “egg tanks” — line the space.

Mr. Natsume's wines are generally both fermented and matured in these tanks, although some barrels are also used.

The tanks are made from a special oxygen-permeable resin and were imported from the United States.

That helps explain why they are still rarely seen in Japan, though some famous châteaux in Bordeaux are also known to use egg-shaped tanks.

The label, with an atmosphere reminiscent of Greek mythology, was created by yuyu, an artist who also lives in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Back in 2019, before the winery had opened, Mr. Natsume visited yuyu without an appointment at an exhibition in a department store and reportedly said on the spot, “I will definitely make wine in Kamakura someday, and when I do, please let me use one of your paintings for the label!”

Two years later, once the wine had been made, he contacted the artist again. This time, yuyu created an original work specifically for Kamakura Winery.

The resulting label beautifully combines Natsume's passion for wine with yuyu's hopes for Kamakura wine.

The image of a modern goddess gazing at a cup in Shichirigahama seems almost to envision a future in which Kamakura becomes established as a wine-producing region.