Shiga
滋賀県 東近江市
South of Lake Biwa, Higashiomi in Shiga Prefecture—formerly Eigenji Town—is famous for autumn foliage
and is a beautiful place where abundant nature can be enjoyed in every season.
There you will find Hitomi Winery, a specialist producer of cloudy, unfiltered wine.
It makes Japanese wine from 100% fresh Japanese-grown grapes in its signature unfiltered “nigori wine” style.
When Hitomi Winery opened in 1991, we also produced filtered wines.
As we made both filtered and unfiltered wines, we came to feel that the wine tasted best straight from the tank. The aromas and flavors of unfiltered wine were also closest to what we wanted to achieve as a winery. In 2006, we therefore decided to make all of our wines without filtration.
Wine is generally filtered before bottling so that it can be sold clear and bright.
We do not filter our wines. Instead, we bottle and sell them with their natural sediment intact. Their gently cloudy appearance is one of their defining characteristics.
We use only grapes grown in Japan and minimize the use of antioxidants, creating natural-style wines that bring out the grapes' inherent savory depth and flavor.
We bake bread to enjoy with wine, focusing on naturally leavened and other rustic, crusty styles.
Just as our cloudy wines celebrate the character of their ingredients, each loaf is handmade to let the natural flavor of the wheat come through clearly.
PHOTO — NIHONWINE.JP editorial
SOURCE — NIHONWINE.JP editorial