Tottori
鳥取県 北栄町
The Hojo Sand Dunes spread across central Tottori Prefecture.
The rich aroma and flavor of wine made from fresh grapes grown here...
Since its founding, the winery has held to an unchanged belief: “do not pursue volume; insist on local grapes; seek better quality and make wine of value.”
From grape cultivation through winemaking, it faces the wine consistently every day.
Hojo Wine, shaped by Sanin’s climate and terroir, has a rich individuality and is truly one of a kind.
In 1944, as World War II intensified, founder Sadatsuta Yamada established the first factory for producing tartaric acid under orders from Japan’s Ministry of Munitions. Tartaric acid was an essential material used in military equipment.
The factory processed Rochelle salt, a crystalline tartaric-acid compound obtained as a by-product of winemaking.
After the war, the operation became “Hojo Grape Wine Brewery,” the predecessor of today’s Hojo Wine Brewery.
The Hojo Sand Dunes stretch along the magnificent Sea of Japan.
Dune agriculture has flourished here for generations, producing grapes, nagaimo yams, watermelons and many other crops. Grape cultivation in particular dates back to the late Edo period.
Because the land is sandy, drainage is excellent. Strong reflected sunlight and large day-night temperature differences also make this an ideal place for growing high-quality grapes.
The sandy soils of the Hojo Sand Dunes are rare even by global standards.
We carefully observe each vineyard every day, drawing on the knowledge of generations of grape growers while pursuing cultivation methods suited to this land.
Because the vineyards lie along the Sea of Japan, their elevation is low. The wines therefore do not show a mountain-derived mineral character; instead, the grapes and wines express a distinctive maritime minerality that can only come from this place.
PHOTO — NIHONWINE.JP editorial
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SOURCE — NIHONWINE.JP editorial