周防大島ワイナリー

It was during my fourth year at university. I can still remember the shock of tasting the first wine I made from Koshu grapes that we had grown and harvested in the university vineyard. It probably was not an outstanding wine by conventional standards, but in that single sip I sensed something limitless: the surprise of seeing the grape’s natural aroma transform into fermentation bouquet, and the sheer joy of making wine.

For nearly 20 years after making winemaking my profession, I was never able to recapture that feeling. So I asked myself what I needed to do. The answer was to face wine as part of everyday life—to make wine not merely as a job, but as a life’s work. That is why I became a winegrower on Suo-Oshima, and why I make wine here.

One answer Suo-Oshima Winery arrived at after nearly 20 years is: “a wine filled with stories.”

To make such wine, we decided to become winegrowers—people who cultivate grapes and make wine as the foundation of everyday life and a way of living. In 2013, we planted grapevines on Suo-Oshima. In 2018, rather than creating a large, open tourist winery, we chose to build a small, closed winery. Into it we put everything we believe our ideal winery should be.

It is simple, but this is Suo-Oshima Winery’s promise:

1. Remain vignerons for life.

2. Never rely on a fixed recipe.

3. Vinify minimally.

4. Above all, nurture and deliver our wines with the greatest possible care.

At our winery shop, the grower-winemakers themselves welcome and serve visitors.

Because we want to balance this with the daily work of farming and winemaking while also protecting the valuable time we have to meet our guests, visits are by reservation. When you come, we receive one group at a time so that you can relax and enjoy your stay without hesitation.