Katsunuma's Oldest Family-Run Winery! The Appeal of Chateau Katsunuma

In Katsunuma-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture, there are many wineries.
And there are also numerous wineries that have been continuously run solely as family businesses.

This time, we visited the oldest family-run winery in Katsunuma among them, "Chateau Katsunuma".
We spoke with Ms. Hideka Imamura, the senior managing director and 4th-generation direct descendant, about the appeal of this long-established winery with over 130 years of history.

Adjacent to Chateau Katsunuma is "Restaurant Toriibira," where you can enjoy local ingredients along with Chateau Katsunuma wines.
Here, you can savor specialty dishes made with abundant local ingredients such as "Kai Salmon" and "Koshu Wine Beef."

This time, they prepared some of their representative dishes for us.
In addition, Ms. Hideka, the senior managing director, told us in detail about "Toriibira Imamura," a highly popular wine among Chateau Katsunuma's offerings.

Click here for the Restaurant Toriibira website

Chateau Katsunuma's main vineyards are located in Toriibira, a renowned region in Katsunuma where high-quality grapes are cultivated.

The Toriibira district in Katsunuma-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a hilly area situated on a south-west facing slope at an altitude of around 500m.

Blessed with favorable topography, climate, and meteorological conditions, it is a specialty region where outstanding grapes are harvested. The cool "Sasago Oroshi" wind characterizes the wine with beautiful acidity and a long finish. Wonderful wines made exclusively from rare, outstanding grapes harvested here are another attraction of Chateau Katsunuma.

In Toriibira, before the harvest season at the end of summer, a "Grape Festival" is held in the hope that delicious wine will be made.
Local junior high school students ignite torch flames and pray to the heavens in the shape of a torii gate.

Please also take a look at the video capturing our exclusive coverage of the event.

Chateau Katsunuma is located close to Katsunuma-budōkyō Station on the JR Chuo Main Line, which serves as the gateway station to the Katsunuma area.

Why not take a trip yourself to retrace the history of Yamanashi wine?