Akita Winery Tour, Part 1: Winery Konohana

The year 2023 is already here, and half of January has flown by in the blink of an eye.

While we often see the characters for 'New Spring' around New Year's, it is still the middle of a very cold winter. There are still many regions with heavy snow accumulation.

When you think of areas with heavy snowfall that produce Japanese wine, which region comes to mind? The Tohoku region is surely one of them.

This time, we are focusing on Akita Prefecture within the Tohoku region.

In fact, winemaking in Akita Prefecture has been growing rapidly in recent years, with new wineries opening one after another. Over the next few articles, we will introduce the wineries of Akita Prefecture. Please take a look!

Located in Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture, "Winery Konohana" is an urban winery run by Kazuya and Mikako Mikata.

Kosaka Town in Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture, was originally a thriving region for grape cultivation. However, those grapes were shipped out to other prefectures and turned into wine elsewhere.

So, they decided to make local wine using local grapes. In 2010, they obtained a fruit wine license and established the brewery Winery Konohana in Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture—Mr. Mikata's hometown.

All of the Mikatas' wines are very gentle and pair wonderfully with Japanese cuisine. Among them, "Tokito Shokoushi Unfiltered Raw Bottled" was selected for JR East's luxury cruise train "TRAIN SUITE Shiki-shima," making it a hugely popular wine that is difficult to come by.

Recently, they have also been taking on new challenges with various styles, such as cider and pét-nat.

This time, we spoke with Mikako at their shop.

Surprisingly, Winery Konohana has its production facility right inside a shopping street!

In an effort to revitalize a shopping street that was becoming a quiet "shutter town," they renovated a former pachinko parlor into a winery. As a result, the illuminated lighting on the entrance ceiling—reminiscent of its pachinko parlor days—is still active and glowing.

Even more surprising is that they use a former bank building for storage. Their bottles are stored inside the original bank vault! I was truly amazed to see a real bank vault repurposed like that.

Seeing how the winery repurposes buildings left behind in the shopping street made me feel Mr. Mikata's deep love for his hometown.

■ Winery built on the site of a former pachinko parlor: The ceiling lights at the entrance retain traces of its pachinko parlor past.

■ Storage facility housed in a former bank: Bottles are stored inside the vault.

Kazuno City in Akita Prefecture, home to Winery Konohana, not only offers easy access to Lake Towada, but is also a great area for sightseeing, with surrounding hot spring towns and delicious Kazuno apples.

While Akita is still deep in snow, as spring arrives, how about a trip to Akita to enjoy the wines of Winery Konohana?

Next time, we will introduce that winery that has finally released its first vintage. Stay tuned!

Click here for information on the winery

https://nihonwine.jp/winery_intro/winery_konohana/