Japanese Wine

Commitment to Organic

The First Winery in Japan to Obtain Organic Wine Certification

Natural Farm Group became the first winery in Japan to obtain organic wine certification in 2011. “We were able to obtain the certification by taking advantage of Hokkaido’s geographical location,” Mr. Ueda said.

To be certified organic, the wine must be made from JAS (Japan Agricultural Standard) certified organic grapes using organic winemaking methods. Organic JAS certification is under the jurisdiction of the MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), while wine certification is under the jurisdiction of the MAFF and the Japan’s National Tax Agency. In other words, the hurdle is high because it must be certified by two institutions. As of 2021, there are only two wineries in Japan producing certified organic wines.

Guaranteed Safety and Security

“The grapes are grown with little to no pesticides and no herbicides. They are squeezed as is to make wine without any additives. The reason why I wanted to crown our wines as organic is because we want to assure our consumer’s safety and security.” Mr. Ueda said.

Adopted for ANA Domestic In-Flight Wine Sales for Three Consecutive Years

In 2014, Mr. Ueda received happy news. His organic wine had been adopted as the in-flight wine for all ANA domestic flights.

“At the time, there was a trading company doing business with ANA for wine, and they were looking for wine to sell onboard. After various tests, the cabin attendants, who were certified sommeliers, did a tasting and decided on my wine. I was really happy,” Mr. Ueda said with a smile.

Organic Farming on Track

Even though the climate is suitable for fruit tree cultivation, he had some difficulties with organic cultivation in the beginning, especially with Vitis vinifera varieties. When insects appeared, he removed each one by hand. And when diseases appeared, he plucked each leaf by hand. In his second year of growing Pinot Noir, he lost all the leaves due to downy mildew and could not harvest even a single bunch.

After that, he started using Bordeaux solution, which is approved by JAS as organic, and his cultivation got back on track.

“As we gained more experience, we were able to figure out when to apply the Bordeaux solution. We sprayed twice in 2020 but only once in 2021. We are doing well,” Mr. Ueda said.

My Future Goal

Aiming for More Natural Winemaking

When Mr. Ueda started making wine, there was only one other winery in Yoichi. However, after only a few years, he was shocked by the number of organic wineries that produce excellent wines. Since Natural Farm Group, like those other wineries, grows grapes organically, he began to think that if he learned how to brew in earnest, he would be able to produce even better wine.

Up until then, they had been fermenting organically grown grapes with cultured yeast, adding SO2, and filtering to keep the wine stable. But in an effort to keep the vinification as natural as possible, Domaine Ichi has started fermenting with wild yeasts, using as little SO2 as possible, and forgoing the filtration.

In an environment where there are no refrigerators, a stable wine is required. As of 2021, Mr. Ueda is able to export a stable, organic sparkling wine made from Niagara to Hong Kong utilizing the organic vilification techniques mentioned above. In the future, Mr. Ueda would like to export natural wines utilizing the natural techniques outlined above so long as they can be transported in refrigerated containers with the temperature controlled after arrival.