A Journey Embracing Time: The "Stay-Style Winery Experience" at Niki Hills

NIKI Hills Winery in Niki Town, Hokkaido. Recently, I had the opportunity to experience its charm firsthand.

Embraced by vast vineyards and spending time feeling the shifting four seasons feels just like a little journey away from everyday life. From here, I would like to share the captivating appeal that remained in my heart through this special time.

Located on a hill in Niki Town, Hokkaido, NIKI Hills Winery is not merely a wine production facility. Combining vineyards, a winemaking facility, a restaurant, a hotel, and gardens, it can be called a "stay-style winery." Its vast grounds make it a standout presence in terms of both scale and functionality, even in the Yoichi-Niki area where small wineries are scattered about.

Its story began in 2014, starting from the reclamation of abandoned farmland in Niki Town to clear new vineyards.

Since then, an expert viticulture and winemaking team has conducted continuous research to maximize the land's potential, releasing wines produced from estate-grown grapes to the world in 2019. Today, it has won numerous awards at domestic and international competitions, growing into one of the bases demonstrating the potential of Japanese wine to the world.

However, the essence of NIKI Hills does not stop at winemaking itself. What they aim for isa shift from "the experience of drinking wine" to "the experience of spending time with wine".

Visitors can do more than just taste wine; they can gaze over the land from the observation deck on the hill, or stroll through gardens filled with blooming seasonal flowers. Staying at the hotel allows guests to sip a glass while watching the setting sun at dusk, and wake up the next morning to brilliant sunshine and chirping birds. At the restaurant "Aperçu," a pairing course weaving together dishes made with seasonal ingredients and award-winning wines awaits.

In short, NIKI Hills is an experiential resort centered around wine, seamlessly combining nature, cuisine, accommodations, and culture. I felt that its presence does not stop at acting as a local tourism asset, but also creates new local jobs and pride, leading to the revitalization of Niki Town as a whole.

I interviewed Mr. Nakazawa, the assistant general manager of NIKI Hills Winery.

In the interview, he shared an outline of the entire winery and how he hopes guests will spend their time here. While his words were simple, the essence of NIKI Hills—the strong desire for guests "not just to drink wine, but to enjoy the time here itself"—was powerfully conveyed.

Having stayed there myself, I felt those words were truly borne out by the experience.

When visiting NIKI Hills, the first thing I would recommend is the winery tour.

Guided by the staff through the vineyards and winemaking facility, you can experience firsthand how the grapes grow and how the wine is crafted. Feeling the aroma of the soil in the fields and the tranquility of the wine resting in the tanks makes the story behind each bottle feel all the more vivid.

If you have extra time, I highly recommend taking the optional cart tour. You hop into a dedicated cart and head up the hill, passing through the vineyards. The destination is the "Wind Hill Observation Deck." Looking down from here, the land of Niki unfolds before your eyes in a grand panorama, with vineyards and orchards spreading out like a patchwork quilt stretching to distant mountains. Gazing at this scenery with a wine glass in hand felt like a luxury that can only be experienced here.

Nor should you miss the natural garden that spreads across the winery grounds. Flowers and trees changing colors with each season welcome you, and simply strolling through gives a sense of unity with nature. Spring buds, lush summer greenery, autumn leaves, and quiet winter snowscapes—whichever season you visit, it will show a face unique to that moment.

Not making wine tasting the sole purpose, but enjoying the time including the scenery and nature—I strongly felt that accumulating these experiences makes a stay at NIKI Hills all the richer.

During my stay at NIKI Hills, what left a particularly strong impression was "Aperçu," the restaurant located on site. The restaurant's name, which means "insight," "discernment," or "idea" in French, is said to embody the wish for guests "to feel things they cannot normally feel."

According to the official website, "dō" (insight) represents "space" and "satsu" (perception) represents "observing closely," reflecting how sharpening one's five senses within Niki Town's nature is layered into the cuisine. Visiting in person made it clear that these words were by no means an exaggeration.

The dining experience here is not simply about enjoying delicious flavors. It is a meal to be perceived as if gaining insight into nature and the land. To me, it seemed as though the season and scenery were expressed on the plate beyond the visible ingredients.

▪️ A Series of Storybook Encounters in One Evening

The dinner at Aperçu weaves a story with each course. The title at this time was "Inquisitive Encounters." Opening the menu, each dish had its own theme and explanation, along with the dish name and paired wine listed. Simply following them with your eyes felt like watching a highly polished theatrical performance.

And when actually experiencing it, there were indeed "moments that touched the heart" going beyond descriptions of food and wine. Here I will introduce two encounters that left a particularly unforgettable, powerful impression.

▪️ Shangri-La — The Miracle of ENIWA ROSSO and Chardonnay

The first is "Shangri-La." A dish combining purebred pork from Eniwa, Hokkaido, ENIWA ROSSO, with white peach and mint. The pork was surprisingly juicy, with the sweetness of the fat spreading gently. When accompanied by the side of white peach sauce, it transcended a mere "meat dish," bringing forth a sweet and soft world in the mouth.

What was paired with it was Chardonnay 2023. This bottle won a Gold Medal at the world-renowned Decanter World Wine Awards. Its roundness from malolactic fermentation and refined oak aroma. The moment its richness overlapped with the sweetness of the white peach, the dish and wine enhanced each other, sublimating into a flavor of a whole new dimension.

It was a harmony that made me whisper to myself, "So this is what a true food and wine pairing is like." The sense of bliss filling my mouth went beyond just a meal, becoming a moment carved into a lifetime of memories.

▪️ Connecting — The Feeling of Eating the Field Itself

The second is "Connecting." Looking at the dish brought to the table, I was overwhelmed at first.

Inca no Mezame potatoes, baby corn, lily bulb, fig, eggplant, beets, Brussels sprouts... Countless ingredients were prepared using different culinary techniques, gathering together on a single plate.

This was not a mere "assortment," but a worldview as if transferring the field itself onto the table. With every bite, the individuality of each ingredient stood out, eventually fusing together as a single piece of land.

What was paired with it was Pinot Noir 2023. It was a red wine brimming with umami and a savory broth-like character, as if capturing the terroir of Niki Town to the fullest. Light yet deep, with flavors reminiscent of the scent of soil and trees. That single sip brought a sensation as if "eating the land of Japan itself."

A sense of unity that can only be tasted here. The moment when the chef, the wine, and the memory of the land met on a single plate became an experience that left me utterly lost for words.

▪️ Other Dishes — Small Stories Coloring the Memory

Of course, the other dishes were also impressive. The sense of celebration created by foie gras with azuki beans and sparkling rosé, the refreshing acidity of bubbles tightening sweet shrimp and tomato, the depth of the assemblage supporting scallop and arugula. The crystal-clear marriage of Matsukawa flounder and Kerner, and the elegant harmony of duck and Zweigelt.

Regrettably, due to time constraints, I was unable to stay for dessert. However, that only gave me something to look forward to next time, strengthening my desire to return here once more.

▪️ Presence as a Restaurant

Dinner at Aperçu was not merely a restaurant attached to a winery. The perfection of the dishes, the pairings with wine, and the atmosphere of the entire space—everything was in harmony, feeling like a true "culinary stage worth visiting" representing Hokkaido.

Not many places offer a dining experience that remains so strongly in one's memory during a wine-tasting trip. It has the power not only to enjoy the encounter between wine and food, but to turn "the time spent dining itself" into a special memory.

If you are planning a winery stay at NIKI Hills, this restaurant is undeniably an essential scene. Please visit in person and experience it with all five senses.

If you venture a little further from NIKI Hills, you will find Niki Shrine (commonly known as the Wine Shrine). It stands as a symbol of the history Niki Town has walked as a "wine town," making it a special place that wine lovers should definitely visit.

In the shrine grounds stand unique structures modeled after wine bottles and barrels. For example, a temizuya (purification font) where pure water pours from a wine bottle, and stone lanterns carved with wine glasses and bottles. There were also amulets decorated with wine bottles and ema (votive wooden plaques) depicting wine transportation.

The very air drifting through the grounds seemed to reflect Niki Town's culture and its pride in wine.

After thoroughly enjoying wine and food at NIKI Hills, stopping by here to offer a prayer before heading to the airport makes for a fitting finale that enriches the trip even further. Adding a touch of spirituality deepens the memory of the whole stay.

If you love wine, I hope you will etch a moment at this shrine in your heart as proof of visiting Niki Town.

The appeal of NIKI Hills Winery does not end with simply "drinking" wine. Speeding through nature on a cart tour, sensing the shifting four seasons in the garden, enjoying the encounter between dishes and wine at the restaurant, and welcoming a quiet night at the hotel.

Furthermore, stopping by Niki Shrine allows you to etch the connection between this land and wine culture even deeper in your heart.

Each experience interconnects, shaping the entire stay like a single story. There lies a rich flow of time that cannot be fully captured by the word "tourism."

The time spent here is like a "margin in life," liberated from efficiency and busyness. If you settle in and stay awhile, that margin will turn into an irreplaceable memory.

NIKI Hills is a place to savor wine, and at the same time, a place that gives you a journey to embrace time itself.

That is precisely why I want to visit this land again—to once more experience that rich feeling of being embraced by wine and time.