東夢ワイナリー

In the summer of 2002, Takano looked up at a steep slope that seemed to swallow the blue sky. The hillside was overgrown with trees and weeds, with decayed wood and old wire scattered through what had once been a thriving vineyard.\n\nUnable to leave the land abandoned, Takano entered theovergrown slope after retiring from his company. At first, it was only Takano and his former colleague Tanaka. On terrain too steep for agricultural machinery, they worked by hand with sickles for a year and a half before the land was finally cleared. Their first attempt at grape growing failed because of pests, and a typhoon even washed away part of the restored slope.\n\nFive years after beginning with the simple determination to revive the vineyard, beautiful grapes finally ripened across roughly 6,000 square meters. The vines were trained on vertical trellises common in Europe. Toriibira offers excellent sunlight and drainage, while the high elevation creates large differences between day and night temperatures—some of the best conditions in Katsunuma.\n\nHaving revived abandoned land and carefully grown grapes there, Takano was convinced that distinctive wine could be made. With additional Koshu grapes purchased from local growers, he produced a white wine made from 100% Koshu. Every grape and every drop was treated with care. In this way, Higashiyume Winery was born.