YOKA WINERY

Originally from Fukuoka Prefecture, Kiku pursued a successful banking career while nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to write his MBA thesis on winery startups. This academic exploration gradually evolved into a personal dream of creating wine himself, ultimately prompting his life-changing decision at age 41 to relocate to Yoichi in 2019.

He acquired a promising southwest-facing site in Yoichi's Mongaku district—land that had previously served as an apple orchard but offered excellent solar exposure for grape cultivation. The development of this farmland proved far more challenging than anticipated, as the site had been abandoned for over 30 years. The arduous four-year clearing process involved countless battles with enormous stones and stubborn bedrock that seemed to emerge endlessly from the earth.

By 2023, his fifth year since relocation, the prospects of achieving sufficient yield for a fruit wine manufacturing license under the special zone designation became reality, enabling him to begin brewing with his own equipment. His approach exemplifies quality-focused, artisanal winemaking—for instance, his Chardonnay production employs whole cluster pressing as the foundation while incorporating selective hand-destemming for optimal skin contact, demonstrating the meticulous attention to detail that only small-scale production allows.

'I aspire to practice strong, deeply rooted agriculture while truly living in harmony with this land,' he states with unwavering conviction.