THE JAPAN NEWS


 

Tokyo Winery is in a residential area of Nerima Ward, Tokyo. Miwa Echigoya, 40, a former vegetable wholesaler, began operating the winery by herself two years ago.

Impressed by the taste of vegetables from a local farm she visited while a wholesaler, she started making wine using grapes produced in Tokyo in the hopes of supporting the city’s agriculture.

“I want people to drink my wine with their meals,” said Echigoya, who produces about 10,000 bottles of dry wine a year. Wine making is hard work that requires several steps. When busy, she recruits volunteers through her website and other means. She sometimes receives help from people in the community.

 

Keiko Sugiura, 47, a resident of Nishitokyo, has been helping Echigoya for the last year. “It makes me happy to think wine I helped produce is on the market,” she said with a smile.

Echigoya has no plans to expand her about 70-square-meter shop attached to the winery, but she said she does want to become more active in community events. “As much as possible, I’d like to produce wine that conveys my own feelings,” she said.

Fukagawa Winery in Koto Ward, Tokyo, meanwhile, opened in June this year. It is run mainly by winery representative Toru Nakamoto, 45, and vintner Kosuke Ueno, 44.

 

Nakamoto, who used to operate a wine bar in China, chose Fukagawa for the winery site because of the friendly atmosphere of the traditional commercial and working-class neighborhoods that still exist there, which he thought would allow people to “enjoy wine more casually and light-heartedly.” He has prepared a tour of the winery for visitors and also sometimes holds wine tasting events in which a glass of wine costs ¥100.

In addition to producing wine, Fukagawa Winery plans to offer people a good time by giving them the chance to make commemorative wines for special occasions like weddings and coming-of-age ceremonies.

Though local winemakers have limited space and personnel, the wine produced out of their passion and the efforts of a well-meaning supporting cast is sure to take root among locals.