Budoubatake
菱山中央醸造
Farmer-run Katsunuma winery still hand-pressing wine since the 1930s
About Budoubatake
- Founded
- 2006
- 20 years ago
- Location
- 甲州市
- 山梨県
- Wines listed
- 4
- White 1, Rosé 1, Red 1, Sweet 1
- Main grapes
- Koshu, Muscat Bailey A
Budoubatake (Hishiyama Chuo Jozo Co., Ltd.) is a farmer-run winery in the Hishiyama district of Katsunuma, Koshu City, Yamanashi — one of Japan's oldest wine-growing areas. Founded in the early Showa era when local farmers of the Mori family were granted a brewing license, the winery has operated for roughly 90 years as a cooperative where Hishiyama grape growers bring their own harvest to be pressed together, historically for their own household consumption. Now led by 18th-generation farmer Hitoshi Mitsumori (incorporated as a limited company in 2006), it remains one of the few wineries in Japan still using a traditional wooden basket press: grapes are crushed and pressed by hand and jack, with only the finest first-run juice fermented into what locals call the 'ultimate grape wine.' Grown on the well-drained alluvial slopes of Hishiyama, the estate's Koshu, Muscat Bailey A, and Delaware grapes yield simple, additive-free wines — dry and off-dry Koshu whites, a rosé, a Muscat Bailey A red, and a Delaware sparkling — sold mainly through the winery's own farm stand and grape-picking visitors rather than wide distribution.
Who Is This For?
For those curious about Japan's original farmhouse winemaking — hand-pressed, additive-free wines made by grape growers, historically for their own tables.
Wines of Budoubatake
White1
Location & Nearby
- Address
- 山梨県甲州市勝沼町菱山1425View map ↗
- Founded
- 2006
Source: budoubatake.co.jp (checked Sep 2026)
The pin with the gold outline marks Budoubatake.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What does the name Budoubatake mean?
- Budoubatake literally means 'grape field' in Japanese. The winery grew out of a farmers' grape-growing cooperative in Katsunuma's Hishiyama district, and the name reflects its roots as a farm-first, wine-second operation.
- What makes Budoubatake's winemaking method distinctive?
- It is one of the few wineries in Japan still using a traditional wooden basket press worked by hand and jack, pressing only the first, finest juice from hand-crushed grapes rather than using modern mechanical presses.
- What grape varieties does Budoubatake use?
- Mainly Koshu for its dry and off-dry white wines, along with Muscat Bailey A for a red and Delaware for a light sparkling wine, all grown on the well-drained alluvial slopes of Hishiyama.
- Who runs Budoubatake today?
- Hitoshi Mitsumori, the 18th generation of the Mori farming family, leads the winery, which was formally incorporated as a limited company in 2006 after operating as an informal farmers' cooperative since the early Showa era.
- Where can you buy Budoubatake wine?
- The wines are sold mainly at the winery's own farm stand in Katsunuma, alongside table grapes and raisins, rather than through wide retail distribution.