About CAVE Kikyo
- Founded
- 2025
- 1 years ago
- Location
- 塩尻市
- 長野県
CAVE Kikyo is a micro-winery in the Hirooka-Gohara district of Shiojiri City, Nagano, opened in autumn 2025 by SHIOJIRI BASE, a company founded in 2023 by three transplants to the region: Makoto Ogawa and the husband-and-wife team of Kiichiro and Minori Hashimoto, all graduates of the Shiojiri Wine University who also grow their own wine grapes. The winery occupies part of the building that once housed the JA Shiojiri City winery (known as Kikyo no Sato Winery), which closed in 2022 after 65 years of cooperative winemaking. Holding its own small-batch liquor manufacturing license under the Kikyogahara-Matsumoto Wine Valley special zone, CAVE Kikyo completed its debut vintage — a Concord red reviving the historic 'Kikyo no Sato' name — in autumn 2025, and plans to keep working with Shiojiri's traditional Concord and Niagara grapes alongside European varieties such as Merlot grown by its founders.
Who Is This For?
For those who want to taste Shiojiri's original Concord and Niagara wine culture reborn through a tiny, founder-run winery with deep roots in the local vineyards.
Wines of CAVE Kikyo
No cuvées registered yet.
Location & Nearby
- Address
- 長野県塩尻市広丘郷原桔梗ヶ原1811-4View map ↗
- Founded
- 2025
Source: nagano-wine.jp (checked Sep 2026) / shiojiri-winery-fes.jp (checked Sep 2026)
The pin with the gold outline marks CAVE Kikyo.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CAVE Kikyo?
- CAVE Kikyo is a micro-winery in Shiojiri City, Nagano, opened in autumn 2025 by the company SHIOJIRI BASE inside part of the former JA Shiojiri City winery building.
- Who runs CAVE Kikyo?
- It is run by three Shiojiri Wine University graduates who moved to the area: Makoto Ogawa, and the husband-and-wife team Kiichiro and Minori Hashimoto, who also grow their own wine grapes.
- Is CAVE Kikyo the same company as the former JA Shiojiri City winery?
- No. The JA-run winery, once known as Kikyo no Sato Winery, closed in 2022 after 65 years. CAVE Kikyo is a separate, independently licensed winery founded in 2023 that later moved into part of the same building and revived the 'Kikyo no Sato' wine name.
- What grapes does CAVE Kikyo use?
- Its debut wine uses Shiojiri-grown Concord, and the winery plans to keep working with Niagara alongside European varieties such as Merlot grown by its own founders.
- When did CAVE Kikyo release its first wine?
- It completed its first vintage, a Concord red named 'Kikyo no Sato,' in autumn 2025 and began selling it at local shops that December.