About Niseko Winery
- Founded
- 2016
- 10 years ago
- Location
- ニセコ町
- 北海道
Niseko Winery is the only winery in Niseko Town, Hokkaido, founded by Yasunori Homma, a former international banker who left his career to plant vines on rugged, unclaimed land at the foot of Mt. Yotei starting in 2005. Officially established as Yotei Green Business Co., Ltd. in 2016 and releasing its first vintage in 2017, it is one of only two JAS organic-certified wineries in Japan. Working a roughly 4-hectare estate with zero chemical pesticides or fertilizers, the winery grows cool-climate, disease-resistant German varieties — including Bacchus, Zweigeltrebe, Kerner and Dornfelder — and specializes exclusively in traditional-method (méthode traditionnelle) sparkling wine, aged on the lees in bottle for 18 months or more. Rather than bottling single-varietal wines, Niseko Winery blends several grapes each vintage (six varieties went into its 2019 white), so the exact composition shifts year to year with the harvest — a practice the winery frames as capturing the true, ever-changing character of Niseko's terroir.
Who Is This For?
For fans of terroir-driven, low-intervention sparkling wine who want to taste a blend that changes with each harvest — and for anyone curious about pioneering organic viticulture in Japan's snowiest wine country.
Wines of Niseko Winery
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Location & Nearby
- Address
- 北海道虻田郡ニセコ町字近藤194-8View map ↗
- Founded
- 2016
Source: shiribeshi.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp (checked Sep 2026) / takibi-connect.jp (checked Sep 2026)
The pin with the gold outline marks Niseko Winery.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What makes Niseko Winery unique in Japan?
- It's the only winery in Niseko Town and one of just two JAS organic-certified wineries in all of Japan, producing exclusively traditional-method sparkling wine from a roughly 4-hectare estate at the foot of Mt. Yotei.
- What grape varieties does Niseko Winery grow?
- Cool-climate German varieties suited to Hokkaido's harsh winters — primarily Bacchus, Zweigeltrebe, Kerner and Dornfelder — farmed without any chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
- Does Niseko Winery make single-varietal wines?
- No. Instead of bottling one grape alone, it blends several varieties each vintage (six went into the 2019 white), so the exact blend shifts year to year with the harvest.
- Who founded Niseko Winery?
- Yasunori Homma, a former international banker, began planting vines on undeveloped land at the foot of Mt. Yotei in 2005 and formally established the winery, Yotei Green Business Co., Ltd., in 2016, releasing its first vintage in 2017.
- How is the sparkling wine made?
- Using the traditional method (méthode traditionnelle) with secondary fermentation in the bottle, aged on the lees for 18 months or more before release.