UTABI Winery

有旅ワイナリー

Nagano City's first winery, led by an ex-sommelier duo

UTABI Winery is the first winery established within Nagano City, located in the Utabi area of the Shinonoi district. Founded in 2024 by Kei Tanaka, a Sommelier Excellence titleholder and GI examination judge who returned to his hometown after working as a sommelier at renowned hotels and wine bars in Karuizawa, Tokyo, and Kyoto, together with Motohiro Takizawa, who trained at an established Japanese winery. Tanaka spent five years searching for the ideal vineyard site before settling on Utabi, where marine sediment soil dating back to the Jurassic period, favorable sun exposure, and good airflow across two plots at 650m and 730m elevation create conditions well suited to fine wine grapes. The winery's guiding philosophy is uncompromising winemaking that lets the grapes' natural character speak for itself, informed by Tanaka's training across multiple wineries in Nagano and Hokkaido, including strict-hygiene techniques learned from producers who ferment with wild yeast and no added sulfites. UTABI Winery is part of the Chikuma River Wine Valley and produced its first vintage in 2024, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as its flagship varieties, aiming for roughly 15,000 bottles annually at full capacity.