Winery Konohana

Winery Konohana is an urban winery in the shopping district of Hanawa, Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture, founded in 2010 by Kazuya Mikata after he returned from Tokyo following his father's death. He and his wife Mikako converted a former bank vault into a cellar and a former pachinko parlor into the production facility, reviving a shuttered shopping street. The winery works with about 0.5 hectares of its own vineyards in nearby Kosaka Town, growing wild-grape hybrids Koshu-derived Kokoshi and Yama Sauvignon (with Riesling newly planted in 2023). Wines are fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel tanks, never oak, to preserve pure, natural fruit character, and pressed slowly in a basket press to draw out flavor and color gently from the skins. Its signature wine, Tokito Kokoshi, is prized for its affinity with Japanese cuisine, especially seafood such as sashimi, sea urchin, and salmon roe, and has been served on JR East's luxury cruise train TRAIN SUITE Shiki-shima. The winery also produces a non-sparkling cider, Champetre Fuji, from local Fuji apples, which won a bronze award at the Fuji Cidre Challenge. Producing around 10,000 bottles a year, entirely from Japanese grapes, Konohana shares the late Haruo Sawanobori's vision that every village should have a wine to be proud of, and runs a wine-owner program and harvest events to connect customers nationwide with the region.