Is Ehime known as a wine region?

Not traditionally — Ehime is famous as Japan's top citrus-producing prefecture. Wine production only began in November 2010, when grape farmers in Uchiko Town founded the prefecture's first winery, making Ehime one of Japan's newest and smallest wine regions.

Where in Ehime is wine produced?

Wine production is centered in Uchiko Town in Kita District, an inland valley long known for grape and fruit farming, where Uchiko Winery presses locally grown grapes into its 'Uchiko Yume Wine' range.

Region

Ehime

愛媛

Japan's citrus kingdom, now home to a pioneering table-grape winery

About Ehime

Producers listed: 1

Ehime Prefecture, on the western coast of Shikoku facing the Seto Inland Sea, is best known as Japan's 'citrus kingdom' — its sun-drenched, well-drained hillside terraces growing over 40 varieties of mikan and other citrus. That same mild, Mediterranean-like climate and terraced hillside terrain also support small-scale grape growing, and in November 2010 a group of veteran table-grape farmers in Uchiko Town founded Ehime's first winery, the cooperative Uchiko Winery, to turn their harvest into 'Uchiko Yume Wine.' Ehime remains an emerging, boutique wine region: production is tiny and centered on hand-crafted wines made from dessert grapes such as Muscat Bailey A, Kyoho, Pione, and Rosario Bianco rather than classic wine grapes, giving the region's wines an unusually fruit-forward, approachable character.

Best for

Curious drinkers who want to explore Japan's lesser-known wine map, and fans of soft, fruity wines made from table grapes rather than classic vinifera.

Food Pairings

Ehime's fruity, gently sweet-tart wines pair naturally with the prefecture's seafood and citrus-driven cuisine — tai meshi (sea bream rice), sawachi-style sashimi, and jakoten (fried fish cake) all echo the wines' bright acidity, while the region's famous mikan desserts pick up on the wine's own fruit character.

Producers

内子ワイナリー
Uchiko Winery
Uchiko Winery (企業組合内子ワイナリー) is Ehime Prefecture's first winery, founded on November 1, 2010 in Uchiko, Kita District, by lifelong grape farmer Toshimichi Fujibuchi — who took on the challenge at age 70 after a visitor to his family's grape orchard suggested he try winemaking. Fujibuchi studied at Ehime University, a prefectural research station, and in France before establishing the cooperative winery. Rather than classic wine grapes, Uchiko Winery presses 100% locally grown table grapes — Muscat Bailey A, Kyoho, Pione, Rosario Bianco, and wild grape (yamabudou) — into its signature 'Uchiko Yume Wine' (内子夢わいん, 'Uchiko Dream Wine') range: crisp, fruity reds, whites, and a rosé, all handled by hand from harvest to bottling. The winery grew out of, and remains closely tied to, the long-running Fuji Budouen tourist grape orchard in the same valley, and its wines are sold through the winery's direct shop and online store as a symbol of Uchiko's grape-growing heritage.
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uchikowinery.raku-uru.jp/

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ehime known as a wine region?: Not traditionally — Ehime is famous as Japan's top citrus-producing prefecture. Wine production only began in November 2010, when grape farmers in Uchiko Town founded the prefecture's first winery, making Ehime one of Japan's newest and smallest wine regions.
What kind of grapes are used for Ehime wine?: Rather than classic European wine grapes, Ehime's winery uses locally grown table (dessert) grapes such as Muscat Bailey A, Kyoho, Pione, Rosario Bianco, and wild grape (yamabudou), giving the wines a soft, fruity character.
Where in Ehime is wine produced?: Wine production is centered in Uchiko Town in Kita District, an inland valley long known for grape and fruit farming, where Uchiko Winery presses locally grown grapes into its 'Uchiko Yume Wine' range.