Hokkaido wine on the rise as universities and research bodies move to train brewers

Roughly threefold in ten years: Hokkaido now has 75 wineries

Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, and winemaking is now spreading rapidly there. As of February 2026, the island had 75 wineries, about three times as many as ten years earlier. Behind this lie a response to climate change and a push to make the most of local farm produce. It is not only wine. Hokkaido has 16 sake breweries and 46 craft beer breweries, and both have returned to growth after earlier declines. At the same time, many of the newly arrived producers need support with brewing technique, and a shortage of successors is also starting to become noticeable.

University and public research body join forces

Rakuno Gakuen University in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, has carried out research in brewing, centred on wine, since 2016. In recent years its graduates have taken jobs at wineries in Hokkaido, and the results of its research are beginning to reach the industry. In June 2026 the university announced that it would strengthen its cooperation with the Food Processing Research Centre of the Hokkaido Research Organization (Doso-ken). The two have already exchanged researchers, carried out joint research and shared facilities. The new partnership has two pillars. The first is training people. They will hold public lectures with the centre’s researchers as instructors, and create opportunities for students to learn through the centre’s training programme. The second is research. Using the centre’s equipment, they will pursue studies from new perspectives and aim for joint research that draws on the strengths of both sides. The university’s laboratory carries out trial winemaking with grapes and holds a report meeting every year on the finished wines.

How European readers can enjoy it

Japanese wine is still not often seen in Europe. Even so, if you spot a bottle labelled “Hokkaido” as its origin in a Japanese food shop or a wine specialist, it is worth trying. Hokkaido is a cool-climate region. Tasting it alongside white wines and light red wines from familiar regions such as Germany, Austria or the Loire in France may reveal both differences and similarities. If systems in which universities and public research bodies train technicians take hold, the quality of this young region can be expected to become more stable. You might note down the producer and the vintage, and try the same maker’s wine again a few years on. It is a pleasure that only a growing region can offer.