First winery in Iijima, Nagano, releases its first vintage

Nagano is a landlocked prefecture in central Honshu, surrounded by the Japan Alps, and together with Yamanashi it is one of Japan’s main wine regions. In Iijima, a town in the south of the prefecture, the first winery in the town’s history, Iijima Jozo Vinofect, has been established. Its first wines, made in 2025 from grapes and other fruit harvested on its own farm, are now finished, and according to the local newspaper Nagano Nippo they have been on sale since 3 May 2026 at the shop attached to the winery.

A winery in a place with no brewing tradition

Iijima lies in a basin known as the Ina Valley (Inadani), through which the Tenryu River flows. Until now the town had neither a sake brewery nor a winery, making it a blank spot on the map of alcohol production. These wines are the town’s first local alcoholic drink. The winery is in the Hongo district of the town, and its main raw material is local grapes grown on its own farm. It is a small newcomer that handles everything itself, from cultivating the vineyard to making the wine.

Eight wines in the first lineup, including an apple dessert wine

The first release comprises eight wines in total: red, white and rosé, plus a dessert wine made from apples grown in the town, among others. The winery says it would like people to “taste them side by side”. The grape varieties and winemaking methods cannot yet be gleaned from press reports. Even so, the use of both grapes and apples as raw materials gives the wines a sense of place. Nagano is one of Japan’s leading apple-growing prefectures, so making use of local fruit in wine is a natural step.

Small producers widening the map of Japanese wine

Over the past decade or more, small wineries have continued to open in Nagano, and the prefecture has put considerable effort into promoting its wine industry. The winery in Iijima is an example of how that trend is spreading to still newer areas of the prefecture. The first vintage has yet to be judged, but witnessing a new wine region being created from scratch is one of the pleasures of following Japanese wine today.

Production of these wines is small and sales are centred on the local shop, so it is unlikely they will be available in Europe any time soon. Even so, shops and restaurants that specialise in Japanese wine are increasingly stocking bottles from Nagano. A wine with “Nagano” on the label is well worth trying. Tasting it alongside a European red or white at a similar price makes it easier to grasp the direction Japanese producers are aiming for. The apple dessert wine may appeal most to those familiar with the cider traditions of Normandy and the Basque Country. It will also be interesting to see how this small winery develops with the next harvest.

References and sources

• Nagano Nippo, “First wine made in Iijima town goes on sale on the 3rd”