De Montille & Hokkaido

The ``De Montille & Hokkaido Project'' is a pioneering project in which Domaine de Montille, a traditional family-run winery in Burgundy, France, engages in wine production in Hokkaido. Current owner Etienne de Montille launched this project in 2016, believing in the high quality and diversity of Japanese wine, and in particular that Hokkaido's climate is suitable for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This is also the first attempt by a foreign wine producer to establish a vineyard in Japan.
The goal of the project is to share know-how based on Burgundy's long history with Japanese winemakers, and to explore together techniques suited to Hokkaido's terroir and climate. In Hakodate, 7 hectares of vineyards have already been developed, with plans to expand to 25 hectares in the future. Construction of the winery is currently underway with the cooperation of Hakodate City in preparation for the first harvest in 2023.
Additionally, from 2018 to 2022, we produced a small amount of wine with the cooperation of grape growers in the Yoichi area, deepening our knowledge of winemaking with Hokkaido grapes. Each vintage from this period has a different label, representing the fruits of trial and error in Japan.
In the future, we aim to expand the Hakodate-produced ``De Montille & Hokkaido Wine'' domestically and internationally, and increase the international reputation of Japanese wine.