Iwanohara Budōen

Iwanohara Vineyard was established in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture in 1890 by Zenbei Kawakami, who is known as the father of Japanese wine. Mr. Kawakami worked hard to improve the breed, hoping for the development of the region based on the philosophy of ``promoting industry and promoting national welfare.'' After more than 10,000 crosses, we developed 22 varieties, including Muscat Bailey A, which became the main variety of Japanese wine. Since the time when cooling equipment was not yet in place, Kawakami took on the challenge of using snow to store wine, and even today, cooling and aging wine is carried out in snow chambers. Iwanohara Vineyard is rooted in the local community and continues to contribute to the local community through activities such as the Grape Production Area Council and agricultural welfare collaboration.