Domaine Mont
Yoichi’s second wave — Atsuo Yamanaka’s 3-hectare Pinot Gris specialist, trained under Domaine Takahiko
The Producer
Domaine Mont (domainemont) was founded in spring 2016 by Atsuo Yamanaka (山中敦生) in the Nobori district of Yoichi, Hokkaido — the same district where Domaine Takahiko sits. The estate operates on roughly 3 hectares of vineyard at 50 meters elevation, with a small winery building.
Yamanaka originally came to wine indirectly. Born in Koga, Ibaraki, he spent a winter break working at a Hokkaido restaurant during a ski trip, and the wine service there sparked his interest. He spent two years training under Takahiko Soga at Domaine Takahiko before becoming independent.
Methodology
Domaine Mont focuses primarily on Pinot Gris — a deliberate choice, as Yamanaka believes the variety’s thin skin allows it to express subtle nuance in a way thicker-skinned grapes cannot. The flagship "Dom Gris" is made from 100% estate Pinot Gris, fermented on wild yeast as whole bunches, aged for one year in Taransaud wooden barrels, with no filtration, no fining, and no sulfur dioxide additions.
For Pinot Noir, Yamanaka sources fruit from the established Aki Vineyard in Notocho — a stylistic choice modeled on Pierre Overnoy’s Poulsard from Jura, focused on lightness and drinkability over extraction. The same minimum-intervention ethos applies: no filtration, no fining, no SO₂.
Why It Matters
Domaine Mont is the clearest example of Domaine Takahiko’s mentor-led "Hokkaido school" producing a successor generation of small-domain natural winemakers. The fact that Yamanaka’s methodology resembles Takahiko’s closely — but with a different varietal focus and a different aesthetic — suggests the Hokkaido natural-wine identity has evolved past being a single producer’s signature into a regional movement.
The wines are scarce and have a strong following among natural-wine specialists in Tokyo, Paris, and New York.
Details
- Founded: Spring 2016
- Location: Nobori, Yoichi Town, Hokkaido
- Founder: Atsuo Yamanaka (山中敦生)
- Vineyard: ~3 ha at 50m elevation
- Training: 2 years at Domaine Takahiko under Takahiko Soga
- Signature wine: Dom Gris (Pinot Gris, no SO₂, 1 year Taransaud oak)