Obuse Winery

The Producer

Obuse Winery (小布施ワイナリー) sits in Obuse Town, northeastern Nagano, in the Chikuma River drainage. The corporate predecessor was Obuse Sake Brewery, an Edo-period sake operation continuously running since 1867. During the wartime years of the early 1940s — when rice was unavailable for sake brewing — the family pivoted to fruit wine production using local apples and table grapes. The formal wine license was granted in 1942, the founding year of Obuse Winery.

For decades the operation was a small regional fruit-wine and apple-cider producer. The transformation into one of Japan’s most respected natural-wine estates is the work of fourth-generation Sōga Akihiko (曽我彰彦), the current proprietor.

Sōga Akihiko

Sōga Akihiko studied at Meiji University’s Faculty of Agriculture and at Yamanashi University’s Wine Science Research Center. In 1997 and 1998 he trained in Burgundy — at vineyards and cellars in Vosne-Romanée and Chablis respectively. He also studied at Cave d’Occi in Niigata. The combination of Burgundian classical-quality training and Japanese natural-leaning tradition shaped his approach.

He is also the older brother of Takahiko Soga (Domaine Takahiko, Yoichi). The Soga family thus has two of the most-followed Japanese natural-wine operations under one generational roof.

Methodology

Obuse Winery has practiced chemical-pesticide-free cultivation since 2005 and obtained organic JAS certification on some vineyard parcels in 2011 — the only Japanese producer to hold organic certification on European-variety wine vineyards, as of 2024.

The winery’s flagship "Sans Chimie" (サンシミ) cuvées are made from chemical-pesticide-free fruit, fermented with indigenous yeast, with minimal sulfite addition.

The estate’s premium "Domaine Sogga" (ドメイヌ・ソガ) brand carries small-volume single-vineyard cuvées with a strong international following — multi-year waiting lists for the most sought-after bottlings.

Wines

• Domaine Sogga — small-batch Burgundian-leaning whites and reds (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir)
• Sans Chimie — natural-wine line, indigenous yeast, organic fruit
• Apple cider — historical product, still in production

Why It Matters

Obuse Winery is the producer that proved Burgundy-trained classical winemaking and Japanese natural-wine identity are not opposed. The combination — organic vineyards, indigenous-yeast cellar work, Burgundy-style site-specific bottlings — has become a template for the next generation of Japanese small-domain wine.

Details

• Founded: 1942 (wine license; sake operation continuous from 1867)
• Location: Obuse Town, Nagano Prefecture
• Current proprietor: Sōga Akihiko (4th generation)
• Training: Meiji University; Yamanashi University; Burgundy (Vosne-Romanée 1997, Chablis 1998); Cave d’Occi
• Certifications: Organic JAS (some parcels, 2011)
• Premium brand: Domaine Sogga