Koaso Vineyard
Rooted in Nagano, but with a global vision.
Founded 2012
Ueda, Nagano
Varieties planted
Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
The People
Koaso Vineyard was founded by Yasushi Rokugawa. Rokugawa-san's ancestral roots are in Nagano, which led him to the prefecture when he first set out to grow wine grapes. His search for a suitable place to grow his most-loved Bordeaux varietals led him to Ueda, which at the time was relatively underdeveloped for wine. This move has since paid off, as evidenced by the recent interest in the sub-region amongst those looking to make wines with power in Japan. Rokugawa-san is also passionate about advancing the image of Japanese wine not just within Japan, but also across the world. In this regard, he started and continues to operate Degustation in Tokyo, a wine bar with one of the country's widest by-the-glass selections of Japanese wines.
The Land
Located in the Shiodaira area of Ueda, Koaso's vineyards sit at a lower altitude than those in the neighbouring Tomi City. With this lower altitude comes generally higher temperature, while still having lower rainfall relative to the rest of Japan. Ueda also gets lots of sun, allowing grape varieties that typically struggle in Japan's marginal climate like Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen fully.
The Wine
Rokugawa-san's wines have the uncanny ability to balance power, texture, and freshness. Gone are the days where you need to wait years for a Bordeaux blend to age - even the most powerful of Koaso's wines, for example the 2023 Timeless Elegance, are silky smooth right out of the bottle and have fresh acidity, despite coming in at a whopping 14.5% ABV. Part of this is thanks to the talented folks who help Rokugawa san turn his grapes into wine, namely Hatano-san from Cave Hatano in Tomi.
