Aiming for wine that enriches everyday life

The grapes we use are mainly from Iwai area (Iwasaki and Fujii districts) in Katsunuma.
The name "Iwai" is a bright and sunny place name meaning "joyous celebration".
It is one of the best-known brewing regions in Japan where people have been growing grapes for at least 300 years and have been producing wines for 150 years. 

The Iwai is a quite warm production area with plenty of sunshine and in summer, the maximum temperature reaches up to 40℃ during a day. Yet, it drops down nicely due to the cold and strong wind called "Sasago Oroshi", which blows down from Mt Fuji through the evening to the night time.
This wind helps grapes to maintain the appropriate level of acidity so as to grow healthy grapes.

Yamanashi Prefecture is surrounded by mountains, with Kofu Basin in the centre, and Katsunuma is located at the eastern side of the basin.
The Iwai area is sited at the eastern end of Katsunuma, on a gentle northwest-facing slope at an altitude of 400 meters.

The clay soils with pebbles provide excellent drainage, aeration and water retention; as a result, it enables to ripen grapes slowly and allow us to harest them at a high level of ripeness.

The fields in the Iwai area near the mountains also have a diverse flora and fauna.

Iwasaki Brewery has its origin in a cooperative brewing association.
Since the establishment, we have built the strong relationship of trust with local farmers for more than 80 years. And we greatly proud of making wine out of their grapes.
Their understanding and passion for the terroir in Iwai region enriches the taste of our wines.
Therefore, our wines has the flavor of terroir all the more reason to live and root in this place as like the "Pere et Fils" (father and son) in Burgundy, despite Iwasaki Brewing takes negociant-style.

That is why our wine goes well with various ingredients from any seasons and makes the dining with family and friends more enjoyable.

The brand 'Honjyo', which we have stood for since our establishment, is short for "Authentic brewing" in Japanese.
On the 80th anniversary, we took the year as one opportunity to reinterpret what this "Authentic brewing" should be.

This is how we discovered the spirit of Zen.
We focus on overlooking the terroir with the Zen spirit while making wines.
You can see it in the name and design of our product.
Our wines are simple and clear in taste, which leads you to feel a sense of the terroir and a variety of grape.

We, as professional winemakers, have great experiences and craftmanship to produce our unique wines by thinking outside the box about the terroir and grape varieties.
At the same time, we actively embrace IoT and technology, and try to make better choices by installing sensors in the vineyards and tanks, and by the research collaborating with the University of Yamanashi, which is also the Japanese branch of ASEV.

In short, our winemaking philosophy is a harmony of tradition and innovation, combining Japanese minimalism, craftsmanship to its opposite, technology.
We hope that our wines give you a taste of the terroir in our beloved Iwai District. Please enjoy the wine with your meal and have a wonderful moment.

Our aim is to create wines that are like a rainbow connecting people with nature and people to people.