In early March, as spring finally began to arrive, Risonare Yatsugatake in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, collaborated with Kisvin Winery, also located in the prefecture. They held a winemaker's dinner at the hotel's main dining room, OTTO SETTE.

Wine journalist Tadayuki Yanagi introduces his experience at Risonare Yatsugatake, starting with a visit to the Kisvin winery, followed by a review of the many wonderful dishes created using Kisvin wines, and his stay at Risonare Yatsugatake.

Unraveling the charm of Kisvin: Visiting the Kisvin vineyards and winery.

Risonare Yatsugatake is located at the southern foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains, on the border between Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures. Both Yamanashi and Nagano are renowned wine-producing regions. Risonare Yatsugatake, in particular among Hoshino Resorts properties, focuses on wine and aims to be a "wine resort" where guests can fully enjoy its charm.

I'll tell you the details once we get there, but the bus carrying our group departed from Marunouchi in Tokyo just before noon. Our first destination was the Shioyama district in Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, where the winery is located.

We got off the Chuo Expressway at the Katsunuma Interchange and drove along mountain roads for a while before arriving in front of a vineyard. There, we found Kisvin's two winemakers, Mayu Saito and Rei Kawakami, waiting for us.

The grapes in front of us are the Koshu variety, which boasts a history of over 1000 years in Yamanashi. Sap has begun to drip from the tips of the pruned branches. "This is a sign that the grapes have awakened from dormancy and started their activity for this year," says Mr. Saito. The training method is the trellis system which is common for Koshu grapes, but Kisvin employs a unique pruning method that is slightly different from both table grapes and wine grapes.

"With conventional pruning methods, there was sometimes a difference in the quality of the grapes between the base and the tip of the branches. So we tried alternating the length of the branches, and we were able to harvest grapes of uniform quality throughout," says Kawakami. Saito adds, "Even if the results aren't clear, the Kisvin spirit is to try it first."

From there, we boarded another bus and headed to a winery in the Shioyama area. However, it was on a much smaller scale than wineries overseas. The term "garage wine" is a perfect description. In the barrel aging cellar, Mr. Kawakami demonstrated the bâtonnage process for Chardonnay. This is the process of stirring the lees that have accumulated at the bottom of the barrel with a special rod, giving the wine body and smoothness.

"When I was a child, my mother would call me over to taste miso soup whenever she made it. Batonnage is similar to dissolving miso in dashi broth, and every time I do it, childhood memories come flooding back," says Saito.

Next, we moved to a facility lined with stainless steel fermentation tanks for a labeling demonstration. Surprisingly, each label was applied by hand. Kisvin has a meticulous approach to labeling, with rules such as not covering the bottle's seam with the label and placing the label 20 millimeters from the bottom of the bottle.

"How much easier it would be if we had a bottling machine that could even do the labeling automatically. Sometimes I envy those glamorous wineries," Saito confesses. "But we have always focused on making authentic wine. Authentic wine requires high-quality grapes. That's why we have always reinvested our wine sales back into the vineyards. I think that's why we've been able to continue making wine until today."

Enjoy the rich flavor of Kisvin wine on a restaurant bus.

After the winery tour, we boarded the bus again, and just when we thought we were heading straight for Risonare, we changed buses before getting onto the highway. The double-decker bus with a wide-open roof was called a restaurant bus. You can dine in the cabin on the second floor.

Appetizers prepared by Risonare were served inside the car, and it was at this point that Kisvin wine finally made its appearance.

The wine service is provided by Sommelier Fumihiko Kamo of RISONARE Yatsugatake. He honed his skills at the renowned Parisian restaurant "Lucas Carton" and, after returning to Japan, served as head sommelier at various luxury hotels, making him one of Japan's most celebrated sommeliers. He fulfilled his wife's dream of moving to Yatsugatake and has been providing wine service at RISONARE Yatsugatake since last year.

The glass was filled with "Kisvin Blanc 2024." It's a very aromatic white wine, and apparently it's made by pressing together 21 different grape varieties. Among the varieties are Shine Muscat and Muscat of Alexandria, which seem to be contributing to its gorgeous aroma.

Kisvin gained global attention thanks to a social media post by a wine industry giant.

On the bus, Mr. Saito told us about the history of Kisvin.

Kisvin is a relatively young winery, founded in 2013. Its roots lie in the Ogihara Vineyard in Yamanashi Prefecture, which has been run by the same family for three generations. The third-generation owner, Yasuhiro Ogihara, foresaw the coming of the era of Japanese wine and began cultivating grapes for winemaking in 2005. Initially, he sold the harvested grapes to nearby wineries, but one of them told him, "Your grapes are exceptionally different," which led Mr. Ogihara to decide to produce his own wine. He then headhunted Mr. Saito, who had studied oenology in California. "We made wine, but at first, we had a mountain of unsold stock. I had to beg my aunt to buy it," says Mr. Saito.

However, one day, a person appeared who would change the fate of Ms. Saito, or rather, of Kisvin. That person was Gérard Basset (who passed away in 2019), the 2010 World's Best Sommelier and holder of the highest authority in the wine world, the title of Master of Wine. Ms. Saito was fortunate enough to have dinner with Basset when he visited Japan, and there she had him taste Kisvin's wines. He was full of praise for the Pinot Noir. When Basset posted a picture of the wine on social media with the caption "Talented winemaker, Mayu Saito," the Japanese media went wild, and the stock was sold out overnight. In just one night, it became a premium Japanese wine brand that wine lovers were desperately trying to buy. It was truly a Cinderella story.

Another pleasure at RISONARE Yatsugatake: A luxurious time to fully appreciate wine.

While we were listening to these stories, the bus arrived at Risonare Yatsugatake, and we were invited to the wine resort.

First up is the wine shop, "Yatsugatake Wine House." Here, you can not only buy rare wines from Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures, but also sample 24 different wines at any given time using a prepaid wine server. It's wonderful to be able to try intriguing wines in 25ml sip-sized portions. Furthermore, you can take bottles purchased here to the resort's restaurants and cafes for free under the "BYO (Bring Your Own)" policy.

And the room that symbolizes this wine resort is the "Wine Suite Maisonette." As the name suggests,

This maisonette-style suite is designed to allow guests to savor the aftertaste of wine, and its Bordeaux-colored interior is sure to captivate any wine lover. A small cellar stocks a variety of wines for a fee, which can be enjoyed whenever the mood strikes.

Finally, we arrive at "OTTO SETTE," the main dining room where you can enjoy wine pairings. It was renovated two years ago and has evolved into a wine cellar-like space with an arched ceiling. This winemaker's dinner is the first event since the renovation, so expectations are high.

A dazzlingly blissful time at "OTTO SETTE," which evokes the image of a wine cellar.

The cuisine was prepared by Chef Masato Kamada, who has been the head chef of OTTO SETTE since 2021. Using ingredients unique to this naturally blessed region, he prepared the dishes using Italian techniques. In combination with Sommelier Kamo, the dishes were served in a way that maximized the pairing with wine.

For example, the first dish is "Kai Akane Trout and Venison Tartare," paired with "Kisvin Rubis 2021," a blend of Pinot Noir and Syrah.

"Since it's a light red wine, I requested the chef to prepare a cold antipasto (appetizer) with lean meat," said Sommelier Kamo. Game meat has become a specialty in Yamanashi in recent years, and this time, venison was slowly cooked with beets. Combined with trout in the form of an espuma, it was created to resemble a Vitello Tonnato from the Piedmont region.

After the fifth wine of the dinner, "Pinot Noir Rosé (2024)," was served, there was another surprise. Another rosé was served: "Zinfandel Rosé 2020."

This rosé is special in two ways. First, this is the last Zinfandel they will produce, as they stopped cultivating Zinfandel after this year and switched to other varieties.

It was in this very year that Mayu Saito appeared on the NHK program "The Way of Work." 2020 was a rainy year, which was particularly harsh for Zinfandel grapes, which already dislike rain. The episode of uprooting the Zinfandel grapes was also featured on the program.

Another interesting point is that this 2020 Zinfandel Rosé was the first wine made by Kawakami, a junior winemaker, who was entrusted with winemaking on his own. He used Zinfandel grapes that had poor coloring to make a rosé, and this proved to be a success, resulting in a fruity and satisfying rosé wine. However, by the time the wine was finished, the Zinfandel vines were gone, and this wine has become a legendary, one-of-a-kind bottle.

At this dinner, Mr. Saito announced Mr. Kawakami's promotion to head winemaker. He stated that he himself would continue to support Kisvin's winemaking in his role as overall winemaker.

The dinner featured nine different wines, including a surprise Zinfandel Rosé. The meal consisted of seven courses, from antipasto to dolce (dessert). Sommelier Kamo and Chef Kamata made meticulous adjustments, such as substituting strawberries in the sauces where tomatoes are usually used, to match the strawberry aroma of the Pinot Noir Rosé. As a result, the winemaker's dinner was a perfect pairing of wine and food.

Where there is fine wine, there is fine food. And vice versa. Risonare Yatsugatake plans to continue collaborating with wineries in Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures to hold various events. The role that wine resorts play in the development of Japanese wine is immeasurable, and we will be keeping a close eye on them in the future.

Tadayuki Yanagi

Wine journalist. Born in Yokohama in 196. After working as a reporter for a wine magazine, he became a freelance wine journalist in 1997. He shares information gathered from his travels around the world. In addition to specialist magazines, he also contributes wine-related articles to lifestyle magazines. He is a Chevalier of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne and an Honorary Commander of the Ordre des Bontemps de Bordeaux.