Domaine Hase
Takayama Village, Nagano
Domaine Hase is a family-run natural winery founded in 2017 in the Fukuihara area of Takayama Village, Nagano, Japan.
Located at an altitude of 800 metres above sea level, the estate practices organic viticulture and minimal-intervention winemaking, aiming to express the terroir and rich microbiological environment of the land.
Founded by Mitsuhiro Hase, a former music industry professional, Domaine Hase produces Japanese natural wines that “touch the heart”, while exploring how wines from Fukuihara can stand alongside those of Europe, including Burgundy and Alsace, in a global context.
Founder Background and Philosophy
Mitsuhiro Hase, owner and winemaker of Domaine Hase, worked for approximately 20 years at a major Japanese record company, where he was responsible for artist promotion and publicity. Through frequent professional interactions within the media industry, his interest in wine gradually deepened.
In 2012, while visiting wineries across Japan with his wife—who now runs the winery together with him—the couple stopped at Villa d’Est Winery in Nagano. The Pinot Noir they tasted there proved decisive.
“Until then, I believed it would be difficult to make Pinot Noir in Japan. But after tasting that wine, I became convinced that Japanese wines could compete with those of Alsace and Burgundy.”
— Mitsuhiro Hase
Following this encounter, Mitsuhiro began interacting with Toyoo Tamamura, owner of Villa d’Est Winery. While continuing his full-time career in the music industry, he trained at the winery exclusively on weekends, balancing corporate work with hands-on viticulture and winemaking.
In 2013, he enrolled in a wine production academy run by Nagano Prefecture, and in 2014, he left his job in the music industry and moved permanently to Takayama Village to pursue winemaking.
After relocating, Mitsuhiro trained in viticulture under Akio Sato, a contract grower for Château Mercian, one of the pioneers of Japanese wine. Despite having little prior farming experience, he learned vineyard fundamentals ranging from trellis construction to planting young vines.
In 2015, on Tamamura’s recommendation, Mitsuhiro became a student at ARC-EN-VIGNE, Japan’s first private wine academy. There, encounters with lecturers—particularly Yukinori Oyamada of Domaine Oyamada and Mr and Mrs Sasaki of Norakura—proved transformative.
Until that point, Mitsuhiro had believed that natural winemaking would be extremely difficult in Japan due to its high rainfall.
Through these encounters, however, he came to embrace a natural winemaking philosophy adapted to Japan’s climate.
From Vision to Place — Choosing Fukuihara
After completing his training, Mitsuhiro began searching for a location for his own winery in Nagano.
He was seeking a cool-climate site suitable for growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Alsace varieties, and—crucially—a single, contiguous vineyard of sufficient size, rather than the small, fragmented vineyard plots that are common in Japan.
The moment he encountered the current site in the Fukuihara area of Takayama Village, he knew it was the place.
The climate, scale, and landscape aligned perfectly with his vision for natural winemaking, and in 2017, Domaine Hase was established.
Location, Climate, Soil and Varieties
Takayama Village, located in north-eastern Nagano Prefecture, approximately three hours from Tokyo, lies within the Shiga Highland Biosphere Reserve. The road to Fukuihara winds through mountain forests and crosses a river before suddenly opening onto a vast fan-shaped plain—an unexpected and overwhelming agricultural landscape.
Domaine Hase occupies a 6-hectare estate at 800 metres above sea level. Nagano is known for having the lowest annual rainfall in Japan, along with large diurnal temperature variation, long hours of sunshine, and excellent drainage, making it one of Japan’s most suitable regions for cool-climate viticulture.
The soils consist of volcanic ash (andosols), topped with 70–80 cm of pitch-black humus formed over tens of thousands of years through microbial decomposition of plant and animal matter.
“I feel that the memory and nutrition accumulated in this land, and its complex microbiological environment, give the wines a soft yet subtle nuance.”
— Mitsuhiro Hase
The first vineyards were planted on east-facing slopes, inspired by Burgundy, with Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay, each from multiple clones.
German varieties were planted on north-west-facing slopes, chosen specifically to benefit from extended autumn and winter sunlight.
In total, 25 grape varieties are currently planted, as part of an ongoing exploration to identify the varieties best suited to the local terroir.
Future plantings include Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Savagnin, Gamay, as well as Japanese varieties such as Muscat Bailey A and Shokoshi.
In addition to estate-grown wines, Domaine Hase produces the FUKUIHARA series, made exclusively from grapes grown by local contract farmers in the Fukuihara area, reflecting the broader terroir of the land.
Viticulture is conducted with particular care not to burden the surrounding environment, including the microorganisms living in and around the vineyards.
No chemical pesticides, fertilisers, or herbicides are used, with the aim of achieving sustainable organic farming grounded in an awareness of the cycle of life.
“I believe this leads to wines that resonate with the heart, just like the landscape of Fukuihara itself.”
— Mitsuhiro Hase
Natural Fermentation and Cellar Design
The aim of Domaine Hase’s winemaking is to create wines that “touch the heart.” Mitsuhiro believes that only grapes with high intrinsic potential can give rise to truly expressive wines.
If grapes are grown in harmony with their environment and terroir, he believes that wines can be made without chaptalisation, acidification, or excessive additives, while still achieving depth and structure.
To maximise the hidden potential of the grapes, viticulture and winemaking are considered down to the microbiological level. For this reason, the winery is located directly beside the vineyards, allowing fermentation to occur within the same natural microbial environment.
During vinification, sulphites are not used during the fermentation and preparation stage, allowing wines to ferment naturally through a complex population of indigenous microorganisms, with minimal human intervention.
The winery building was constructed partially underground in response to the natural slope of the land, which has a height difference of approximately two metres. This design allows for gentle and stable temperature control, with daily fluctuations limited to ±2–3°C, even during winter.
A gravity-flow system takes advantage of the slope, positioning the crushing area above the tanks so that must moves without pumping, reducing physical stress on the wine.
The facility follows a straight-line workflow from vineyard to transport, crushing and pressing, fermentation, ageing, and shipping. At the same time, it is designed as a comfortable and inspiring space—one that makes you want to come every day, complete with air conditioning and high-quality speakers.
“I wanted a building that becomes a landmark in the landscape—one where my ideals, the image of wine, and the land resonate and radiate energy.”
— Mitsuhiro Hase
Vision — Japanese Wine in a Global Context
Mitsuhiro describes Japanese wines as often light yet nourishing, with aromatic complexity, depth, and a dashi-like umami character, qualities that are enhanced through natural winemaking.
“If we can grow small, concentrated bunches in the right plots and limit yields, I believe it is possible to create wines that combine delicacy and strength, and that can truly be world-class.”
Europe remains his reference point, and he hopes that people in Europe—particularly in the Netherlands as a gateway market—will taste the wines of Fukuihara.
“I want to know whether the wines of this land can be accepted by the world. Beyond that, I believe it is important that wines shaped by this rich microbiological environment are recognised as unique. I will continue exploring how to fulfil the potential of this land.”
— Mitsuhiro Hase
