Fujimaru Winery
Shimanouchi: Chuo-ku, Osaka
Kiyosumi-shirakawa: Koto-ku, Tokyo
Fujimaru Winery is a pioneering urban winery in Japan, founded by Tomofumi Fujimaru, with two winery locations in Osaka and Tokyo and its own vineyards in Osaka Prefecture.
Founder & Philosophy
Fujimaru Winery is an urban winery with two locations in Osaka and Tokyo and its own farm in Osaka. It all started when the company's president, Tomofumi Fujimaru, founder and president of Fujimaru Winery, opened a wine shop near the Kuromon Market, known as “the nation’s kitchen”, in Osaka, which is considered the food capital of Japan.
He visited wineries himself, met winemakers, tasted their wines, and sold only the wines he was satisfied with. Through this process, he gradually became aware that the number of vineyards and grape growers in Japan was decreasing year by year. Osaka in particular is a region with over 120 years of viticultural history, thanks to its abundant sunshine. There was a time when grape production in Osaka ranked among the highest in Japan.
However, even in a city with such a deep viticultural heritage, urbanisation and development transformed vineyards into houses, factories, and office buildings. As vineyards disappeared, grape farmers were increasingly forced to seek work in the city.
Having worked in the wine industry in Osaka for many years, Tomofumi could not stand by and watch vineyards being abandoned and viticultural regions fading away. In 2010, with the aim of connecting Osaka’s viticulture to the next generation, he took over abandoned land in Kashiwara, Osaka, and began growing grapes himself. These grapes were vinified through a custom crush service.
After that, requests from grape growers asking him to take over abandoned vineyards continued to increase. As the number of vineyards under his management grew, the winery eventually outgrew its facilities. In 2013, he finally established his own winery in Shimanouchi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, marking the birth of Fujimaru Winery as an urban winery. Tomofumi’s progress has not stopped since then.
While the Shimanouchi winery initially focused on producing wine from grapes grown in its own Osaka vineyards, Tomofumi realised that this alone would not be enough to support grape growers across the country. As a result, in 2015, Fujimaru Winery established a second winery in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo, as a negociant-style urban winery. Through this initiative, the winery committed itself to purchasing grapes from farmers in eastern Japan as well. This approach has shaped Fujimaru Winery into what it is today.
Natural Viticulture in Osaka & Japan
Fujimaru Winery makes wine using grapes grown in its own vineyards in Osaka, as well as grapes purchased from contract farmers throughout Japan. What all of these grapes have in common is the philosophy of natural viticulture. The winery’s team personally visits each farm, meets the growers face to face, and works only with grapes cultivated without herbicides, fungicides, or other artificial pesticides as much as possible.
In its own vineyards in Osaka, Fujimaru Winery primarily grows Delaware, a grape variety that is deeply rooted in the region and can truly be called unique to Osaka. Approximately one-third of the wine produced in Osaka is made from Delaware grapes.
Delaware wines are characterised by their light body and refreshing acidity. They pair easily with everyday meals such as tomato-based pasta and pizza, and also match beautifully with Japanese cuisine, including seasonal vegetable tempura and Osaka’s local specialty, takoyaki.
Natural & Urban Winery Approach
All wines at Fujimaru Winery are produced using natural winemaking methods, guided by the belief that wine is an agricultural expression shaped by its growers and environment.
In the winery, Fujimaru Winery follows natural winemaking practices. All wines are fermented using wild yeasts, and the addition of sulphites is kept to an absolute minimum.
What most clearly distinguishes Fujimaru Winery, however, is its identity as an urban winery. While wineries around the world are typically located near vineyards in rural or suburban areas, Fujimaru Winery operates in the heart of active cities—Shimanouchi in Osaka and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa in Tokyo.
Why did Tomofumi Fujimaru choose to establish wineries in the middle of the city rather than near vineyards in the countryside? Once again, this decision reflects his strong desire to pass viticulture on to the next generation.
To make viticulture sustainable, a system must exist in which fair economic value flows back to grape growers and successors are able to inherit vineyards properly. Tomofumi believes that, above all, wineries themselves must communicate that wine is not merely a commodity, but a farm product created by the hands of grape growers.
He felt that the city was the ideal place to create a point of contact where grape growers, winemakers, and consumers could naturally come together. In recent years, Fujimaru Winery has also organised workshops in which local children visit the winery and experience hand-pressing grapes, offering them a tangible connection to what Tomofumi calls “future winemakers”.
Sustainability & Future Vision
Fujimaru Winery continuously explores new ways to make viticulture sustainable by connecting agriculture, craftsmanship, and urban life.
As part of its commitment to long-term sustainability, Fujimaru Winery has recently taken on the challenge of distilling spirits using grape pomace. Pressed grape lees from the Osaka and Tokyo wineries—materials that would otherwise go to waste—are transported to a sake brewery in Ehime Prefecture, where they are distilled into a grappa-style brandy.
In addition, grape pomace is reused as an ingredient in pasta and focaccia served at Fujimaru Winery’s own restaurants, and even as feed for sea urchins, resulting in richly flavored “grape sea urchins” known for their abundant meat.
Fujimaru Winery’s challenge to connect viticulture to the next generation continues to evolve in many forms. Looking ahead, the winery aims to introduce its wines and its philosophy of Japanese urban winemaking to people in the Netherlands and across Europe.
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