Niigata11 wineries

Open to visitors

7 (5 by reservation)

Tasting available

6 wineries

On-site shop

10 wineries

Earliest founding year

1890 Iwanohara Vineyard

These figures count the winery listings on this site. Every listing carries its own sources and verification date. Anything we could not verify is left out of the count, so the real numbers may be higher. A founding year may refer to the parent company — often a sake brewery — rather than the year winemaking began.

Niigata is a wine-producing prefecture facing the Sea of Japan. In Joetsu City, Zenbei Kawakami tore up his own garden in 1890 to plant the Iwanohara Vineyard, and his search for varieties suited to Japan's climate produced grapes such as Muscat Bailey A and Black Queen. At the foot of Mt. Kakuda in Nishikan Ward, Niigata City, an area known as the "Niigata Wine Coast" brings together five wineries.

Climate

This is a snowy region on the Sea of Japan side, and conditions differ from district to district. According to Niigata Prefecture, the Minamiuonuma area has a large day-to-night temperature swing, which raises the sugar content of the grapes and leads to good-quality wine. Growers there use trellis training (guiding the vines along wires in rows) and, in winter, remove the wires so the vines can be laid down on the ground and rest under the snow without being toppled.

Soil

At the foot of Mt. Kakuda in Nishikan Ward, Niigata City, the area called the "Niigata Wine Coast" is described by official tourism sources as having an unusual soil "like sea sand," and its winemakers work with that sandy ground. Soils in other parts of the prefecture could not be confirmed in the sources consulted.

• niigata-kankou.or.jp2026.08.07
• nvcb.or.jp2026.08.07
• pref.niigata.lg.jp2026.08.07
• city.joetsu.niigata.jp2026.08.07
• pref.niigata.lg.jp2026.08.07