Yamagata26 wineries

Open to visitors

12 (8 by reservation)

Tasting available

9 wineries

On-site shop

20 wineries

Earliest founding year

1724 Oujiman

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.

Yamagata's vineyards are concentrated along the Mogami River, which runs the length of the prefecture and empties into the Sea of Japan. On 30 June 2021 Japan's National Tax Agency designated "Yamagata" as a Geographical Indication (GI) for wine, a national scheme that governs who may use a region's name on a label. The agency's production standard notes that because the flat floors of the prefecture's basins are given over to rice paddies, grape growing has settled on the middle ground between plain and mountain, where paddy farming is not practical.

Climate

According to the National Tax Agency's production standard, annual sunshine here is around 1,600 hours — not especially long — but the April-to-October growing season brings many clear days, giving roughly 1,100 hours of sun. Because the latitude is high, monthly average temperatures at harvest stay cool at around 25°C even in the warmest month, and the wide gap between day and night temperatures helps grapes accumulate organic acids, the compounds behind a wine's acidity. Rainfall in that same period is comparatively low, under 800mm, which limits disease, though heavy winter snowfall means growers must manage humidity and snow.

Soil

The National Tax Agency's production standard describes the area as sloping land with well-drained soil. That drainage puts the vines under moderate water stress — a mildly dry state — which the standard says keeps berries from swelling too much and tends to concentrate flavour, making the ground well suited to viticulture.

• nta.go.jp2026.08.07
• giyamagata-wine.jp2026.08.07