Ebiiro Estate

A vineyard in Namegata, Ibaraki. Its name, written with the characters for "grape colour" and read "Ebiiro", refers to a reddish-purple hue recorded as far back as the Heian-period Engishiki, and puns on the surname of the founder, Mr Ebisawa. He cleared the land himself with heavy machinery from late 2020 and planted more than 1,200 vines over about 1 ha of the Shinmei field in spring 2021; by spring 2025 the site had grown to just under 2 ha with over 3,500 vines across three white and seven black varieties, including Chardonnay, Alvarinho (Albarino), Merlot, Pinotage, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Since 2022 the harvest has been vinified under contract at Mugi to Budo Ushiku Jozojo in Ushiku and released under the estate's own registered brand "Rocco". The official site states that the founder is preparing to open his own winery in 2026.