The secret ingredient is unique 'people'!
Coco Farm's delicious secrets.
<Part 1>

Coco Farm Winery is renowned for its high-quality handcrafted wines.To find out more about their unique winemaking philosophy, we went to a mountain village in Tochigi Prefecture.

writer：

Café attached to winery.In spring, the terrace is recommended for its pleasant sunshine.

Have you heard about Coco Farm Winery, a small winery in the mountains of Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture?


About half a century ago, students from a special-needs class and the teacher who leads the class
pioneered the vineyard by hand in search of a place where the children could work and learn.

The winery is supported by 100 students and more than 20 staff from the designated support facility for people with disabilities, Kokoromi Gakuen
.

Even today, the students who sleep at the school work together with the staff
to cultivate the grapes and help with the vinification.



The original purpose of cultivating the vineyards and growing grapes was not to create a winery, but to train the students, who had lived in a privileged environment, to develop a 'zest for life' in a harsh society.

The children have changed since they started working on the farm.

Their hands, which were fluffy and baby-like, became strong worker's hands.

As they climbed up and down steep slopes every day, they developed a sense of balance.

Working in the hot or cold outdoors also gave them a sense of calmness and perseverance.
, says Rieko Ushikubo, a staff member familiar with the history of Coco Farm Winery.

The tanks for fermentation have a capacity of 8,500 litres each.Huge tanks are lined up in rows.

90 metres above sea level, with an average slope of 38 degrees.

On a steep slope of about 4.2 ha, including a vineyard in neighbouring Sano,
600 grape saplings were planted by hand, without the use of machinery, using shovels and buckets,
and it was the beginning.


Today, seven carefully selected varieties are grown, including Muscat Bailey A, Riesling Lyon, Norton and Tannat. ......
Seven carefully selected varieties are grown.
Annual production is 150,000 bottles,There are over 20 different brands of wine.

They provide a valuable source of income for the farm's students, who are beginning to face the problems of ageing as well as disabilities.




Coco Farm Winery came into the limelight in 2000, when the sparkling wine 'NOVO' produced at
was used to toast the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit dinner party.The NOVO sparkling wine produced here was used to toast the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit dinner.


NOVO is a time-consuming, gem that uses secondary fermentation in the bottle, just like Champagne in its home country.


The company also produces a number of other easy and delicious wines, such as Farmer Dry and Farmer Rosso.
The company has many fans in the fashion and media industries.

This is 'Hokkai Kerner'.A slightly dry white wine made from the Kerner grape variety from Yoichi, Hokkaido.The wine has a refreshing acidity.

Now, the distinctive feature of the wines here is that they have been brewed exclusively from 100% Japanese grapes since 2007.

In addition to grapes from the vineyard in front of the brewery, they also import grapes from other regions, such as Yoichi and Katsunuma.
They are particular about using domestically grown grapes.

The vineyard in front of the brewery, on the south-west slope, is well exposed to the sun and has good drainage.

One would think it would produce excellent grapes, but Toyoichiro Shibata, head of the winemaking department at
, dismisses the idea: "No, the climate here is harsh compared to good growing regions.

There is too much rainfall and too little temperature variation for grape production.


Nevertheless, he is positive about the process of finding grapes that suit the climate of the region and experimenting with different growing methods.

There are no good or bad grapes.
There are no good or bad grapes, just different personalities.

How to make the most of that individuality is the skill of the brewer.


Coco Farm Winery currently has five brewing staff, including Mr Shibata.

The young brewers, in their 30s and early 40s, seem to enjoy the process of trial and error.

Oenology staff, French national, Mr Roman.He has trained in wineries around the world, including Burgundy, Australia and California.

'We used to use wild yeast only on some grapes and dried yeast on many.
Now we ferment all grapes with wild yeast.'


Wild yeast is a naturally occurring autochthonous yeast found in nature, such as in the soil and air.Wild yeast is a naturally occurring yeast found in the soil and air.

It is more difficult to manage than dry yeast, and fermentation may not proceed as expected.
We hear that it is risky to use in large tanks, for example. ......

'Yes.Yes, it is.
But I was interested in the flavours brewed with wild yeasts, so I made the positive switch.


We also started a new fermentation test to see how the fermentation of each grape differs each year.
It's very rewarding to be able to work on new things like this."


What Mr Shibata and his staff try to do is to
"Enjoy every day.

We enjoy the work and the process.

And I try to make it as stress-free as possible, both for the grapes and for the staff working in the vineyards.

This helps them to 'enjoy' the wine.

Of course, it is also important to keep a careful eye on the precious grapes."

For a long time, Bruce Gutlove, who was invited from the USA in 1989, was the head winemaker here.
Mr Shibata has worked with Bruce for nearly 10 years.

Enjoyment" seems to be the philosophy he inherited from Bruce.

This is the tasting corner.Mr Shibata himself poured out recommended brands.

So, Mr Shibata, what do you recommend from Coco Farm Winery?

I recommend the white wine 'Koshu F.O.S.' and the red wine 'Daiichigakusho'.

Koshu F.O.S. is made from Katsunuma grapes.
It is fermented with the skins like a red wine to bring out the flavour of the skins.

The 'First Movement', on the other hand, is made from Muscat Bailey A grapes planted at the top of the vineyard.

It is a red wine with elegance and a gorgeous aroma and taste.


The standard '2009 Ashikaga Koko Wine' is a special selection of Koshu, Chardonnay,It is a blend of three specially selected grape varieties: Koshu, Chardonnay and Bacchus.
The richness of the Chardonnay grapes, the gorgeous aroma of the Bacchus grapes and
the soft and gentle mouthfeel make this a popular and friendly bottle.

Noumin Rosso is a blend of Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Zweigeltrebe, Muscat Bailey A and Koshu.
It is full of Merlot and Cabernet fruit flavours, perfect for full-bodied dishes.


The company also produces more than 20 other brands.
We tasted some of the brands recommended by Mr Shibata at the tasting corner next to the café space.

Continue to Part 2.