Huggy Wine

In 2012, Yamato Budoshu rebranded as Huggy Wine, headquartered in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture, while also operating a winery in the mountainous Shiga area of Matsumoto City. Under winemaker Yasuki Hagiwara, the winery pursues world-class quality wine production alongside creating uniquely Japanese terroirs. The Katsunuma winery launched the "Mineral Koshu Project" focusing on native Koshu grapes, while the Shiga winery concentrates on world-standard wines from internationally renowned varieties like Merlot and Chardonnay. Huggy Wine has won domestic sparkling wine awards for four consecutive years. Notable achievements include "Colline Gold Rouge" Merlot winning gold at the 2001 Monde Selection and "Vin de Royal Yasumasa" aged Merlot earning the sole gold medal at the 2004 Japan Wine Challenge. Their Chardonnay sparkling wines received silver and bronze medals at the 2011 Domestic Wine Competition. The winery values high-quality Shinshu grapes for red and sparkling wine production while also producing wines from local specialties like wild grapes and apples.