Winery Yumenomori

Originally from Yoichi, after working as a middle school teacher, Oshita established 'Yumenomori Kindergarten' in Yoichi with his wife, creating an innovative educational environment that would eventually bloom into something truly special. Recognizing the need to provide a rich educational environment for children, they purchased farmland to cultivate various fruits, with winemaking emerging as a focal point among these activities. In October 2016, they officially established Winery Yumenomori, bridging education and agriculture in a way that captures the imagination.

The kindergarten conducts education utilizing the natural environment, cultivating wine grapes like Seyval, Kerner, and Pinot Noir as well as plums, apples, and pears on approximately 3 hectares of farmland. Children learn about natural processes by observing cultivation to harvest up close and through joyful activities like traditional grape stomping—rolling up their sleeves and crushing grapes with their bare feet, experiencing the ancient art of winemaking firsthand. This hands-on approach creates lasting memories while teaching them about agriculture and fermentation in the most natural way possible.

Being originally from a farming family, Oshita finds winemaking more challenging than grape cultivation, but studies brewing methods and flavors with his staff while seeking advice from neighboring wineries, creating a community of learning that extends beyond the kindergarten walls. Prioritizing cleanliness, he uses stainless steel tanks and strives for natural fermentation with minimal sulfite addition, ensuring that the wines created will be worthy of the special moment they're destined for.

The winery's most touching tradition involves Oshita's cherished graduation wine dream: 'My dream is to present wine made from our homegrown grapes to children at their kindergarten graduation ceremony, creating a time capsule of their childhood that they can open and drink when they become adults, carrying the essence of their early years and the land they learned to love.' This remarkable concept transforms each vintage into a liquid memory, connecting childhood wonder with adult appreciation.