This study clarified the process of forming wine regions in Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture in Japan, where abandoned farming land is being reused for small wineries. Nagano Prefecture has 38 wineries (2019), second only to Yamanashi Prefecture.
At present, most of Nagano's wineries are small-scale wineries. In particular, Tomi City, located in the eastern part of Nagano Prefecture, became a wide region wine special zone in the “eastern Chikuma River Wine Valley” in 2015, together with the surrounding municipalities. Ten wineries were established within a span of five years after certification.
In the special wine zone, wineries can obtain a brewing license by producing a minimum of 2000 liters of wine per year. Usually, more than 6000 liters of brewing was required per year in Japan. This deregulation has made it easier to establish small wineries. However, since the producing of high-quality wines requires good quality raw materials. Therefore, winery founders started their own cultivation of wine grapes, which also requires the skills of a wine-growing farmer.
In addition, since grapes are easily damaged, it is necessary to send them for the fermentation process as soon as possible after harvesting. Therefore, it is desirable that the vineyard and the wine-making factory are close to each other. In other words, the wine-making process, from cultivation and harvesting to brewing, characterizes the wine industry as local industry, rooted in the region, unlike beer and sake.
The wine industry human resource development center “Arc En Vigne” was established in Tomi City in 2015.
It supports people who want to establish a winery in cooperation with the agricultural production company “Shinshu Ueda Farm”.
Arc En Vigne started the Chikuma River Wine Academy, which teaches winemaking techniques and winery management know-how to those who want to establish a winery. Shinshu Ueda Farm supports the establishment of a winery by hiring people who want to make wine as new grape farmers for two years.
In Tomi City, along with these support systems, a diverse winemaking community has been established. In includes those who have already established wineries, newcomers who are trying to establish a winery, a community studying wine-making techniques and management, a community of trainees, and an internet community limited to the growing of wine grapes.
Hence, a multi-tiered community is formed, which facilitates the exchange of information and technical advice.
This complex and multi-layered community connection is called a "Regional Linkage", and it is a factor that accelerates the accumulation of wineries, thus leading to be the formation of wine producing regions in Tomi City.
