Domaine Murayama

Domaine Murayama is the expression of Koki Murayama's search for a life aligned with nature and craft. Born in the countryside south of Kyoto, he grew up surrounded by nature, loved art and making things, and knew early that he would not follow a conventional career path.

His journey to wine was circuitous. After moving to Osaka for junior high school, he enrolled in a foreign language college but left after one year, finding it uninspiring. Wanting to work for himself, he trained as a hairdresser, completing a three-year correspondence course while working in a salon and obtaining his licence. But when he considered opening his own salon, the reality of dawn-to-midnight hours convinced him to change course again. He turned to furniture craftsmanship, interning at a design office in Osaka during the day. At night, he worked part-time at a wine bar in the Namba district, and it was there that wine first seized him. Through tasting alongside customers, he was deeply moved by Japanese wines, and this experienced convinced him that making wine in Japan was not only possible but worthwhile. Although becoming a sommelier was an option, his temperament, instinct for handwork, desire for countryside life, and his long view of raising a family pointed toward making wine himself.

He travelled extensively throughout Japan searching for the right land, narrowing his choice to Nagano or Hokkaido. He eventually chose Tomi, Nagano based on its viticultural environment, good access to Tokyo, the presence of like-minded producers of his generation, and a seven-year subsidy programme offered by Nagano Prefecture to support new agricultural producers.

The vineyards sit at approximately 600 metres elevation on 1.2 hectares of land, with soils blending volcanic material and heavy clay. His vine training systems vary from plot to plot, and every vineyard is sized to be worked entirely by hand, without machinery.

Beyond the vine, he also grows rice, soybeans for soy sauce, wheat, apples, vegetables, and tomatoes for ketchup, practising a mixed agriculture that treats the vineyard as one part of a broader living ecosystem. Across all his fields, he minimises pesticide use and focuses on building biodiversity: removing grass by hand and selectively retaining beneficial plants to encourage a wide range of insects and microorganisms. He believes the health of a vineyard is shaped by the accumulation of countless small decisions: which leaf to keep, which to cut, which plants to leave standing.

In the realm of winemaking, Koki Murayama masterfully marries intuition with analysis and technical ability. While his heart guides the sensory aspects, data-driven insights shape the final product. His aspiration? Crafting wines that don't just tantalize the palate but resonate with the soul; wines that will be remembered, cherished, and celebrated.