"Pure, Clean and Delicate"

Ryo Tanabe, the founder of Aperture Farm and Winery in Tomi, Nagano, is a winemaker celebrated for his expertise in Japanese wine and natural wine production. Following his photography studies in the USA, Tanabe returned to Japan with skills in English which lead him to work in a trading company. Through that job he was exposed to wine and fell in love, he decided to start working at a bottle shop to gain a closer relationship to wine, which ultimately lead him to starting his own farm. Tanabe began cultivating vegetables first whilst starting his vineyard. Due to the quick growth cycle of vegetables his keen sense grew sharper faster which aids him in growing the best fruit possible.

Tanabe's love for Chenin Blanc is well-known in Tomi. He is one few producers who are growing this variety in Japan. Chenin Blanc is quite difficult with the production amount being fairly low compared to other varieties. Despite this fact, Tanabe's Chenin Blanc is incredible with extremely strong concentration, with extremely low production, it is already considered a unicorn wine in Japan.

It's easy to imagine the detailed work that goes into producing these wines.

Tanabe's wines are pure, clean, delicately flavorful. The wines must be treated with a lot of care in order for the wines to end up tasting like this.