Aruga Branca: Inside Katsunuma Winery, the Benchmark of Yamanashi Wine

There is a wine made in the Katsunuma hills of Yamanashi — available at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo and exported to restaurants across Europe — that most visitors to Japan have never encountered. It is made from a grape unique to Japan. Its producer has been crafting wine in the same valley for nearly ninety years.

That wine is Aruga Branca. The producer is Katsunuma Winery — 勝沼醸造.

What Is Katsunuma Winery?

Katsunuma Winery — officially 勝沼醸造株式会社 (Katsunuma Jozo) — was founded in 1937 in the heart of Japan's most important wine region. The Aruga family has led the winery across three generations. The current generation, under third-generation president Aruga Yuji (有賀雄二), transformed what had been a local producer into one of the most internationally recognised wine estates in Japan.

Katsunuma Winery's focus is singular: the Koshu grape, Japan's indigenous white variety, grown in the Katsunuma valley at the foot of the mountains. Under the Aruga Branca label, that grape has won medals at the International Wine Challenge, the IWSC, and the Vinarius International Competition. In 2015, the winery's wine entered the Imperial Hotel Tokyo as an original label. Since 2008, Aruga Branca has been exported to Europe.

From 2019 to 2023, Katsunuma Winery was awarded the maximum five-star rating at the Japan Winery Awards — five consecutive years, the benchmark against which other Yamanashi producers are measured.

The Aruga Branca Wines

The Aruga Branca range is built around Koshu — the pale-skinned grape that arrived in Japan over a thousand years ago and has since adapted completely to the Yamanashi terroir. In Katsunuma Winery's hands, it produces wines of unusual precision.

Aruga Branca Clareza — The core expression. Made using the sur lie method, with extended lees contact that adds texture and depth while preserving the grape's natural acidity. Dry, clean, with the characteristic Koshu finish — a slight mineral bitterness, shibumi, that separates it from any other white wine style. Exceptional alongside Japanese cuisine.

Aruga Branca Isehara — A single-vineyard Koshu from the Isehara estate. Lower yields, higher concentration. More presence on the palate, while retaining the grape's defining restraint. Multiple IWC gold and silver medals.

Aruga Branca Pippa — Barrel-aged Koshu. Adds a layer of texture that European wine drinkers find more familiar, without losing the Koshu character beneath. A wine that bridges Japanese and Western wine sensibilities.

Aruga Branca Brilhante — A sparkling Koshu made using the traditional method, with secondary fermentation in bottle. Fine bubbles, bright acidity, and a freshness that works beautifully as an aperitif alongside delicate Japanese appetisers.

Katsunuma: The Place

Katsunuma (勝沼) is the centre of Japanese wine. More wineries are concentrated here than anywhere else in Japan — a basin at roughly 400 metres elevation, ringed by mountains, open to the south. Mt. Fuji is visible from the vineyards on clear days.

The continental climate — dry summers, cold winters, significant diurnal temperature variation between day and night — creates conditions that allow Koshu to develop slowly and retain its characteristic acidity. Walking through a Katsunuma vineyard in autumn — grape clusters visible above head height, the mountains on every horizon — is to understand why wine has been made here for 150 years.

The Aruga Family and the Making of Modern Koshu

For much of the twentieth century, Katsunuma wines were made primarily for the local market — souvenir bottles, regional consumption. When Aruga Yuji took over as third-generation president in 1999, he made a different choice: to treat the Koshu grape seriously, reduce yields, eliminate residual sweetness, and compete internationally.

The Aruga Branca label was created in 2004 as the vehicle for that ambition. Within a decade, it was appearing in international wine publications and on the lists of Tokyo's finest hotels.

Today, the fourth generation is entering the business. Aruga Hirotake (有賀裕剛) leads brewing and cultivation — the person responsible for what is in the glass. The knowledge he works with is specific to this valley, this grape, and this family's particular understanding of both.

A Private Visit with Wintage Tour

A Wintage Tour visit to Katsunuma Winery is a private introduction to the winery, its estate vineyard, and the family behind it — not a standard tasting room experience.

The day begins in Tokyo, by private car. The journey to Katsunuma takes approximately 90 minutes. The visit includes a private tour of the winery and cellars, a walk through the estate vineyard, and a seated tasting of the full Aruga Branca range — four expressions, from the clean Clareza through the sparkling Brilhante — served in a private setting.

Lunch is at a local restaurant in Katsunuma that the winery team recommends — Yamanashi mountain cuisine: hoto noodles, local vegetables, Aruga Branca poured alongside. The private car returns to central Tokyo by early evening.

• Distance from Tokyo: approximately 90 minutes by private car; 90 minutes by limited express from Shinjuku
• Best season: Harvest (late September to October); spring for mountain scenery; winter for stillness
• Language: Fully in English throughout
• What to buy: Isehara and Clareza — limited allocations available at the winery

Further Reading

• Koshu Wine: Japan's Indigenous Grape and the Yamanashi Wine Region
• Private Yamanashi Winery Tour: A Complete Guide
• Sake and Wine Day Trip from Tokyo
• The Best Time to Visit Japan for Sake and Wine Experiences

Get in touch to start planning →

Email: k.ishii.wintage@gmail.com | Tel: 080-7013-1899

Wintage Tour is operated by BOND Resort Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Gov. Travel Agency License No. 3-6199). wintagetour.com