Takahiro & Tomoko Ogino – Les Vins Vivants (Tomi, Nagano)

Takahiro and Tomoko Ogino are the husband-and-wife team behind Les Vins Vivants, a small winery and cidery in Tomi, Nagano Prefecture. Takahiro began his career in restaurants in Tokyo, where he discovered natural wines, then trained at Grace Wine in Yamanashi and apprenticed in France before launching his own project. Tomoko, formerly his colleague in hospitality, studied fruit cultivation and cider production before joining him in Nagano.
Les Vins Vivants produces both wines and ciders from locally grown grapes and apples, using wild yeast and natural fermentation. The couple works by hand, without fining, filtration, or chemical inputs. Their cuvées—often named after colors or moods—capture the seasonal beauty of Nagano and their shared belief that living wines should evolve freely.
Their work embodies patience, precision, and quiet artistry, offering some of Japan’s most poetic natural wines and ciders.

The Winemakers and Background

  • Takahiro Ogino is primarily responsible for the cider and wine production, bringing a strong background in both traditional and natural winemaking.

    • He previously worked in the renowned Auxamis restaurant in Tokyo, where he became a passionate fan of natural wine, exposed to pioneers of the movement in France.

    • He trained for six years at Grace Wine in his native Yamanashi, which is famous for the Koshu grape.

    • He also gained experience working with natural wine producers in Beaujolais and Alsace, France.

  • Tomoko Ogino is mainly responsible for the apple and grape cultivation.

    • She also studied vinification and apple cultivation at JA Shinshu Ueda Farm for two years after the couple moved to Tomi, Nagano.

  • Location: They are based in Tomi City, part of the Chikumagawa Wine Valley in Nagano, a region well-known for apple growing.

Winemaking and Cider Philosophy

The couple is committed to making wines and ciders naturally, focusing on purity, tradition, and regional expression.

  • Natural Production: The wines and ciders are made using spontaneous/wild yeast fermentation. They are typically unfiltered and unfined, with a commitment to no added SO2​ (sulfur dioxide) or added sugar.

  • Dual Focus (Wine & Cider): Les Vins Vivants is notable for being a serious producer of both wine and cider. They were inspired to make natural ciders after tasting a rich and complex natural cider from France. They aim to break the preconceptions in Japan that categorize wine as "expensive" and cider as "cheap," instead creating unique works of art from Nagano's apples.

  • Minimal Intervention (But Practical): While they lean heavily into natural methods, early experiments (such as a whole cluster Pinot Noir with only 20 ppm SO2​ added at the beginning) showed the practical challenges of working without intervention, resulting in high volatile acidity in some batches, demonstrating their learning process in this style.