Ouse Winery Fukushima is a winery that started as part of disaster relief for the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
As you may be familiar, a big earthquake hit the Tohoku area of Japan on March 11th 2011, which also inflicted the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. This lead to over 15K deaths, 300K refugees, and $122B economic impact in Japan. Tomorrow, we will commemorate the 9th year of the tragedy.
Following the incidents, over $3B donations were granted from within and outside Japan. Corporations granted huge bulks of money. Prior to the GSB, I worked for Mitsubishi Corporation, the biggest conglomerate in Japan. As part of CSR, Mitsubishi created "Mitsubishi Corporation Disaster Relief Foundation" whose main goal was to offer scholarships to students ($6M in 2012) and grants for various projects for NPOs, industry recovery, and job creation ($5M in 2012).
Ouse Winery Fukushima is one of the projects funded through this scheme. Not only did Mitsubishi grant money, they transferred multiple employees to work on these projects. I remember one of my close colleagues was actually transferred to Ouse Winery. I also visited one of the project sites since every new employee who joined the firm after 2012 were sent for some period as a volunteer.
Now to the winery—since its opening in 2015, Ouse Winery sells wines using local fruits. The Tohoku region is traditionally known for its quality fruits (grapes, apples, peaches, pears), thus the project aims to support local farmers.
The wines in the picture below are some of the products they produce. "Vin de Ollage Rouge" is a blend of Merlot, Carbanet Sauvignon, and Black Queen. The white in the center is 100% Chardonnay, and the other is 100% Sauvignon Blanc. "Ollage" means "my house" in Fukushima dialect, seeking to convey the message that they are proudly produced by the local people. The wines are all sold at around $25/bottle. Other fruit liquors, roses, and ciders are also offered at similar, affordable prices. The winery is open for visits as well—do pay a visit and support the region, that is still suffering after almost a decade!
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