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Yoshio Kimura (born 1927, father of Yoshihiro Kimura, CEO of Zao Woody Farm) was a key figure in the early days of wine grape cultivation in Kaminoyama, and is the only person who knows about that time.

In 1974, when table grape cultivation was at its peak, he was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon (a black grape variety), a wine-specific variety imported from France, for contract cultivation with Sainte-Neige Wine (then Kyowa Hakko).

Yamagata Prefecture is a cold region with snow, but there was some success with Merlot (a black grape variety) cultivation, and in the search for varieties with even higher added value, Cabernet Sauvignon was one of the candidates. However, Cabernet, which is now extremely well-known, was a variety with no clear prospects at the time. So Yoshio, a leader in the region, took the initiative, and the number of growers increased among the members of the association to which he belonged in response to his passion, and it attracted a lot of attention nationwide as a pioneering example.

It is important to remember that the reason Kaminoyama City, Yamagata Prefecture, is now a promising location for growing Cabernet is because of the big decisions and challenges made by our predecessors.