Hirotake Ooka was once a beer-drinking Chemistry student, but then he happened to taste a 1982 cru bourgeois from Bordeaux one day. “A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye,” wrote Shakespeare – and indeed, sometimes one’s entire outlook on life can be changed by something so miniscule as a sip of wine. So it was for Ooka. He dropped everything and moved to Bordeaux to study oenology. But Hirotake, then 20 years old, was soon disenchanted with the wine world in Bordeaux, too strict and monotonous in his eyes. He would hesitate between staying in France or moving to California. Finally, he chose the Ardèche in southeastern France, where he founded Domaine de la Grande Colline in 2001. His estate was quite small at first, so he found work as vineyard manager with Thierry Allemand in 2004, staying on for 3 years. In 2002, Thierry also hired Kenjiro Kagami, fresh from his wine studies in Beaune, who would later create Domaine des Miroirs... Thierry, Hirotake and Kenjiro are now a famous trio, bound by common values and rich collaborations. Hirotake creates wines of great purity, born of natural, non-interventionist viticulture, and slow, respectful vinifications, with zero chemicals added. Having become a star of natural wine, he ultimately decided to return to Japan in 2016… where the La Grande Colline adventure continues! Following the philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka, he produces great wines and other fermented beverages there, always crafted with ultimate precision.
VIDEO HIROTAKE OOKA
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Sulphites-free wine
