Yuki Hirayama

Coming Up

Japanese winemaking at Mercian and later at Katsunuma Jyozo gave Yuki Hirayama a training ground defined by discipline, repetition, and close attention to process. Those early years established the working habits that still read through his wine: structure first, detail always, and no separation between technique and patience. At 98WINEs, that background is now concentrated into the role of winemaker, where the work has a clearer shape and a more defined direction.

Where They Are Now

At 98WINEs, Yuki Hirayama describes the work in direct terms: not as ornament, but as intent. “98wines was born as a place to create the power of wine.” he says, and the line functions less like branding than a statement of purpose. He has also said, “I am confident that we can strongly express the power of wine.” Taken together, the quotes point to a cellar philosophy built around force, clarity, and the idea that wine should carry meaning beyond technical correctness.

Signature

Among Yuki Hirayama’s signature wines are 98WINEs KOKU Koshu and NOGI Rosé. The pair shows a range that moves between Koshu’s quieter register and the more immediate expression of rosé, while staying within the house identity of 98WINEs. Read together, they give a practical sense of the style Hirayama has helped shape: measured, specific, and grounded in continuity between training and current work.

In Their Words “I believe that imperfect 98 can be 100 or 200 by meeting people from all over the world who resonate with each other.” The point here is expansion through contact. Yuki Hirayama frames 98WINEs as something that grows through exchange, not as a closed system. The idea is open-ended, but it stays practical: value can increase when the work connects with people who share its frequency. “I am confident that we can strongly express the power of wine.” This returns to the same core claim in plainer form. For Yuki Hirayama, wine is something that should carry presence, and the winemaker’s task is to make that presence legible. The emphasis is on clarity of expression rather than flourish.