Minamoto Kitchoan Farm

Our signature item in summer, RIKUNO HOUJU, a whole Muscat of Alexandria grape covered with rice cake, becomes available in early May for a limited time. Many customers are looking forward to having it especially early in the season because first ones are much sweeter and sourer.

Muscat grapes harvested at this early stage are carefully grown by keeping the greenhouse warm. However, as that cultivation method requires more experience and knowledge compared with growing and harvesting Muscat in summer, the crop yield is limited. Therefore we decided to start a Muscat farm by ourselves in 2013, so that we can harvest more Muscat grapes early in the season. Its sweetness and sourness are best for RIKUNO HOUJU.

We have adopted “restricted root zone cultivation”, which is rare in Muscat grapes cultivation. Growing young trees one by one in a planter and restricting the growth of the roots enable us to fertilize and water each plant accurately. As a result Muscat, grapes grow healthily and become tasty. And with this method we can adjust the position of tree’s branches so that the operators can work efficiently without physical burden.
At the time of harvest we pick single grapes and not bunches of grapes because we choose grapes suitable for RIKUNO HOUJU only and wait to pick the others until they grow to the size that meets our standard.