The Winemaker's Journey
From Tokyo to California: A Story of Passion and Discovery
Winemaker, Nori Nakamura
Nori was born and raised in Tokyo, where beer and sake rule drinking culture. At 22, wine was completely foreign to him. But during a graduation trip to Italy with his brother, everything changed.
In a Milan trattoria overlooking the Duomo, with waiters in Armani suits, Nori experienced what he calls his "goosebump moment." A single glass of 12-year-old Barbaresco captured three weeks of revelations—every new sight, smell, and culture from his first journey outside Japan suddenly crystallized in that glass.
"This could be my life's work," he realized.
Back in Japan, he spent nights at sommelier school while working hotel sales by day, learning only Old World wines and being taught that California wines were inferior. When his company offered him a transfer to San Francisco in 1999, he jumped at the chance for adventure, even though he had zero interest in California wine.
Everything he'd been taught was wrong. His second "goosebump moment" came in a Napa tasting room, where a golden Chardonnay shattered his preconceptions like a Hollywood movie. It was bold, bright, and completely different from the nuanced French wines he knew. Determined to understand this new world, he visited 170 wineries in a single year, racing against what he thought was a two-year stay. After studying Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis and apprenticing throughout Napa and Sonoma, he discovered California wines weren't inferior. They were completely unique.
In 2010, Noria Wines was born: a new style of California wine that pairs beautifully with the full spectrum of Japanese cuisine, from delicate sashimi to rich wagyu, honoring the harmony and balance that first captivated Nori in that Italian moment.
What does "NORIA" mean?
The name NORIA means "waterwheel" in Spanish—a symbol of life's essential energy, the flow of water, and the connection to nature. For Nori, it represents the continuous cycle of tradition and innovation, and the joy that wine brings to every moment it touches.
But turning a winemaking dream into a thriving business required more than passion. Years later, when college tennis teammate Atsushi found himself in the Bay Area with an MBA and business expertise, the partnership was inevitable. Together, they built California's only Japanese urban winery in Berkeley's Gilman District, where wine culture remains accessible to everyone.
Atsushi & Yuzu
From That First Sip to Every Bottle
Curious to see what he's come up with? Every vineyard partnership reflects careful thought about terroir, balance, and how each grape variety can express both California's character and Japanese restraint. Discover the thought and care that goes into every bottle.
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