Masato Nagasawa (Nagi)
Winemaker / Viticulturist / Oenologist
A winemaker with an unconventional background who first properly learned about wine after arriving in Germany. His catchphrase is "Wine is, after all, just alcohol and merely one of many luxury goods." Because wine is a luxury item, he believes it should be delicious, and winemakers must be committed to this principle—this is his guiding philosophy in winemaking.
While others perceive him as being on the anti-natural wine side, he actually has no ideological commitment to production methods as long as the wine tastes good.
Without knowing even the basics of wine, he made a determined decision to study viticulture and oenology at Hochschule Geisenheim University in Germany. He moved to Germany in autumn 2013 and passed the German language exam required for university admission in early 2014. He then trained under Michael Teschke, a renowned Rheinhessen winemaker known as a Sylvaner professional.
During his university years, he gained training experience at wineries not only throughout Germany but also in Greece and New Zealand. He acquired knowledge and experience in modern winemaking methods as well as ancient winemaking techniques using amphorae.
He graduated from the university in February 2018. His graduation thesis was titled "Untersuchung zum Einfluss der Traubenlagerung auf die Weinqualität (Investigation of the Impact of Grape Storage on Wine Quality)."
After graduation, he worked as an oenologist at a VDP member winery in the Nahe region—Germany's oldest privately-owned winery with over 800 years of history—primarily responsible for viticulture and winemaking. He became a core member of the winery and officially served as head winemaker from 2020.
He left the winery at the end of May 2023 and began working as head winemaker at a Rheingau winery from June 2023.
Outside of winery hours, he serves as administrator and writer of this site "Nagi's Wineworld - The World Through a Winemaker's Eyes," constantly researching article topics and knowledge while also working as a freelancer. He has consulting experience with Japanese wineries and also handles wine seminar instruction, German wine purchasing services, wine tour guidance in Germany, and consultation for studying and working in Germany.
In September 2024, he returned to Japan and established Nagi wines, beginning his activities as a freelance winemaker and viticultural consultant.
Please feel free to contact him about anything.
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Achievements
- Became head winemaker in less than two years after joining the winery in 2020
- Selected as a Rising Star Winery in the Nahe region by Vinum magazine in 2022
- Achieved a 4-grape rating from Gault&Millau magazine in 2023, double the rating from when he first joined the winery (2 grapes in 2018)
- Received a perfect 100-point score from world-renowned critic James Suckling for "Riesling Rheingau Krone trocken 2023 (Weingut Eva Fricke)" in 2024
- Received high praise from numerous other magazines and critics. Through creating high-quality wines that earn better evaluations, he has contributed significantly to improving the wineries' reputations.
As an external freelance viticulture and winemaking specialist, he assists in creating better wines. In addition to consulting and contract winemaking work, he also provides on-site operational support as a specialist technician. Please feel free to inquire.
Online Circle
He hosts an online circle called "Peering into the Wine World Through a Winemaker's Eyes," where he provides detailed explanations of articles published on this site, shares more advanced perspectives and practical applications, and facilitates learning and interaction among members that goes beyond memorization. Circle membership is always open.
▼ Join the circle here: One Step Further into the Wine World: Peering into the Wine World Through a Winemaker's Eyes
YouTube
Records of irregularly held online discussion sessions and study groups are available on his YouTube channel. He jointly operates a channel with wine blogger Himawine called "Thinking About Wine with Nagi" for enjoyable and in-depth wine learning.
Article Supervision
He supervised wine cellar selection articles for the web media "mybest."
