Winemaker to start making “Nagoya wine” this summer

A project is under way in the heart of Nagoya to produce local wine as soon as this summer while overcoming the difficulties of meeting strict content requirements in a quest to get the metropolis’s name on its label.

On the ground floor of what used to be a mahjong parlor in a dated three-story building in the central Japan city’s Nishi Ward, Noriyuki Baba, 55, and others have been preparing to make what would be called “Nagoya wine.”

The winemaker’s goal is to make casual wine and establish a new culture of urban wineries.

The Nagoya Winery project originally started among business owners an...