- 1890
- Iwanohara Vineyard is founded.
- 1893
- Winemaking begins at Iwanohara Vineyard.
- 1899
- Kotobukiya (present-day Suntory) is founded.
- 1907
- Akadama Port Wine goes on sale.
- 1909
- Railroad councilor Shinsuke Koyama purchases the Tomi Highland
in Yamanashi Prefecture and establishes Tomi Farm
(present-day Tomi no Oka Winery) - 1912
- Tomi Farm invites German enologist Heinrich Hamm to assist in efforts to pioneer modern winemaking techniques.
- 1934
- Kotobukiya takes a stake in Iwanohara Vineyard.
- 1935
- Kotobukiya founder Shinjiro Torii visits the Tomi Highlands with Zenbei Kawakami, the father of wine grapes in Japan.
- 1936
- Kotobukiya takes over the management of Tomi Farm as Kotobukiya Yamanashi Farm
- 1950s
- Kotobukiya Yamanashi Farm embarks on a full-scale transition to European wine grape varieties, becoming the first winery in Japan to do so.
- 1955
- Yamanashi Vocational School of Viticulture is opened at Yamanashi Farm in order to promote the Japanese wine industry.
- 1956
- Kotobukiya Grape Research Institute is opened following the construction of the Yamanashi Vocational School of Viticulture at Kotobukiya Yamanashi Farm.
- 1970
- Kotobukiya Yamanashi Farm changes its name to Suntory Yamanashi Winery.
- 1975
- In October, Suntory Yamanashi Winery becomes the first winery in Japan to harvest grapes infected with noble rot.
- 1986
- Tomi Red, the ultimate in Japanese red wine, is born.
- 1994
- Tomi no Oka wine goes on sale.
- 2001
- Suntory Yamanashi Winery changes its name to Suntory Tomi no Oka Winery.
- 2006
- Tomi no Uta and Tomi White wines go on sale.
Quality initiatives
- 1990
- Tomi no Oka Winery receives the Deming Prize*.
- 2001
- Tomi no Oka Winery receives ISO 14001 certification.
- 2004
- In a rare accomplishment for an organization involved in Japanese agriculture Tomi no Oka Winery receives ISO 9001 certification.
*The Deming Prize honors companies that have implemented an effective approach to quality management.
Awards are determined by an independent panel (the Deming Prize Committee) based on an evaluation of the mechanisms by which candidate companies manage product quality.