Japanese natural wine

Japan has been growing vines for several centuries and producing wine since the late 19th century. This rather marginal production (compared to the much more abundant sake production in the archipelago) is home to an even more secretive sub-category: Japanese natural wine.

Natural wine is wine made as naturally and cleanly as possible. Its producers use organic grapes and indigenous yeasts, but no additives – apart from sulphur in rare cases. They also avoid filtering and fining. This method of winemaking, which is ultimately nothing more than a return to the methods of the ancients, is becoming increasingly popular with winemakers and wine lovers, especially in France.

Japan is no exception, with just over a dozen estates and winemakers taking part in this worldwide effort to rediscover the original essence of wine. These explorers of unearthed traditions include Grape Republic and Fattoria Al Fiore near the Japanese Alps, Hitomi in Shiga Prefecture and winemaker Yuki Nakano at his urban winery in Tokyo.

Japanese natural wine is not just a curiosity on the world wine map. It is, above all, an in-depth effort to rehabilitate grape varieties that are better known on the table than in the bottle. This is the case with hybrid varieties such as Muscat Bailey A, Steuben and Delaware. These rare and surprising vintages develop a characteristic berry aroma… Exceptional delights to be discovered in our shop.