Japanese Wine

There is such a thing as natural Japanese wine, and it’s unique, as fresh as it is fruity. We’ve set out to find it for you.

Young vineyards…

Japan has been producing wine with sulphite since the late 19th century. However, it is only in the last ten years or so that it has been producing wine with no additives and spontaneous fermentation. These ‘natural’ wines are often numbered because they are so rare: of the 300 or so wineries in the archipelago, only about fifteen produce natural wine. Fortunately, this rarity almost always goes hand in hand with quality.

Japanese wine-growers such as Grape Republic and Fattoria Al Fiore have to overcome great difficulties to carry out their mission: the local climate, with its scorching summers and harsh winters, is very hostile to European vines… But not to ‘hybrid’ varieties such as Koshu and Muscat Bailey A, the two emblematic grape varieties of Japan. Mixed with other hybrids or with European varieties such as Sauvignon or Merlot, they produce unique and often impeccable results.

…and a great future

Unoaked Japanese wines are full of fruit and nature. They are often low in alcohol (between 9.5 and 12°), dry but not sweet, with fresh notes of exotic fruits and red berries (blackcurrant, wild strawberry, etc.). Flavours that will certainly surprise European palates! The care that has gone into these wines is evident. In keeping with the tradition of table grapes and the local passion for beautiful fruit, the vines are lovingly tended and each bunch is watched over. The grapes are also hand-picked.

We can expect to see more and more Japanese natural wines. The country is riding a considerable ‘nature wave’: natural shops, bars and restaurants are multiplying, and a number of urban wineries have already opened in Japan’s major cities, bringing producers and consumers closer together. We’ll keep you posted.