Japan and wine - Yamanashi wines

byDianeM83

185 followers

3 years ago

There are today hundreds of wineries in Japan, most of them being in the four following prefectures : Yamanashi, Hokkaido, Nagano and Yamagata. Let's focus in this post on the Yamanashi prefecture. The story starts in the 1870's when two friends returned from France, after studying wine production and decided to do the same in Japan. Their first feat was Chateau Mercian: the first ever private winery in Japan.

Thanks to the owner of Wine shop Fujimaru (a fabulous wine shop in the outskirts of Tokyo), let me tell you a bit more about the wines in Japan and especially about the Yamanashi area.

Yamanashi Prefecture

Located in the center of Japan and surrounded by mountains (including Mt Fuji) and rivers, this inland valley is the most spectacular vineyard region in Japan and the first wine region awarded Geographical Indication (GI) by the Japanese government. Located in the area of alluvial fan, this region bears a classic valley climate with long hours of sunshine, small temperature variation and not too much rain (rare in Japan), which provides preferable soil for wine-making. The rocks of these wineries are made fo decomposed granite, which favours drainage.

Koshu, a typical japanese grape variety

Koshu, a hybrid between a European grape variety and Chinese wild grapes, is a pink-skinned grape used for japanese white wines. It travelled via the Silk Road from the Caucasus, across central Asia, then went to China and finally to Japan. It is mostly cultivated in Yamanashi prefecture, at the foothill of Mount Fuji, and Nagano prefecture. Its thick skin helps it survive the damp summers, that Japan knows so well. The wine from these grape varieties are soft and fruity, but tend to leave a slightly bitter aftertaste (for my taste anyway).

Depending on the winerie however, Koshu can lead to different styles of wine. For example, Chateau Mercian picks the grapes before they are fully ripe : they are then at their most fragrant level. This gives dry white wines with notes of woodiness. Katsunuma Winery offers the Aruga Branc Brilhane. Using the Koshu grapes, it implements an in-bottle secondary fermentation in order to produce this sparkling wine. You will enjoy the delicate fragrance of Koshu along with its sharp, refreshing flavors.

It pairs well with Japanese food, such as white fish sashimi or wakame seaweed. It might seem obvious but japanese food is mostly umami which does make the wine pairing quite difficult usually. What wine do you pair your japanese food with?

Lumière winerie

Established in 1885, Lumiere is a family-owned winery continuously operating for 130 years in Yamanashi prefecture . They offer french dining style using local seasonal ingredients. Their vineyards used grass cover crop and no-tillage systems. This technique enhances the true nature of grapes. All grapes are harvested by hand and hand-sorted for the prestige wines.

Thanks to the owner of wine shop Fujimaru, we were able to taste their different cuvées.

Lumière Koshu : the grapes were raised on lees (and not in a surreal fabrication where your might read on several websites : indeed, in Japanese, "sur lies" is pronounced "shurli" which means surreal in Japanese, an easy mistake). It has fresh citrus fruits aromas and moderated umami, which makes it perfect with sushi!

Lumière Prestige : only high quality Koshu grapes are used for these wines. They are aged in barrels. It is a wine with a plump taste that harmonizes the sweet aroma of fruits such as citrus fruits and Japanese apples, the flavor of vanilla and pleasant acidity.

Lumière Blanc mills : This time, the grape variety gewurztraminer is used! It smells of lychee, pears and roses, and has a soft mouthfeel. It is an aromatic wine with a good balance of moderate sweetness and acidity. It is a sweet taste that you can enjoy not only for meals, but also when you want to relax.

Lumière Gabu : the Muscat Bailey A grape variety is used to produce a wine which mixes soft acids with tanins and aromas of red fruit. An easy-to-drink wine with friends

We spent a few hours in this wine shop and learned a lot. The owner was remarkably welcoming and patient with my lack of Japanese (thank you my sister Laure for the translation!). Many excellent french wines can be found in his shop, and besides these extraordinary, yet expensive of course, french wines, some really elegant (and cheap) french wines can also be found. So there is really wines for all budget! You will also find italien and spanish wines in quantity and a small part of the shop is reserved for the New World's wines. Its Japanese section mostly comes from the Yamanashi prefecture, which makes sense, this area being the closest! Anyway, if you are travelling in Japan and are in Tokyo for a few days, I suggest you pay a visit to this shop and taste some wines! (event if you are not fluent in Japanese, Google translate can be your best friend : it worked for me!)

As you may have seen, wine is one my passion, especially finding wine in the most curious places. But being french, I started with talking about wine in France, so check out my website if you are looking for some information : https://winebymademoiselle.com