Rising Vines
Are you ready for Japanese wine? Not sake, but fine wine made from Vitis vinifera grapes. Japanese wine could very well be the next wave of popularity and is gaining more and more high-value attention in the wine world. The confluence of several factors has contributed to the rise in interest and expectations for the wines of Japan.
The precision and commitment to excellence ingrained in Japanese culture — evident in everything from tea service to sushi, knives to camera lenses — extends to winemaking as well. This same esprit de corps means that each vigneron (wine grower) in Japan is constantly and painstakingly working to improve their wines year after year. In some cases, due to the relatively small scale of vineyards, growers develop an intimate relationship with each vine. The energy and detailed focus with which they pick their grapes, apply vinification techniques, and refine aging methods fall under a relentless microscope of improvement — not just as a goal but as a near obsession.
Time is now on their side. It takes practice to do anything well, and any vigneron will tell you that it takes years to understand how each parcel and grape will perform in a given year. Japan’s fine winemaking community has now been producing wine for decades. In fact, some of the country’s oldest wineries, such as Iwanohara Vineyard and Château Mercian, have been in production since the late 1880s. Many of the top wineries are now in their second decade of vine growing, and each passing year brings more knowledge and fine-tuning to their craft.
Japanese wine is also rivaling some of the finest wines in the world in terms of price. A quick search for Domaine Takahiko Pinot Noir on WineSearcher. com shows a single bottle priced at $626 — easily surpassing virtually all domestic U.S. Pinot Noir and even some Grand Crus from Burgundy. Japanese wines now have such a wide audience and are so influential that I even attended the Salon des Vins Japonais (Japanese Wine Salon) in Beaune, France — literally the heart of Burgundy, one of the world’s premier wine-growing regions.
Domaine Takahiko from Yoichi-Nobori, Hokkaido, is already well known among the wine world’s cognoscenti. Vigneron Takahiko Soga produces arguably Japan’s finest Pinot Noir, so I was more than excited to taste his wines — and was not disappointed. The 2021 Nana Tsu Mori Pinot Noir is beautifully floral and aromatic, laden with perfectly ripe strawberry and cherry, with hints of cherry pit and black tea. It is all about finesse and elegance — keenly delicious. It reminds me of top-quality red Burgundy, which is high praise indeed. They also produce a multi-vintage Nana Tsu Mori Blanc de Noir, a white wine vinified from black grapes, which has a minerally, refreshing character reminiscent of top white wines from northern Italy.
Another impressive Pinot Noir producer in Yoichi-Nobori is Domaine Yui. They showcased two Pinot Noirs from different parcels but the same vintage: 2023 A2 and A3. Both are lightly colored, soft, and elegant on the palate, with sweet and juicy fruit. The A3 has more earthy notes and a touch more structure, but both offer exceptional drinkability.
Perhaps the most astonishing discovery for me, however, was the wines of Fermier, crafted by Takashi Honda. I was blown away by their Albariño — yes, the same white grape classically grown in northern Spain’s Rías Baixas. But this Albariño hails from Niigata. The 2023 Fermier El Mar Albariño is like a sea sprite leaping from the glass, bursting with fresh citrus and mineral notes — refreshing, light, and bright on the palate.
Their second expression of Albariño, the 2023 Fermier Pacificado, takes 60% of perfectly ripe grapes and allows them to dry for 14 days before vinification. The result is an unctuous and gorgeous wine filled with flavors of clementine, yuzu, and flowers. It is slightly richer than the El Mar version but no less refreshing. These are true “wow” wines.
This is an exciting time for the Japanese wine industry. With the soft Japanese yen, record numbers of tourists are visiting Japan, which will only help spread the word about how good these wines are. As more of these gems begin to be exported beyond Japan, rest assured that the wine world has already taken notice: Japan is making world-class wines.