Japanese wine, not sake but real wine

It’s true, Japan has been making wine for a long time. And for a century and a half, professional winemakers have been active. The conditions are not easy. Wet typhoons threaten the harvest season and the soil is volcanic with a high pH value. That’s why many American grapes have been planted, which thrive better under these conditions. Today, the Japanese market is dominated by five experienced wine companies.

Wine is not new to Japan. As early as the twelfth century, grapes of the Vitis Vinifera species (the species used to make wine in Europe) arrived in Japan. Portuguese monks were already planting vineyards in the sixteenth century.

Japan is located at approximately the same latitude as Rome and Barcelona. Perfectly suited to making wine, you might think, but that is disappointing. Japan is very different in terms of climate. There is a lot of rainfall, including during the harvest season, and there are typhoons. European grapes do not thrive in these conditions. Japan is flat, or in other places very mountainous. While rolling hills are ideal for growing wine. Finally, Japan has a volcanic soil with a relatively high acidity. So you need a good dose of patience and perseverance to become a winegrower in Japan.

In the above reasons, American grape varieties are the most widely planted in Japan. They do somewhat better in the Japanese terroir. The Delaware is the most widely planted grape in Japan and is used for white wine. Other American varieties in Japan are Niagara for white and Campbell's Early for red wine. American grapes produce wine with very specific taste characteristics. They are sometimes called 'Foxy'; bubblegum-like. We in Europe don't like that very much. Other so-called hybrid grape varieties are Muscat Bailey A and Black Queen. An indigenous variety from which wine is made is Koshu. It is a European grape but it has been growing in Japan for centuries and it is unclear where it comes from. Several Japanese wineries try to make the best wines of the country from international varieties such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Despite the difficult circumstances, there has been a professional wine-growing market in Japan since the end of the nineteenth century. Today, 80% of Japanese wine is made by just five companies: Suntory, Sapporo, Asahi, Manns and Mercian. Many wines are blended with imported bulk wine.