What is Japanese wine, really?

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"Japanese wine is too light and simple."

"Japanese wine can’t be aged."

"Japanese wine is overpriced."

"Japanese wine is…"

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There’s a lot that’s been said about Japanese wines over the years, yet with the scene evolving so quickly, it seems unlikely that anyone really knows the full picture.

In my own experience, Japanese wine feels like it’s come a long way, so much so that generalizations like those above might not hold much water nowadays.

In fact, I think it is precisely the increasing diversity of Japanese wines that draws people to it.

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Furmint from Nagano? Sure.

Tannat from Kyoto? Why not?

Albarino from Ishikawa? Say less.

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46 of the 47 prefectures in Japan have wineries, or all 47, if you count the pineapple wine they make in Okinawa.

Yet, not all are created equal. The Big Four - Yamanashi, Nagano, Yamagata, and Hokkaido - continue to dominate headlines and wine lists around the world.

Just within these esteemed regions, there’s a veritable cornucopia of grape varieties and styles waiting to be explored, yet, each of them appears to be tending towards their own regional signature.

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Hokkaido Pinot Noir, Nagano Merlot, Yamanashi Koshu, Yamagata Chardonnay, but wait - there’s more!

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Up north, Pinot Noir reigns supreme, first made popular by the now-legendary Kimura Farm and later made famous by the success of Domaine Takahiko. Secondary to Pinot Noir, vestiges of history like Kerner and Zweigelt come in a close second and third, contributing to the distinct high acidity and aromatic style many Hokkaido wines now take after.

As we venture south towards central Honshu, we find more classically ‘warm’ varietals like Merlot being grown, itself being introduced to Nagano in the 70s as international wines started to gain popularity alongside the economic boom at the time. Perhaps one of the fastest growing wine regions, Nagano is also home to a huge diversity of microclimates, owing to the many mountains, and thus altitudes, aspects, and soils available.

Yamanashi, which some might refer to as the cradle of Japanese winemaking, still harbors the vast majority of Koshu and Muscat Bailey vines. Much of the wine being made in Katsunuma City still pays homage to the winemaking history of the region, but newer subregions within Yamanashi with different microclimates like Hokuto and Enzan have developed an entirely separate identity from Katsunuma.

Outside of these regions though, things get a little wild.

In other parts of Honshu, styles within less-known regions tend to be pegged more towards individual winemakers’ styles, leading to experimentation with less-popular grape varieties, like Malbec being grown in Aichi and Tempranillo in Miyazaki.

Along the coast, Albarino has also seen quite some success in prefectures like Toyama, Ishikawa, and Niigata. 

In the far eastern reaches of Hokkaido, regions once thought inhospitable for grape vines have found some success with cold-resistant hybrids and wild grape varieties like Shoukoushi and Yama Sauvignon. 

And then, across the Tsugaru Straits from Hokkaido, you’ll also find Nebbiolo and Malvasia being grown, because…

"I grow Pinot Noir, because I like drinking Pinot Noir."

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I’ve heard this phrase a surprising number of times throughout my travels, and pertaining to a number of different grape varieties.

I suppose we could, in a slightly hyperbolic way, describe wine as being an expression of love, for land, for life, and for people. In that respect, it’s not surprising that some winemakers have chosen to adopt the same approach to grape cultivation in Japan, climate be damned.

There are those that will work tirelessly to grow grapes where it makes little sense to grow them, and there are those that will take shortcuts to make life a little easier, even where grapes already thrive.

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Today, Japanese winemakers come in many shapes and sizes, and continue to push boundaries in ways no one can predict.