Being a cold region, Hokkaido is also home to German and Austrian hybrid varieties like Kerner, Blaufrankish, and St Laurent. Ng, who was recently appointed the first international ambassador for Hokkaido wines, is keeping a close eye on the region and points to key producers available locally, including the organically grown Domain Takahiko, Burgundy-trained Japanese vignerons’ Nora-Kura, Hirakawa winery, Yamazaki, and Niki Hills.
LIMITED PRODUCTION IS RAISING PRICES
Producing wines in Japan is not cheap. The growing conditions are challenging and untraditional, primarily because of humidity and unseasonal rainfall, which require extra care and maintenance.
Japanese vignerons have found ingenious workarounds without compromising their overarching noninterventionist winemaking philosophy. Some vines have steel frames built around them, which hoist plastic rain shelters to protect the bunches. In other parts, you can spot wax paper umbrellas painstakingly tied over grape bunches to protect from rain. Grapes are frequently grown in pergola structures, a vine training system deployed in parts of Spain, Italy, and Argentina to ward off humidity and risk of diseases like mildew and require hand harvesting.
Moreover, vineyard plots are usually small, and their outputs are even smaller, resulting in miniscule production, which barely satisfies the local market needs. As for the quality, around 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the wines sampled were beautiful, refined, and delicate, and the remaining are works in the making.
THE BEST WINES ARE AVAILABLE IN SINGAPORE
According to wine importer Artisan Cellars’ Jeanne Kiock, there is a real attraction and curiosity for Japanese products in Singapore, and people are willing to try them. “When our clients start their journey with Japanese wines, it’s easier for them to understand and compare the grapes they already know, such as the conventional grapes,” she shared. Among native grapes, Koshu is proving to be a real attraction for its crisp and aromatic profile.
Source: CNA
