Japanese Wines You Should Try
ISHII Motoko
In the last ten years, Japanese wine has improved significantly in quality and offers a greater selection in terms of price and variety. Instead of, “Maybe I’ll give Japanese wine a try for a change,” you can now say, “Tonight we’re having Hamburg steak, so let’s go with a Nagano Merlot” or “The Kellner will go with this Chinese cabbage and pork nabe,” and color your daily meal solely with Japanese wine.
Selection has spread most notably for wine in the 1,000-yen range, and I have many to recommend. There are also excellent wines in the 2,000- and 3,000-yen range, and some in this price range have competed against foreign wines of the same grape variety in international wine competitions and won medals.
When you drink Japanese wine, take your time tasting it and imagine the land the grape was grown on and the people who made it. In each wine you will feel the characteristics of this land and the passion of the winemakers.
ISHII Motoko
Wine journalist and consultant, president of Basis Co., Ltd.
After working for wine import promotion at Hiroya Co., she studied viticulture and oenology at the Department of Agriculture at Santa Rosa Junior College in California, U.S.A. After returning to Japan, she established Basis Co., Ltd. and started working as a wine journalist and wine consultant.
