Japanese Wines You Should Try
3,000-yen range
3,000 yen range of Japanese wines
| 7. Grande Polaire Hokkaido Yoichi Pinot Noir 2009 |
| 8. Japan Premium Shiojiri Merlot 2008 |
We are seeing highly satisfying red wines emerge in the 3,000-yen range, which used to be a stronghold for exported wines. Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to grow, with strict conditions for its cultivation, but Sapporo Wine’s Hokkaido Yoichi Pinot Noir carries the graceful aroma characteristic of this variety and has the quality that producers in the grape’s original home of Burgundy, France rightly acknowledge. Juventa is a second wine (second-label Bordeaux) of Solaris made by Manns wine that is wholly rich with a strong body that will satisfy Bordeaux lovers. Suntory’s Shiojiri Merlot is another highly pleasing wine made by a company that has been displaying excellent potential in the past several years. It offers vanilla and black-red fruit flavors owing to barrel-aged production and hints of herb that blend in to give the wine its fullness.
Recommendation List of Japanese Wine ‘Selected 15’
| Vintner | Brand name | Place of origin | Color | Price (after tax) |
| Hokkaido Wine | Hokkaido Kellner 2010 | Hokkaido Pref. | white | 1,103 |
| Takeda Winery | Zao Star Wine dry white | Yamagata Pref. | white | 1,260 |
| TakahataWinery | Takahata Winery Classique Kamiwada Pinot Blanc | Yamagata Pref. | white | 1,500 |
| Katsunuma Winery | [1.] Arugabranca Clareza 2010 | Yamanashi Pref. | white | 1,680 |
| Izutsu Wine | [2.] Izutsu Wine NAC Merlot | Nagano Pref. | red | 1,477 |
| Mercian | [3.] Chateau Mercian Ensemble Aiakane | Yamanashi Pref. | red | 1,550 |
| Diamond Winery | [4.] Chanter Y．A Musckat Bailey-A Plus 2010 | Yamanashi Pref. | red | 1,900 |
| Lumiere | Lumiere Petillant 2009 | Yamanashi Pref. | white | 2,400 |
| Grace Winery | Serena Estate Chardonnay 2009 | Yamanashi Pref. | white | 2,400 |
| Tsuno Wine | [5.] Tsuno Wine Chardonnay Estate 2010 | Miyazaki Pref. | white | 2,800 |
| Marufuji Winery | [6.] Rubaiyat Rouge Barrel Aged 2006 | Nagano Pref. | red | 2,310 |
| COCO FARM & WINERY | Kaze no Rouge 2009 | Hokkaido Pref. | red | 2,500 |
| Sapporo Wine | [7.] Grand Polaire Hokkaido Yoichi Pinot Noir | Hokkaido Pref. | red | 3,150 |
| Suntory Wine International | [8.] Japan Premium Shiojiri Merlot 2008 | Nagano Pref. | red | 3,497 |
| Manns Wine | Solaris Juventa Rouge 2007 | Nagano Pref. | red | 3.675 |
Translated from “Gensen! Nonde mitai Nihon wain (Preme selection! Japanese wines you should try),” Shukan Ekonomisto, November 22, 2011, pp. 88–89. (Courtesy of Mainichi Shimbunsha)
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.
