One of the best perks of going to the deep end into often overlooked countries and far-flung corners in the wine-making world is that raw element of discovery. That doesn't mean just new varietals of grapes or the quirky rule-bending bottling, but a whole force of creativity and artisanal-ship that sprout from the most unforeseen of places. Japan, whilst having a century-long wine-making history, is only really making its mark today. And it's no small feat thanks to the dogged determination of passionate vine growers and wine makers who turned the blank slate of Japanese oenology into a patchwork of diverse winemaking styles.

 

A winery in Japan. Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)

 

But, before we get to the wine tasting, let's take a quick survey of the winemaking scene in Japan, through Jin Rong of Kibo Wine Co's Japanese orange wine masterclass: Orange Is The New White. 

Over the last decade alone, the number of wineries in Japan has tripled. Jin Rong mentions that through his data analysis, the number of wineries have been growing exponentially, even as recent as within the past three years. That is no accident - the Japanese government has been subsidizing and supporting new wineries to establish themselves. According to Jin Rong, subsidizing vineyards and winemakers in Japan has the added bonus of increasing viticulture tourism in Japan, which is steadily becoming a popular way to explore Japan amongst tourists. 

 

Koshu grapes, a Yamanashi native grape varietal. Source: Wine Searcher

 

To date, with the exception of Okinawa, all 46 other prefectures in Japan have wineries in them. As far as regulation goes, Japanese wine has to be made with Japanese grapes, grown in Japan. There are some geographical indications wine-producing prefectures of Japan, modeled after the French appellation systems: Yamanashi, Hokkaido, Nagano, Yamagata and Osaka. Amongst this list, Hokkaido, Yamanashi and Nagano are the top three wine producing regions by volume. 

 

 

Let's get into the who's who or Japan's growing orange wine scene!

Wine Review: KIYO wines R113 5/8 2023 キヨワインズ R113 5/8 2023 , ~10% ABV

Yamanashi Prefecture

Rosario Bianco, Steuben, Delaware

 

 

As a welcome drink, Jin Rong opened with this wine from KIYO Wines. R113 here refers to National Route R113 (pronounced as Route 1-1-3), a road that connects Niigata to Miyagi Prefecture. 

 

R113 is frequented by the winemaker when producing wines at wineries by renting their equipment. Source: paradise-nature.wine 

 

Before we get into the specifics of this wine, let's talk about the man behind KIYO Wines キヨワインズ - Kiyoshi Sakatsume 坂爪 清志. Born in Niigata City in 1974, Kiyoshi went to study Viticulture and Enology at Lincoln University in New Zealand. During his university days, Sakatsume had opportunities to meet many natural wine makers - an inspiration which he would return to Niigata with. Apart from running his own natural wine and cheese shop, non_cheese_wine (non- チーズとワイン), he also rents wine equipment to produce KIYO Wines. 

 

Kiyoshi Sakatsume 坂爪 清志 of KIYO Wines and non_cheese_wine. Source: things-niigata 

 

For this wine (which was brewed at Grape Republic グレープリパブリック; earlier versions of this wine was brewed at Alfiore アルフィオーレ), 20% of the Rosario Bianco grapes are crushed by hand, poured into a resin tank and then crushed by foot. The remaining Rosario Bianco grapes are placed into tank, where they undergo carbonic maceration. Steuben and Delaware wines are then blended into the Rosario Bianco, with a bit of grape must added into the wine so it undergoes a secondary fermentation in the tank, giving the wine some light fizz. 

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Deep orange juice aromas, with yellow peach, pineapple and grapefruit juice arising afterwards. The wine smells extremely fleshly, like the crushed flesh and pulp of peaches and apricots, alongside a saucy, vegetal aroma of deeply ripened yellow cherry tomatoes. 

Taste: The texture of this wine was rather viscous and thick. More umami flavours are picked out here, along the lines of fruiting vegetables: pumpkins, tomatoes, capsicums, alongside the flavour of orange pulp and white grape flesh. There is a slight frizzante on the palate as well.

Finish: The vegetal flavours get more deep and umami here, this time tasting more of slow braised capsicums, cherry tomatoes, alongside sauteed celery and celery leaves. 

My Thoughts

Lots of green elements in this wine! To me, this wine reads so much of stewed cherry tomatoes - umami, mildly sweet and unmistakably plant-like on the palate and aroma. I feel like this wine would go swimmingly well with Mediterranean cuisine, over pasta dishes, tapas or seafood. 

Wine Review: Kyoeido K24HR_DD 2024 共栄堂 K24HR_DD 2024, 11% ABV

Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture

Koshu

 

 

Up next was Kyoeido 共栄堂 wines, produced by Murobushi Winery 室伏ワイナリー at Yamanashi Prefecture. The name takes inspiration from the Kobayashi family's general store, with 共に栄える meaning "to prosper together" - inscribing the winery's wishes to revitalise and support the Yamanashi agricultural scene by producing grapes and wines. 

 

Winemaker Tsuyoshi “Tsuyopom” Kobayashi helming Kyoeido. Source: Kyoeido

 

The founder of Murobushi Winery, Tsuyoshi "Tsuyopom" Kobayashi, was born in 1976 and studied at Yamanashi University. After graduating, Kobayashi would work for Katsunama Winery (老舗ワイナリー, which was established since 1937!) doing cultivation. Afterward, Kobayashi was hired to be the head of cultivation and brewing when Shion Winery (四恩醸造) launched a winery in 2007. 

 

Source: Kyoeido

 

Kobayashi established Murobushi Winery in 2021 - his goal was to make great table wine accessible to the Japanese consumer. Kobayashi noticed that there were many wineries that produced excellent but small amounts of wine - making it hard for consumers to purchase them; on the other hand, he also found that many mass produced wines were lacking in flavour. Murobushi Winery was his answer to the dilemma - being a medium-sized production facility that could produce great tasting table wines at a sustainable quantity and accessible price.

 

Source: Kyoeido

 

Remember how we mentioned about Kyoeido's aim to uplift and prosper the community? At Kyoeido, wines are produced from grapes cultivated from Murobushi Winery as well as six other grape growers in Yamanashi Prefecture - Kobayashi purchases grapes from growers above the market price, and makes sure that the first bottles of wines produced by their grapes goes to the growers first. This was all part of Kobayashi's philosophy - he views that grape growers and wine producers are equal, and grape growers need to know that the grapes they produce make delicious wine. 

 

The label for the K24HR_DD wine. Each motif corresponds to a flower, animal or plant. 

 

Orange wines has become the signature of Kobayashi and by extension Kyoeido's - you would also notice that most of Kyoeido's labels come in a cryptic motif named with prefixes and suffixes. The philosophy of Kyoeido is to produce wines without labels (or, with as little words as possible), so as to free the wine of any preconceived judgement. For this orange wine, Koshu grapes are pressed, with much of the skin contact mostly comes from the pressing of the wine grapes. 

The wine is called K24HR_DD_XX, with "K" referring to Kyoeido, "24HR" referring to the spring release of the 2024 vintage, and DD referring to "dai dai", meaning orange in colour. 

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Slightly sweet, with a fruity and tart aroma of mostly gooseberries. There is a slight flinty aroma of hot baked pebbles, with a mild orange spritz aroma that arises towards the back. The orange spritz aroma is more pronounced on subsequent nosings.

Taste: Slightly seet, with an accent of yeast and bread flavours on the palate. The wine initially reads of fleshy, not-so-sweet mandarin wedges, followed by peach fuzz, before making way for yeast powder and plain biscuit dough. The palate returns to the fruitier flavours afterward, bringing more tartness that is reminiscent of overripe gooseberries. A very light fizz. 

Finish: The finish has rather saline qualities as well as umami, like cooked fennel, celery leaves, tomato leaves. Retronasally, there is a fruity, light aroma of tangerine juice. 

My Thoughts

This orange wine goes down very easy, especially when accompanied with that slight saline and sweet quality. The saline, umami adds a crushable quality to this wine, akin to drinking ice cold cans of carrot fruit juice in a hot day. Extremely tasty, and definitely one of the more approachable orange wines! 

Wine Review: Hitomi Winery Emodela 2023 ヒトミワイナリー Emodela 2023, 12% ABV

Yamagata Prefecture (Brewed in Shiga Prefecture)

Delaware

 

 

This orange wine features Delaware - a wine grape that can also be eaten as a table grape. Perhaps this calls back to the experimental, diverse viticulture in Japan: lots of international grape varieties, inclusive of those from the United States make their way to be planted. Usually, these is very much the discerning choice of the vinegrower - Jin Rong shares that many times, vinegrowers and winemakers happen to really fancy a style of wine and grape, and would bend nature's will to grow them at their vineyards. 

 

Source: @hitomiwinery

 

This extends to table grape varietals as well, such as the Delaware, which is a rather popular grape varietal being grown. Also to note, Hitomi Winery is one of four wineries in the entirety of Shiga Prefecture, where it is next to Echi River. 

 

Notice the slight tint of cloudiness in all of Hitomi Winery's wines. Source: @hitomiwinery 

 

Now for the winery for our next orange wine: Hitomi Winery ヒトミワイナリー was a passion project of an apparel company chairman Zushi Reizo 図師禮三. Having found that his passion was really all about wines, Zushi went to work setting up a winery in 1984 (at the age of 60!) - test brewing in 1991 and successfully obtaining a brewing license in 1994. 

 

Curiously, Hitomi Winery also established their own bakery within their premises, that even uses a unique yeast to the winery!  Source: @hitomiwinery 

 

Located south of Lake Biwa within Shiga Prefecture, the winery always had a vision of doing things differently, and by taking a leaf out of the sake playbook, they coin their signature style the "nigori wine"; essentially, unfiltered, slightly cloudy wine that highlights the natural winemaking, minimal intervention approach. Hitomi Winery has made the bold decision to make all their wines in this cloudy style, alongside adopting natural vineyard practices within their own vineyards that forgo pesticides and fertilisers. 

 

Note the opacity!

 

Here's what Hitomi Winery says about their Emodela 2023, the orange wine feature from their lineup today: 

 

Source: @hitomiwinery 

 

" Orange wine made from Delaware grown by Keiko Ishibe in Takahata Town, Yamagata Prefecture, brewed with whole bunches.

Ishibe's Delaware, which is usually impressive for its beautiful acidity, has a moderate acidity due to the extreme heat in 2023, and it gives a thick impression immediately after opening, but after a while from opening, the soft acidity and sweetness of the fruit will rise.
We hope you will enjoy it at your leisure 🍊 "

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Mostly orange juice and pulp. Nosing it further, more pink guava, tangerine juice and canned preserved peaches and tangerine jelly comes out, leaning more towards tropical fruits, tropical fruit concentrates and confectionery. 

Taste: Not as sweet as the nose would suggest: more leafy aromas of tomato leaves, carrot leaves and sprouts, as well as carrot flesh. There is a slight saline quality on the palate, alongside the vegetal flavour of crushed under-ripe tomatoes. Texturally, there is a medium intensity of tannins. 

Finish: There finish is mildly sweet, with the flavours and retro-nasal aromas of orange flavoured gummies, tomato leaves and a bit of musk melon. The musk element is subtle, but lingering at the back. 

My Thoughts

What an interesting orange wine! The contrast between the nose and the palate is very stark, especially with how confectionery and candied the nose is (probably much in part to the Delaware). The intensity of the wine is quite pronounced as well, both on the taste, texture as well as the tannin structure. 

Wine Review: Tsugaru Winery Orange Chardonnay 2023 つがるワイナリー オレンジ・シャルドネ , 13% ABV

Aomori Prefecture

Chardonnay

 

The next orange wine hails from Tsugaru Winery, featuring all Chardonnay. Founded in 2017, the winery was originally called Wano Winery, founded by Hideki Yagihashi. Unforunately, Yagihashi passed on in 2022, where the winery would be rebranded Tsugaru Winery つがるワイナリー. 

Apple Orchards in Tsugaru. Source: Aomori Tourism

 

As some folks might have caught on, Aomori Prefecture is famous for their orchard fruits - in fact, Tsugaru region is most famous for their apples! At the same time, Tsugaru is also Japan's leading producer of Steuben grapes in volume, a grape varietal that Yagihashi wholeheartedly believed in. 

 

Source: Tsugaru Winery

 

The label design also features the silhouette of Mt Iwaki, Aomori's most iconic mountain. Jin Rong further explains that wines near Mt Iwaki could display volcanic characteristics, as Mt Iwaki is currently a dormant volcano - meaning that the vineyards are likely planted on volcanic soil (just like how Mt Etna is famous for producing wines with volcanic soil within its terroir). 

 

Source: Tusgaru Winery

 

The orange wine feature from Tsugaru Winery this time undergoes malolactic fermentation first, then it is aged in a tank with lees contact for four months. Every two weeks, the lees are exposed into the wine via bâtonnage - essentially, the lees are stirred into the wine again to introduce more lees contact. 

 

The French term Bâtonnage gets its word from the baton (bâton) that is used to stir the lees, or dead yeast cells. Source: The Glamorous Gorment 

 

Jin Rong also noted that 2023 was (in some cases, infamously) known for being the hottest year for Japan on record, and the impact this had on the year's grapes is that the vintage ripened a lot more and developed more intense flavours compared to other years. Straight from the winemaker's mouth Tsugaru Winery has also noted this within their blogposts, talking about how the sugar content of their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir had more sugar and had to be harvested earlier compared to normal. 

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Funky, kyoho grape aromas alongside a slight lambic character, reminiscent of varnish and UHU glue. Beyond the lambic character, fruity aromas of squeezed lime juice and musk melon clices arise.

Taste: On the palate, the wine is less lambic in character as the nose would suggest. There is deep, perfumed muskiness on the palate, reminiscent of melon rind, alongside a slight vegetal grassy-ness of hay, barnyard and musk melon rind. The wine has some acidity to it as well, like a weak lemonade. 

Finish: The finish does not give any lambic aromas or flavours, instead revealing more fruit qualities. Golden raisins, over-ripened gooseberries and orange flavoured gummies arise, lasting long in the finish. 

My Thoughts

Interesting wine! This wine really reminds me of lambic beers - though, take my tasting notes with a pinch of salt. Amongst the group that tasted the wine, they picked out more junmai daiginjo sake aromas and flavours, especially those that lean more toward the aromatic, fruitier styles. The strength on the nose and palate is really quite pronounced, which is something usually not expected for a wine from such a cold region. 

Wine Review: Azucca e Azucco Calico 2021 , 11% ABV

Aichi Prefecture

Pinot Grigio 47%, Pinot Bianco 41%, Pinot Nero 12%

 

 

And yes, you read that right - that's an Italian name for the winery! Jin Rong points out that the folks behind Azucca e Azucco are huge fans of Italian culture, and within their vineyards, they plant lots of Italian grape varietals alongside international varieties (again, talk about diverse plantings in Japan!). Reading up on their website, it seems that they even have Lambrusco, Trebbiano, Barbera... alongside Italian vocabulary that would've otherwise been an English loanword. 

 

 

A snippet of the Azucca e Azucco website. 

 

That shouldn't come as a surprise if you learn the lore behind the husband and wife duo Daisuke and Azusa Susaki (須崎大介 あずさ). The duo gained winemaking experience in Sicily and Tuscany, before returning to their hometown of Toyota in Aichi Prefecture (yes, where the Toyota car company is headquartered at too). There, they took to setting up their winery, established the Kaze no Oka Winery 風の丘ワイナリー, which grapes are used to make all of Azzucca e Azzucco's wines.

 

Daisuke Suzaki in his vineyard. Source: Japan Times

 

 

I'll like to draw attention to the wine: it's a lot more deeper ruby than actual orange. And that's by design: Azucca e Azucco mixed white, orange and red wine into this bottling. And hence the name Calico - with the orange, black and white fur on the cat. Talk about creative naming!

 

There's multiple vintages of the Calico series - and they all sport super adorable labels of their calico cat mascot (whom kinda has the aura of Puss in Boots, doesn't he...) 

 

 

Taking a look at the back label, you'll see that there's a box being ticked "Macerazione Switch". This indicates that the wine has undergone some maceration, hence the word Macerazione. 

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Deeply sweet and jammy, with lots of candied strawberry, strawberry jam, alongside a vegetal, ripe umami aroma of beefsteak tomamtoes. Nosing it further, there are some plant-like, aromatic finny fragrances of blueberry skin. 

Taste: A whole mix of flavours, starting with orange spritz, strawberry infused water, gooseberries, followed by vegetal flavours of tomato leaves and strawberry leaves. There is a depth of tannic bittersweetness and melon-esque flavours in the form of underripe persimmon. 

Finish: Slightly vegetal - reading of slightly blanced celery stalks, purple carrots (the sort that are starchier and not as sweet), a slight white pepper and a lingering note of spice - cinnamon and star anise. There is a slight zingy tang on the sides of the tongue, akin to white wine vinegar. Late in to the finish, the lingering flavour and aroma is that of wholemeal bread. 

My Thoughts

Complex, dynamic, and full of surprises! There's lots going on the palate and the finish of this wine - many flavours and elements of the wine come unexpectedly, making picking out individual notes somewhat of a fun challenge. I do appreciate the tannins being a binding element that held much of the wine together, being constant and helping to bring balance to the many flavours that are going off at once. This wine really is like staring at the fur of a calico cat, where the more you look and stare at the individual patterns, the more you could discern and be surprised by it. 

Wine Review: KONDO vineyard con konkon 2022 KONDOヴィンヤード con konkon 2022 , 15% ABV 

Sorachi, Hokkaido Prefecture

Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Kerner, Silberner, Riesling, etc.

 

 

KONDO Vineyard hails from Sorachi of Hokkaido Prefecture, the northernmost prefecture in all of Japan (which, again, testifies how prolific winemaking is in Japan). A family-run vineyard since 2007, KONDO Vineyard only started producing wines since 2017, established under Kurisawa Wines 栗澤ワインズ by brother duo Ryosuke and Takumi Kondo under the mentorship and guidance of Kazuyuki and Yukiko Nakazawa of Nakazawa Vineyard. 

 

KONDO Vineyard.

 

Collectively, KONDO Vineyard refer to two vineyards - Tapu-Kop Farm that was first established in 2008, and another Moseushi Farm in 2011, named after the indigenous Ainu names for the area. The farms only produced enough fruit to make wines in 2011, where grapes were sold to other wineries to be fermented.

The turning point, according to KONDO Vineyard, came in 2012 when Takumi, the younger brother, came to work and helped manage the Tapu-Kop Farm. Harvest from the two farms increased, which allowed for enough grapes to make wines under the KONDO Vineyard brand in 2013. 

 

Whilst KONDO Vineyard doesn't completely swear off chemical pesticides, they keep the use of any synthetic fungicides and pesticides to the absolute bare minimum. KONDO Vineyard also tries to reduce the burden on the environment in their vineyards - even experimenting with horse-tilling in 2020! Source: KONDO Vineyard

 

Now, about the wine. Here, we'll see one that takes tradition to almost an extreme! KONDO vineyard has chosen to use amphora aging for his orange wines - so much so that they've buried amphoras underground in concrete - much like how it is traditionally done in old world countries like Greece and Georgia. 

 

Source: KONDO Vineyard

 

At KONDO Vineyard, there are two qvevris (egg-shaped earthware from Georgia) of more than 600 litres each alongside six smaller earthenware made by Nakamura Futoshi of Shari Kiln in Shari Town, Hokkaido. The idea came about when the winemakers learnt that qvevri-styled wines weren't common in Japan, and went to Georgia to learn the craft: where the style originated to begin with. 

 

Source: KONDO Vineyard

 

What's more interesting here is the long laundry list of grapes. Interestingly, there are plots of vineyars where different varietals are co-planted their vines together, which is more charactersitic of the terroir and field of the vineyard. Hence, Jin Rong mentioned that Ryosuke Kondo, the cultivation manager behind the Moseusi Farm within KONDO vineyard, does not have the full knowledge and weightage of what goes into the wine! However, the above list accounts for at least 90% of the grapes.

 

Soil health and biodiversity are the reasons behind the multi-varietal planting of the "mixed cultivation" plots of vineyard at KONDO Vineyard. Source: KONDO Vineyard

 

For the con konkon 2022, the wine was fermented and aged in amphora for 5 months, before undergoing barrel aging for an additional 6 months. 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Big in floral perfumes: violets, cosmos, geranium, hydrangea and edible flowers. After swirling, more fruity aromas are released, with just ripened cantaloupe, just ripened Cavendish bananas, golden sultanas and sliced green apple. 

Taste: Aromatic on the palate , with fruity elements of very ripened hami melon, white and yellow peaches, tart apricots as well as floral flavours of violet candy, rose petals and lavender syrup. Amongst the floral and fruity flavours, there is some tart acidity of green pear. 

Finish: Floral aromas arise retronasally, again with the fragrance of geranium and violets. Sweet flavours of peaches and nectarines linger, whilst more honeyed characteristics of bee pollen start to arise after the fruit subsidies.

My Thoughts

So deep, rich and full of flavour and fragrance! There is lots going on in this wine, but what really captivated me was the depth and intensity of the floral aromas. Do note, the wine isn't very sweet, in fact, it leans quite dry, yet there is so much fullness and muskiness in its overripened fruit character. There's much complexity going on this wine - and a definite must try. 

Wine Review: Les Vins Débrouillards Amber Field Blend 2023 , 11% ABV 

Nagano Prefecture 

 50% Pinot Gris, 25% Savagnin, 17% Chardonnay, 8% Albariño

 

 

"Unserious guys making serious wine" is how Jin Rong described the wines and the husband-and-wine duo behind Les Vins Débrouillards: US born Charles Lawrence and Iida City native Kaoko Narusawa. During his visits to the winery, Jin Rong mentions how Charles is often seen (and heard) cracking jokes and having a whale of a time in general; yet Jin Rong feels that the wines produced by Les Vins Débrouillards are of a serious calibre with much thought and deliberation. 

 

Charles and Kaoko. Source: Raisins

 

The total vineyards under Les Vins Débrouillards comes at a tiny 1.5 hectares across four vineyards, capable of producing up to 4000 bottles in a single year. "Débrouillards", translated from French, means "resourcefulness", really underpinning Charles and Kayako's philosophy of being fully natural (no chemicals at all, inclusive of fertilisers!) at the vineyard and in winemaking. 

 

Source: @les_vins_debrouillards 

 

To what extent does Charles' unserious sense of humour go? For the Amber Field Blend 2023, there was an export label for the wine called "Natty 4 Skins". Yeah... I shan't need to explain the joke here.

 

Source: winy.tokyo

 

And as the export label implies, this orange wine is made with a combination of Pinot Gris, Savagnin, Chardonnay and Albariño. This wine is aged in amphora for 23 days, pressed, before being further aged in French oak barrels for 8 months. 

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Strong natural beer aromas - mostly of wild ale, brett, with strong aromas of weak malt vinegar, lemon juice, lemonade, alongside white peaches and pressed lemon peels.

Taste: Slightly sweet, with mild peach and apricot flavours and aromas, alongisde slight vegetal flavours of spinach, rocket and sweet basil. The basil's sweet and herbaceous elements develops more on the palate, followed by juicy pops of tart, mildly bittersweet pomelo citrus pulp. 

Finish: The herbaceousness shows up more on the finish, with flavours and aromas of thyme, sweet basil, alongside a sweet flavour and aroma of hard peaches. Then, more vegetal-umami flavours of cheery tomato emerge, with a strong retro-nasal effect. 

My Thoughts

Now that's a serious natural wine! There are wines where the brett characteristics get way too strong or overpowering, but here, it comes of slightly restrained, more so supporting the lemony, herbaceous and more overtly fruity and funky aromas. The wine is palatably acidic as well, not being too tart but enough to perk up the senses, and I absolutely adore the sweet herbaceous flavours that come through. 

Wine Review: LOWBROW CRAFT Cuvée des Bonnard Bonheur Pinot Gris 2022 ロウブロウ クラフト Bonnard Bonheur ボナール ボヌール ピノ グリ 2022, 13.5% ABV

Yoichi, Hokkaido Prefecture

Pinot Gris 

 

 

Now LOWBROW Craft has a bit of pedigree - the winemaker and founder of LOWBROW Craft Manabu Akagi worked for and was trained under the legendary Domaine Takahiko and Takahiko Soga.

 

Takahiko Soga in his vineyard, Domaine Takahiko. Source: Jose Pastor Selections

 

Sometimes dubbed as the "Romanee-Conti of Hokkaido", Domaine Takahiko has produced serious Pinot Noir wines from their 6.5 hectre vineyard that has been caught the attention of the wine world. 

 

Manabu Akagi surveying his vineyard in 2023. Source: @lowbrow_craft

 

Focusing back on LOWBROW Craft: established in 2022, Manabu Akagi pursues natural winemaking in the independent winery. The winery also focuses on sustainable practices, as well as aiming to be a collaborative space for the locals within Yoichi. The natural wine approach includes minimal use of equipment, intervening with nature's course as little as possible. 

 

Source: shiribeshi

 

Evidently from the label design, the self-depreciating "LOWBROW" takes inspiration from street art and grafitti, where from far, anyone would have mistaken these natural wine bottles for holding craft beer instead. 

 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Grapefruit skins and orange spritz are the main fruity aromas on the nose, which is quickly followed by strong aromas of spice: cinnamon and clove. There is a floral accent to the wine as well, reminscent of chamomile. Letting the wine warm up a bit more, aromas of dried peaches and golden raisins arise. 

Taste: Mostly stone fruits initially, with fresh peaches and apricots. The spiced character makes a return here, this time with flavours of ground nutmeg and ground clove, slightly warming and woody. Floral notes of fresh yellow chrysanthemum arise as well, alongside a slight honeyed character. 

Finish: The finish is deep and dense, with more baking spices and toasted pastry: ground nutmeg, ground star anise, and baked tart shells. There is a slight floral retronasal effect as well, more so of rose water, before vegetal elements of cooked spinach and sauteed Chinese olives arise, then tapering off. 

My Thoughts:

There's great balance and intensity in this wine - and that accent of spices was very intriguing to me. The spices revolve and change, depending on the nose, palate and on the finish. I do appreciate that honeyed, floral accent this wine has as well, giving the orange wine more fo a sweeter, confectionery tone. Delicious! 

Wine Review: domaine tetta Sauvignon Blanc 2023 , 17% ABV 

Okayama Prefecture

Sauvignon Blanc 

 

 

As we've covered before, 2023 was a blistering hot vintage for Japan as a whole - and that includes Okayama, which gets really, really, hot for wine making. domaine tetta hails from the small town of Tetta 哲多, Okayama Prefecture, with a strong natural wine philosophy. 

 

Ryuta Takahashi overlooking a limestone quarry near the vineyard. Source: onestory-media

 

The story of Domaine Tetta began with founder Ryuta Takahashi, who used to work in construction. Tetta was already cultivating grapes for table consumption, but in the 2000s, Takahashi discovered an abandoned vineyard. In 2009, Takahashi decided to commence work restoring the vineyard whilst working in construction, where he noticed that the land was filled with limestone - meaning that the soil was the soil is very calcareous akin to those in Champagne, France.

 

Vineyards at Domaine Tetta. Source: Domaine Tetta

 

Up on the plateau 400-600m above sea level, the vineyard also experienced large diurnal temperature differences (temperature differences between night and day), which was beneficial for grape ripening. Hence, Takahashi saw huge potential in the winemaking possibilities of the vineyard, and established Domaine Tetta. In 2016, Domaine Tetta comenced winemaking, with the first vintage being the 2017 release. As part of its goals to revive the rural areas of Okayama, Domaine Tetta is also open for visitations. 

 

Source: Domaine Tetta

 

As the name implies, this wine is made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc, 2023 vintage. 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Very milky and dairy on the nose - greek yogurt and feta whey. After swirling, aromas of peach and crushed apricots arise, before revealing more deep stone fruit aromas of crushed skinned plums, rounding off with juiced oranges and sliced tangerines. 

Taste: The texture is full and viscous, with a noticeable alcohol presence. The flavour profile of the wine here is intense with tropical and ripe fruit notes, with flavours of very ripened peach, pineapple juice and just ripened plums. There is also a slight marmalade character to the wine as well, giving flavours of bittersweet preserved citrus. 

Finish: On the finish, the wine reveals more sweet citrus with a preserved edge, such as orange jelly, marmalade, and jelly-preserved tangerine slices (the sort you see at Japanese supermarkets). Alongside the sweet citrus aromas and flavours, there is a slight sweet vegetal accent, akin to cooked down tomato leaves and sauteed cabbage. 

My Thoughts

This is perhaps the fullest orange wine of the tasting! Lots of texture, intensity in fruit as well as that perceivable alcohol. It's quite sweet and jammy as well, driving home more of that preserved orange factor of the wine. Do be warned however, this wine can go down quite easy - so I highly suggest pairing this with equally heavy dishes, like ragu or braised meats. 

The Last Word

 

 

For how young some of the vineyard and wineries featured in this tasting were, it really inspires a sort of awe for the mavericks of the upcoming wine making generation - and by no means limited to just young folks but those who've decided a shift in life trajectory! As someone who's always had a penchant for novelty, I've always had a soft spot for orange wines. 

Orange wine aren't just your hipster's muse, or that esoteric modern day druid's creation - there's some real winemaking prowess behind the brews that are often backed with a deep appreciation for nature - something more of us could always use. And I'm sure we've just barely scratched the surface for the wines coming out of Japan - we can surely expect more to come.

 

@vernoncelli

A quick shoutout to Jin Rong's calico cat!