Japanese wine

"[4][5] A report written in 1869 by Adams, Secretary to the British Legation in Yedo, describes "a quantity of vines, trained on horizontal trellis frames, which rested on poles at a height of 7 or 8 feet from the ground" in the region of Koshu, Yamanashi.

The first attempt to produce wine locally, using mainly sake brewing equipment, was undertaken by Hironori Yamada and Norihisa Takuma in Kofu, Yamanashi, in 1875.

[7][8] The cultivation of European grape varieties formed the core of early Japanese attempts, however the project was all but destroyed in 1884 by an outbreak of Phylloxera that arrived via imported root stock.

In 1907, Shinjiro Torii, founder of the Suntory beverages empire launched Red Sun Port Wine (赤玉ポートワイン, Akadama Pōto Wain) with an advertising campaign in 1922 that both scandalized with its suggestion of nudity, and prompted a huge boost to sales.

Specialists began to call their holdings "wineries", and the emulation of Western style hedging and cultivation of insect resistant grape varieties spread.

In 1995, Shinya Tasaki became the first Japanese to be awarded the title of Meillieur Sommelier du Monde, and helped to significantly raise public awareness of wine appreciation.

Media attention given to the beneficial effects of polyphenol (tannins) and local government led efforts to promote high quality domestically produced wine also contributed to industry expansion.

In Hokkaidō, the town of Ikeda recovered economically from a state of bankruptcy with regional planning toward grape growing and wine production and within 20 years following 1960 was able to make it successful.

Japan supports a wide range of grape varieties although the vast majority of this production is for table consumption and only a small percentage is used in domestic wine making.

Strictly speaking there are no vines native to Japan,[13] although the Koshu white wine grape has evolved locally over many centuries and is therefore considered an indigenous variety.

[14] Hardy varietals imported from North America such as the Delaware and Niagara grape were widely planted in the post war period, but since 1985 have significantly declined in popularity.

Characteristics of wines made from the Koshu grape are typically a pale, straw colour and a soft, fruity bouquet with overtones of citrus and peach.

In Japan there is no nationwide organization of legal designation, regardless of domain of origin or types of grape, anything that is fermented domestically can be labeled as "Japanese wine".