Japan's Wine Country, Visit Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture - August 2023

The wine region of Katsunuma is located about 2 hours from the Shinjuku metro station in Tokyo. The Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal is a short walk from the Shinjuku metro station – buses leave regularly from here passing through Katsunuma-town in the Yamanashi-prefecture. Passengers using bus service to reach Chateau Mercian should exit the bus at the Katsunuma bus stop – from this stop it is about a 15-20 minute walk to the winery, mostly on narrow pathways bisecting rows of table grapes and perhaps surprisingly, some fig and loquat trees.

The Yamanashi-prefecture is often referred to as the origin of Japan’s wine industry and today is Japan’s primary wine region – home to around 80 wineries in the prefecture with some 30+ in Katsunuma alone. The prominent native grape in this part of Japan is the red-violet colored variety, Koshu which produces a white wine and the common red grape in the region is Muscat bailey A. A number of common Bordeaux varieties are also grown here.

Two wineries highly worth visiting are Chateau Mercian and Grace Wine. Chateau Mercian houses an in-depth wine museum in Japan’s oldest winery building. Food pairings can be enjoyed with their wines either indoors or outdoors overlooking the local scenery. A visit and tour of their nearby Katsunuma Winery can be made by reservation. Within about a 15 minute walk is Grace Wines – one of Japan’s great finds with award winning elegant wines including of Koshu.

For more information about these two producers, visit:
www.grace-wine.com
www.chateaumercian.com