Shiojiri, Nagano, cork seal
Stereotypes of Japanese drinks bring to mind Geisha serving tea or salary men knocking back sake, yet there're actually a surprising number of different home grown alcoholic beverages available. Alongside shochu and plum wine the Japanese make good beer, outstanding whiskey and a surprising amount of grape wine. On my recent visit I was pretty disappointed with the wines I tried, but I grabbed this bottle duty free at Tokyo's Narita Airport as a final attempt to match the decent attempts I'd previously had from Hokkaido (1 & 2). From what I can gather it's made by Izutsu Wine in Nagano using fruit from vineyards that are 400m above sea-level.
It's darker than I expected; a deep red in colour with faint orange around the rim. It smells rich and surprisingly complex. There's a big whiff of plum alongside coffee, chocolate, brambles, tomato and a touch of mushroom; pretty interesting stuff. To taste it's a lot simpler and is all about red fruit, especially dark cherries. It's big and textured and held together by nice chewy tannins. Though it improved with decanting it did have a sharp, bitter finish. Izutsu Wine 'Silver' Merlot 2002 is an interesting wine; it smells intriguing, but there's nothing subtle about the bitterness that dominates the finish. It's quite 'old world' in style and is certainly not a bad statement for Japanese wine.
Visit winery's Japanese website.
Furano Wine Muller-Thurgau 2005
Furano, Hokkaido, Japan, ¥8000 for 375ml
I found this cute little half bottle hidden at home. I've previously reviewed a red wine from this producer, though I think this single varietal release is meant to be a step up their quality ladder.
It has a soft gentle nose with whiffs of sherbet, honey and sweetly perfumed flowers (perhaps honeysuckle or the lik
e?). On the palate there are delicious, yet subtle lime, pear and stewed apricot flavours. Furano Muller-Thurgau 2005 is well balanced, only just off dry with well integrated alcohol and very little acidity. This is extremely easy to drink, though perhaps it lacks a bit of 'wow factor', Furano Muller-Thurgau 2005 is still a very pleasant experience.
Visit winery website.
Furano Red, Viticulture and Enology Experiment Station
Furano, Hokkaido, Japan, ¥1000 (approx HK $65), cork sealJapan is certainly not renowned for its wine industry and I bought this bottle for novelty value while skiing earlier in the year. The wilds of Hokkaido, Japan's northern most island, offer fantastic outdoor activities: hiking, skiing, fishing, surfing and paddling, but also produce some interesting culinary delights (see here). Sapporo beer, giant crabs, potatoes, fantastic cheese, salmon, chocolates, lavender, tomatoes and beef are all regional specialities, along side Hokkaido's small wine industry. While skiing I tried a few pleasant whites including a Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Muller Thurgau. I'd been sitting on this bottle for a while and decided it was time to face my fears; I opened it over dinner with my family.
The wine was a surprisingly deep purple in colour and without being able to read the label I'd guess it was a cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose was pretty thin with earthy aromas, mushroom, a hint of smoky spice, cinnamon and a slight green note. On the palate there were traces of sweet berries, plum and a thin waft of smoke. It was surprisingly well structured with controlled alcohol and restrained tannins. The palate lacked depth and weight and my brother commented "it doesn't have much balls, does it?", though I'm not sure if Japanese wines likes playing ball games I tend to agree with him. While not outstanding the Furano Wine was certainly not offensive and offered a novel drinking experience.Visit winery website or check out Japanese wine website
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