Fujisan Winery
| Fujisan Winery | |
|---|---|
| File:Fujisan Winery logo.png | |
| Location | Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Formerly | Asagiri Wine Company |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Key people | Ernest Singer – Founder |
| Known for | Shizen Sparkling Koshu |
| Varietal | Koshu |
| Tasting | Open to public 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily |
| Website | fujisanwinery |
Fujisan Winery (富士山ワイナリー) (formerly Asagiri Wine Company) is located on the Asagiri Plateau near Mount Fuji in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan. The winery specializes in producing sparkling and still wines from the Koshu grape.[1][2] It has vineyards in Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures.
History
Ernest Singer, owner of a wine importer in Japan, employed Denis Dubourdieu of the University of Bordeaux to help produce his own first wine in 2004 using Koshu, a Japanese grape. In 2007 Singer incorporated his winemaking operation as Asagiri Wine Company, which was renamed to Fujisan Winery in 2012.[3][4]
In January 2008 the company's Koshu wine was approved for import by the EU.[5][6] In 2011 it appeared at the Vinexpo exhibition in Bordeaux.[2]
Koshu grape
Koshu is a white grape that was brought to Japan over the Silk Road from Europe over 1,000 years ago and is mainly grown in Yamanashi Prefecture. DNA testing suggests that it is a hybrid of Vitis vinifera, a European wine grape.[7][1]
Koshu is now the most cultivated wine grape in Japan. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is targeting the production of 1,000 tons of Koshu in 2025.[8]
Winemaking
Dubourdieu oversaw the creation of a very dry Koshu, unlike the sweet Koshu wines that were prevalent at the time. The Koshu grape skins were extremely bitter, so he decided to minimize skin contact with the wine during fermentation.[9] Sugar levels of the Koshu were low compared to varieties grown overseas, but Dubourdieu decided not to add sugar before fermentation, leading to a wine with an unusually low alcohol level of nine or ten degrees.[2]
In 2013 he went on to create a sparkling version of Koshu. The dosage (sugar added after second fermentation) for that vintage was only 2 grams per liter.[1]
Vineyards
The winery has several vineyards in two prefectures. Its vineyards in Makioka, Yamanashi are older and are providing most of the winery's grapes. Newer vineyards on the Asagiri Plateau in Shizuoka are just beginning to bear fruit.[10]
The vine training system used is vertical shoot position (VSP) trellis,[1] which is used in New Zealand, France and Germany.
Virus-free vines project
The winery is involved in a long-term cooperative project with Chubu University to produce grape vines that are virus free. Most grape vines in Japan are virus infected, which makes it difficult to produce high-quality wine. Several universities including Chubu University have received grants to solve this problem, and Fujisan Winery is helping by growing virus-free vines in greenhouse, for later transplanting to vineyards in remote locations where they will not be infected from surrounding fields.[11]
Products
The winery produces both Koshu still wines and Koshu sparkling wines. It also sells imported wines.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Akiyama, Miyako, Forbes Japan (March 14, 2020). "日本が誇る、世界レベルの甲州スパークリング｜美酒のある風景" [Japan's Pride: World-class Koshu Sparkling] (in 日本語). Archived from the original on November 24, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hughes, Felicity, The Japan Times (June 10, 2011). "Koshu wine gets uncorked abroad". Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "登記情報提供サービス" [Registration Information Provider Service] (PDF) (in 日本語). Archived from the original (PDF) on Oct 25, 2022.
- ↑ Jeffs, Angela, The Japan Times (June 9, 2007). "Koshu Project sets out to redefine Japanese wine". Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Anson, Jane, Decanter (magazine) (February 6, 2008). "Dubordieu-crafted Japanese white hits EU". Archived from the original on October 25, 2020.
- ↑ Hailey, Wendi, iNTOUCH (September 2009). "Japan's Grape Expectations". p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ “Genetic Analysis of East Asian Grape Cultivars Suggests Hybridization with Wild Vitis”. Nami Goto-Yamamoto, Jason Sawler, Sean Myles, PLOS ONE, October 21, 2015
- ↑ "山梨県の農林水産業の概要 - 農林水産省" [Overview of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Yamanashi Prefecture - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries] (PDF) (in 日本語). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2021.
- ↑ Brown, Corie, The New York Times (October 26, 2010). "Japanese Wineries Betting on a Reviled Grape". Archived from the original on December 15, 2020.
- ↑ "富士山ワイナリーからごあいさつ" [About Fujisan Winery] (in 日本語). Archived from the original on June 24, 2022.
- ↑ "中部大学ワイン・日本酒プロジェクト" [Chubu University Wine/Sake Project] (in 日本語). Archived from the original on December 29, 2022.
External links
This article "Fujisan Winery" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Fujisan Winery. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
