Although there are more than 80,000 grape growers in Japan, only about 230 wineries hold licenses issued by the Ministry of Finance to make wine.

Most respected is Chateau Mercian.

Dai-Nihon Yamanashi Budoushu-Gaisha, the forerunner of Mercian, was established in 1877 as Japan's first wine company when two young employees were sent to France to study grape cultivation and wine production.

The modern day winery of Mercian was established in 1970 with Paul Pontallier, general manager of Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux, as vinification advisor. That set the winery on the road to success. The Bordeaux system of viticulture and technology was adopted and white wine production was successful.

Attempts to grow Merlot (red) started in 1976, but success didn't come until 1989 with the first release of Chateau Mercian Shinshu Kikyogahara Merlot 1985. That wine took the grand gold medal at the Ljubljana International Competition of Wines and has gone on to receive several international awards including the London International Wine and Spirits Competition and the International Competition du Vin in Bordeaux.

At Mercian, they use both Japanese and European native varietals. The most significant is Koshu, a Vitis venifera variety that has adapted to the local climate. It bears big round pink berries and is used to produce white wine, mostly dry to semi dry, aromatic, with a medium to light body made without oak.

Koshu has a high phenolic content in the skin, and if it is over refined it becomes too weak and simple for most palates. Many winemakers dislike working with Koshu because of its simplicity but Hiroshi Saito, chief vineyard manager at Mercian, says they find it a challenge that is worth the extra effort.

"We believe Koshu is the original Japanese variety just like Riesling in Germany or Shiraz in Australia. Kosyu is a productive grape variety that can be harvested as much as 30 tonnes per hectare with no cluster thinning. To produce high-potential grapes for the Chateau Mercian Kosyu Toriibira label, we have reduced the yields. We have made various innovations including putting up umbrellas against the autumn rain at some vineyards."

Apart from the rather sour Kosyu, other cultivars include Muscat Bailey A, and Delaware, which is an American variety and results in an aromatic, sweetish wine. It is bottled right after fermentation, ready for early drinking.

The Muscat Bailey A, an American hybrid is more suited for table grapes, although many wineries produce light bodied sometimes even semi-sweet style fruity red and rose wine from Muscat Bailey A, using Carbonic maceration for wines to be consumed without aging.?

Chateau Mercian is also growing European varieties such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot with a new trellis system. In Hokkaiodo, they are now growing good quality Muller-Thurgau and Riesling and producing German style dry white wine.

Over the past few years, I have tasted some of their wines and found the Cabernet Franc and Merlot showed good balance between fruit and tannin.?

A lot of attention has been drawn to Chateau Mercian's Koshu Gris de Gris 2003, which is cultivated in Toriibira, Yamanashi Prefecture. This area in the highlands of Katsunuma lies between 500 and 600 metres above sea level and has temperatures varying considerably between day and night.

However, even after years of long and intense research, successful viticulture is still a struggle in Japan. Before harvesting in September, the typhoon season comes in with force, sometimes causing problems like irreparable wind damage and bunch rot.

Lack of sunshine also causes imbalance of growth. Table grapes are saved through a costly, labour-intensive overhead trellis system which lays the grapes open to the sun rays, but this is not done with wine grapes. Ongoing research shows advances are being made in this direction with less costly very narrow trellis and Lyre systems and high density planting.

In the beginning, many grape growers were reluctant to try something new, only the more enterprising tried cross hybridization between American varieties and European varieties. Decades of operating their own vineyard and applying consistent wine-making methods, have developed the skills and know-how to produce acceptable wines.

And, to give credit where it is due, perseverance and determination have paid off for them to a surprising extent, even gaining many international awards.

(HK Edition 03/14/2009 page3)