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- Chris Boiling
- 2023-07-13
Japanese wineries Château Mercian Katsunuma Winery and Château Mercian Mariko – both part of the Mercian Corporation – have started doing guided tours in English.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan decreased significantly in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 and in 2022 it was only about 10% of the pre-pandemic level. The most recent figure, from April 2023, estimates foreign tourists at close to 2 million visitors (1,949,100), approximately 70% of what it was in the same month in 2019.
However, these two wineries are preparing for a significant recovery in inbound tourism in the future – especially since Château Mercian Mariko Winery returned to the World’s Best Vineyards Top 50 last night, at number 39, after being just outside (at number 53) in 2022. The estate also took the title of ‘Best in Asia’.
Château Mercian is committed to the development of Japanese wine in general: introducing new cultivation methods and challenging traditional winemaking techniques with the vision of helping Japan to become “recognised as one of the world’s foremost wine regions”.
As part of this vision, the wineries have established an English-language tour programme with the aim of making Japanese wine an alcoholic beverage loved and enjoyed not only by people in Japan but also by people around the world, and to convey the value and appeal of Japanese wine and Château Mercian to overseas visitors through the winery tour experience.
Price of the tour, tasting of six wines, snacks of cheese and salami, and a Château Mercian gift is 15,000 yen ($105) per person (tax included).
Located in Nagano Prefecture close to the city of Ueda, the vineyard was established in 2003 and the modern winery was completed in 2019.
Surrounded by vineyards, this winery grows and vinifies international grape varieties such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc and has received high international acclaim, including top honours in the International Wine Challenge. It was also selected as the 30th best wine tourism destination in the world in the World’s Best Vineyards’ 2020 list and 33 in 2021 – the only Japanese winery ever to make the illustrious Top 50.
In addition, Mercian is working to revive and conserve Japan’s “satoyama” (society in harmony with nature) environment by converting idle and derelict land into vineyards.
In January, the Château Mercian Mariko Vineyard was selected as an approved site for the Ministry of the Environment’s 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity. The 30by30 target is based on the G7 2030 Nature Compact agreed at the G7 Summit in Japan in 2021 with the goal of halting and restoring biodiversity loss by 2030.
Since 2014, parent company Kirin Holdings has been conducting an ecological survey of the Mariko Vineyard in cooperation with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization’s Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences. The research shows that converting idle land into vineyards for Japanese wine with hedge planting and grass cultivation creates high-quality, vast grasslands and fosters a diverse ecosystem, including endangered species listed in the Ministry of the Environment’s Red Data Book.
Reservations are now being taken for new eco-tours that will take place on September 2 and November 11 this year and five times next year. The photo above shows guests checking out the compost in a demonstration run for press.
Mercian Corporation president and CEO Michio Nagabayashi's commented:“I hope that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to experience Mercian's sustainable wine production. We will increase the opportunities for as many people as possible to experience Mercian's unique CSV (Creating Shared Value) with using all five senses. We hope to spread the message by having the winemakers themselves talk about their passion."
The number of foreign visitors to Japan decreased significantly in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 and in 2022 it was only about 10% of the pre-pandemic level. The most recent figure, from April 2023, estimates foreign tourists at close to 2 million visitors (1,949,100), approximately 70% of what it was in the same month in 2019.
However, these two wineries are preparing for a significant recovery in inbound tourism in the future – especially since Château Mercian Mariko Winery returned to the World’s Best Vineyards Top 50 last night, at number 39, after being just outside (at number 53) in 2022. The estate also took the title of ‘Best in Asia’.
Château Mercian is committed to the development of Japanese wine in general: introducing new cultivation methods and challenging traditional winemaking techniques with the vision of helping Japan to become “recognised as one of the world’s foremost wine regions”.
As part of this vision, the wineries have established an English-language tour programme with the aim of making Japanese wine an alcoholic beverage loved and enjoyed not only by people in Japan but also by people around the world, and to convey the value and appeal of Japanese wine and Château Mercian to overseas visitors through the winery tour experience.
Price of the tour, tasting of six wines, snacks of cheese and salami, and a Château Mercian gift is 15,000 yen ($105) per person (tax included).
Château Mercian Katsunuma Winery
The Château Mercian Katsunuma Winery has a 145-year history of winemaking displayed in the Château Mercian Wine Museum, which was renovated from the oldest wooden winery in Japan. The winery is easily accessible, being only about 100 minutes from Tokyo by train. The winery grows and vinifies mainly Koshu and Muscat Bailey A grapes, which are varieties indigenous to Japan, and allows visitors to fully enjoy the history and charm of Japanese wine.Château Mercian Mariko Winery
Located in Nagano Prefecture close to the city of Ueda, the vineyard was established in 2003 and the modern winery was completed in 2019.
Surrounded by vineyards, this winery grows and vinifies international grape varieties such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc and has received high international acclaim, including top honours in the International Wine Challenge. It was also selected as the 30th best wine tourism destination in the world in the World’s Best Vineyards’ 2020 list and 33 in 2021 – the only Japanese winery ever to make the illustrious Top 50.
In addition, Mercian is working to revive and conserve Japan’s “satoyama” (society in harmony with nature) environment by converting idle and derelict land into vineyards.
In January, the Château Mercian Mariko Vineyard was selected as an approved site for the Ministry of the Environment’s 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity. The 30by30 target is based on the G7 2030 Nature Compact agreed at the G7 Summit in Japan in 2021 with the goal of halting and restoring biodiversity loss by 2030.
Since 2014, parent company Kirin Holdings has been conducting an ecological survey of the Mariko Vineyard in cooperation with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization’s Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences. The research shows that converting idle land into vineyards for Japanese wine with hedge planting and grass cultivation creates high-quality, vast grasslands and fosters a diverse ecosystem, including endangered species listed in the Ministry of the Environment’s Red Data Book.
Reservations are now being taken for new eco-tours that will take place on September 2 and November 11 this year and five times next year. The photo above shows guests checking out the compost in a demonstration run for press.
Mercian Corporation president and CEO Michio Nagabayashi's commented:“I hope that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to experience Mercian's sustainable wine production. We will increase the opportunities for as many people as possible to experience Mercian's unique CSV (Creating Shared Value) with using all five senses. We hope to spread the message by having the winemakers themselves talk about their passion."
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