Goode’s Crib Sheets: No 1. Japanese wineries
This is the first of my crib sheets, and it was prompted by South African winegrower Mick Craven asking me for a crib sheet on Japanese wineries because he is visiting. Hence the topic of crib sheet No. 1.
The concept: my top tips on vinous themes. A personal ‘insider’s take’ that I hope will be useful, based on my experiences travelling the wine world and tasting widely. Honest and unbiased. And as a special feature I’m adding a confidence percentage at the end: how sure am I of these recommendations? Sometimes I have a lot of experience in a particular region, and I’m fully confident. In other cases I have enough experience to produce a crib sheet, but I may well have missed a few producers or wines because it’s not possible to taste everything. I apologise to producers who I’ve missed out on these lists, often for space reasons, but these crib sheets are meant for consumers and I can’t keep everyone happy.
- Domaine Takahiko, Hokkaido (natural, ethereal, hard to get hold of)
- Domaine Obuse, Nagano (everything is good here)
- De Montille, Hokkaido (outpost of famed Bourgogne producer, buy anything you can get)
- Chateau Mercian (larger producer making wines from Yamanashi and Nagano, everything is really good, and you should be able to find these wines)
- Mongaku Valley Winery, Hokkaido
- Niki Hills, Hokkaido
- Fujimaru Winery (based in Osaka, makes wines mostly from Hokkaido grapes)
- Coco Farm (brilliant, wide range of wine, based in Tochigi Prefecture, but also with vineyards in Hokkaido and Yamagata, and buy grapes from even more prefectures)
- Says Farm, Tomoya (natural leaning, coastal, excellent Albariño)
- Grace Wine, Yamanashi
- Shinshu Takayama Winery, Nagano (larger winery, solid quality)
- Vin d’Omachi Ferme 36, Nagano (naturally inclined)
- Domaine Hase, Nagano
- Gio Hills, Nagano
- Domaine Nakajima, Nagano
- Kido Winery, Nagano
- Kusunoko Winery, Nagano
Confidence level: I’ve visited Japan’s wine regions several times, but it’s a fast changing wine scene and some of these wineries are very small and just starting out, so I’ll give this list 75% confidence, meaning it’s very reliable but not infallible.
