posted on September 9, 2019

  Grapes, major part of fall fruits in Japan, are in season now. 90% of grapes grown in the country are eaten fresh and only 10% are processed, including for wine making. Yamanashi prefecture, west of Tokyo, is the leading and largest producer of grapes and is home to about 30% of all wineries in Japan. In the first weekend of September, a wine festival was held at l’Orient Wine, a winery in the region of Katsunuma. The highlight of the festival was the tasting of “moromi wine”. It is comparable to Federweißer in Germany and le vin bourru in France. Its name comes from the Japanese word “moromi”, the fermenting, unfiltered mixture of rice, water, yeast and koji mold to make sake. Unlike European countries, bottled moromi wines are prohibited to go to market here by the Liquor Tax Law and moromi wine can be consumed only for several days at a tasting event held by a very few wineries in Japan. This makes many wine lovers flock to this wine festival. Along with the winery’s signature wines and tasty snacks offered under the vine, visitors enjoyed the fresh young wine, which tastes slightly sweet and sparkling. An opaque hue is one of its key features. This wine festival is an annual event and the reservation is essential.