Japan's top winery aims to double production within ten years
Japan's top wine producer Chateau Mercian is aiming to double its production within ten years, with the winery's third estate due to open next year.
Founded in 1877, Château Mercian’s annual production currently sits at around 500,000 bottles produced from local hybrids such as Muscat Bailey and Koshur.
“The quality is reaching a nice level, but the quantity is still limited” Château Mercian’s president Teruyuki Daino told Drinks Business. Daino said he is anticipating a surge in exports, with Hong Kong tipped to be a key market, building on the city’s strong Japanese influences and many Japanese resturants.
To achieve its ambitious target, Mercian plans to open its third winery, Mariko Winery, next September in Nagano, a region said to be better suited to quality wine production given its relatively low rainfall.
Domestic wine production in Japan currently sits at around 22 million bottles a year, from around 300 wineries, while consumption is said to be only around 5%.
However, the trend for domestic wine consumption is growing, and earlier this year Japan tightened up the existing regulations on domestic wine production, allowing only wines made from grapes from Japan to be used in wine labeled as Japanese.