Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

Marks & Spencer's Japanese wine is going down well with shoppers

Published:  23 July, 2014

The first Japanese wine to be listed by a UK supermarket has proved popular with shoppers at larger Marks & Spencer (M&S) stores. Sol Lucet Koshu was launched in May in limited quantities, retails at £12.99 for 750ml, and has an abv of 11.5%. Sales have been 'really good', M&S told Harpers.

Sol Lucet Koshu is a white wine from the Kurambon Winery in the Yamanashi Prefecture at the foot of Mount Fuji. It is light-bodied with hints of Japanese citrus fruits such as yuzu and kabosu. The refreshing taste is largely due to a combination of extreme hot and cold temperatures and Yamanashi's volcanic soil, according to M&S.

The wine is made with Japan's native 'Koshu' grape, and benefits from an unusually detailed approach to winemaking -  the individual bunches of grapes on each of the Kurambon Winery's vines are furnished with a small paper 'umbrella', shading them from the sun.

M&S launched Sol Lucet Koshu as part of an ongoing initiative to provide customers with wines which match its food range.

"We are always shaping our wines to match with our food range", said Emma Dawson, M&S wine buyer.

"We selected this particular Koshu because it displays the grape variety really well, with dazzling lemongrass flavours that match brilliantly with sushi and Japanese food."

The introduction of Japanese wine follows the success of the 2012 launch of M&S's Eastern Mediterranean wine range, inspired by the region's food. Sales are increasing by 36% year on year.

Keywords: