Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

5 minutes with... Nick Rowan, founder of Wine Fogg and author of Japanese Wine

Published: 24 February, 2026

Japanese wine expert Nick Rowan encourages people to explore the full spectrum of the country’s wines and regions.

Koshu: Putting Japanese wine on the map

Published: 21 January, 2026

Even within the UK wine trade, mention that you are off to Japan to learn more about the wines, and the comment comes back, ‘oh, rice wine, you mean sake?’. But with sake now firmly established on fine dining wine lists across Britain, a group of wine producers from Yamanashi Prefecture – the heartland of the indigenous white Koshu grape variety – believe that the time is ideal for a greater push for recognition in the ‘global shop window’ that is the UK. And with the wines ticking many on-trend boxes, being fresh and elegant, with naturally modest alcohol and just a soupçon of the exotic born of Japan origin, their food-friendly nature completes a picture of natural affinity with modern wine mores.

Koshu brings flavour of Japan to London

Published: 14 February, 2025

This year’s Koshu of Japan (KOJ) tasting at Japan House, which brought together some 100 or more trade and press for a tasting of the nine collaborating wineries last week, marked a further advance of these wines’ delicate footprint in the UK market.

Koshu: Japan’s own ‘English vineyard’ shows its array of styles in the UK

Published: 26 February, 2024

Wines of Koshu returned to its physical tasting last week after a run of Covid-related hiatuses. Now in its 15th year, the event was able to properly showcase its range of styles across the still, sparkling, oaked and orange spectrum.