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.
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