Japan's koshu wines are finally landing in the U.S. Our panel of experts shares notes from a tasting.
By Corie Brown
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Tuesday, 26 October 2010 |
16:51
Koshu wine from Japan is a mystery in the United States. Few Americans have tasted it. No U.S. wine stores stock it. And only a handful of restaurants have koshu on their wine list. That may soon change. Japan's koshu vintners are modernizing their wineries and overhauling their vineyards as they race to be the first to produce a koshu that is up to international standards.
Can dry, white koshu capture the imagination of theyoung sommeliers and cutting edge retailers whose recommendations canturn unknowndiscoveriesinto sensations? Is it the next wine geek wine?
Those were the questions facing a wine shop owner, a restaurateur, a wine publicist and two sommeliers who sat down recently in Los Angeles with Zester Daily to taste 14 koshu wines. Only one of the tasters had any idea what to expect; Providence chef-owner Michael Cimarusti learned about koshu on a recent trip to Japan. He was so intrigued with the wine that he asked Providence sommelier Drew Langley to select one to add to the restaurant’stasting menu. (Langley selected two wines from Katsunuma Jyozo, an older family-owned winery that has partnered with Bordeaux producer Bernard Magrez to distribute koshu in Europe and the United States.)
Koshu grows up
Koshu was cheap syrupy swill until the idea of high-quality dry koshu gained traction in the last decade. Even now, only a few dozen producers -- almost all located in the Yamanashi Prefecture at the base of Mt. Fuji -- are working to produce a koshu good enough to appeal to European and American wine lovers.
Found only in Japan, koshu is a hybrid of vitis vinifera, the species that includesmost popular wine grapes, and an unidentified wild grape according to research at University of California at Davis. For most of its 1,000 year history in Japan, koshu has been dismissed as a tart, difficult to ripen table grape with an unusually thick, bitter skin.
Typically a light wine with natural acidity, koshu often tastes and smells like lemon, lime or grapefruit peel. It can also be bitter, increasingly so the longer the juice remains in contact with the grape skins. At this experimental stage in the koshu movement, the wines are more promising than profound and the range of styles can be bewildering.
Randy Clement, co-owner of Silverlake Wine, and Langley found the variances between the wines so extreme that they questioned whether all were produced using the same variety of grape. "The wines are all over the place," said Serry Osmena, who markets an international portfolio of wines.
Sugar adds complexity
A key variable in the wines is chapitalization. Adding sugar before fermentation to beef up a wine is a common practice with koshu. Japan's wet, overcast climate has too few sunny days to promote development of natural grape sugars. To compensate, vintners use varying amounts of sugar, increasing the alcohol levels from the 10 percent typical of unchapitalized koshu to as high as 13 percent. Clement thought chapitalization improved koshu, noting the resultinghigher alcohol level gave wines in the tasting more body and complexity. Patrick Comiskey, a Zester Daily contributor, preferred the unadulterated version. "They are so angular as to be razor sharp,” he said, “heavenly to pair with tofu or dashi dishes."
Ahint of koshu's characteristic bitterness was appealing to some panel members, but not to everyone. For Langley, the best koshus are produced sur lie. Leaving the wine to age, even briefly, on the yeast sediment, rounds out the flavors and, he said, "adds elegance."
Hold the oak
There was agreement that the koshu in the tasting that was obviously aged in oak lost its singular character. "It's a turnoff for sommeliers," said Eduardo Porto Carreiro, wine director at Grace Restaurant (whose new home is being built on the site of the rectory of St. Vibiana's Cathedral) in Los Angeles. But, most tasters agreed, that wine might well turn out be the most popular with diners.
The koshusreminded the panelists of white wines from seaside regions in Greece, Portugal and Spain typically priced at $15 to $20 a bottle. "In a blind tasting," said Lou Amdur, owner of Lou on Vine wine bar, "I would guess this isan oddball grape from the Loire because of the intense minerality."
Porto Carreiro doesn't think Koshu can be compared to other wines: "It is unique." And that, we all agreed, is reason enough to keep track of Koshu's progress.
Only two koshu producers currently distribute their wines in the United States.
To access the wines of Millesimes, contact Robert Harmelin at Allied Beverage:
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or (856) 234-4111.
Katsunuma Jyozo’s wines are available through Toshio Ueno at Mutual Trading Company:
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or (213) 626-9458.
The Wines of Koshu of Japan, a sales and marketing organization representing many of the other wines tasted by the Zester Daily panel, plans to bring those wines to the United States within the year. For more information, contact Lynne Sherriff at
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or at 61 Albert Drive, London, U.K, SW19 6LB; 001-44-20-87802937
Koshu Tasting Notes
2007 Millesimes Koshu, 10 percent alcohol -- $12 Bone dry with sake-like aromas. Bitter lemon with minerals.
2007 Millesimes Cuvee Denis Dubourdieu, 10 percent alcohol -- $20 Bone dry with a slight salinity. Celery with a hint of green herbs. A favorite of the panel.
2009 Diamond Winery Chanter Y.A. Amarillo, 12 percent alcohol Lemon blossom aromas with lemon-lime fruit flavors. A favorite.
2009 Diamond Winery Sai-Sai, 12.5 percent alcohol Extremely light with citrus peel aromas and flavors. Bitter.
2009 Katsunuma Jyozo Aruga Branca Clareza sur lie, 12 percent alcohol -- $45 Mineral flavors. Pleasing texture and weight. A favorite.
2009 Katsunuma Jyozo Aruga Branca, Issehara Vineyard, 12 percent alcohol -- $70 Sauvignon blanc-like green grass aromas and tastes. Bitter melon finish. A favorite.
2009 Marufuji Winery Rubaiyat sur lie, 12.5 percent alcohol Yeast aromas and grapefruit flavors. Tastes like sourdough bread.
2009 Grace Wine Hishiyama Vineyard, 12 percent alcohol Light and dry with a whiff of citrus peel.
2009 Grace Wine Cuvee Misawa, Akeno Vineyard, 12 percent alcohol Light with a slight banana flavor. Bitter finish.
2009 Gassin Soleil Levant, sur lie 12 percent alcohol Watermelon aromas and flavors. A favorite.
2008 Gassin Chino Vineyard, 12 percent alcohol French oak aromas and flavors overwhelm the citrus tastes.
2009 Chateau Sakaori Kisvin, 12 percent alcohol Hint of cider with a slightly sweet finish.
2009 Chateau Lumiere 12 percent alcohol Belgian beer aromas and flavors. Slightly fizzy. A favorite.
Corie Brown, the co-founder and general manager of Zester Daily, is an award-winning food writer at work on a book about climate change and wine.
Top Photo: Pergola trellised koshu vines at Ogawa vineyard in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Credit: Masahiro Kato
Thank you very much for your quick reply. This information is little known to Japanese wine journalism or educated wine-lovers, I am afraid. I will urge my friends in wine journalism to take a contact with UC-Davis. Thanks again.
norihisa ,
October 28, 2010
Hybrid? Absolutely
The research from UC Davis is very clear. Koshu is a hybrid. But there is lots of misinformation out on this point because Davis has never published a press release on this point or published the research. Both of which they should do to clear up the confusion. Pat Bailey -- pjbailey@ucdavis.edu -- in the press office at UC Davis can help, if you want to contact the researchers.
coriebrown2 ,
October 28, 2010
Very interesting article
A fantastic article!
I think what I find most interesting is the response of tasters that the difference in taste of each Koshu wine brings the suspicion that other grapes may have been used.
In my experience the incredible winemakers in Yamanashi are so open to playing with their processes, in order to derive the best results, that indeed their wines can vary quite widely in flavor.
I believe that is one of the great things of the koshu grape. It is a canvas that allows the artistry of the winemaker to truly shine through.
Great work.
Pablo
a guest ,
October 27, 2010
Hybrid?
Thank you for interesting post. It is refreshing to know American response toward Koshu, which is naturally different from those in UK to which KOJ has been keen to export. By th way, I am curious about the UC-Davis research saying Koshu is "hybrid" between Vitis Vinifera and some "wild"variety, as I read many articles assuming Koshu is a variety of Vitis Vinifera proper. I believe KOJ is also claiming so. I would appreciate if you could kindly explicate the UC-Davis research? Or where could I locate the research article?
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