Volcanic Wine Awards | The Jancis Robinson Story

Japan wine – visit Yamanashi

Thursday 20 November 2025 • 1 min read
Suntory Tomi no Oka Winery

A guide to Japan’s most robust wine region by Yoko Obara DipWSET. See her introduction to Japan wine here. Harvest at Suntory’s Tomi no Oka Winery is pictured above.

About 90% of Japan’s wineries produce less than 100 kl (26,417 US gal) per year. That means that Japan wines are not always available in restaurants and retail outlets even in Japan. So the best way to get a taste of what’s going on is to get into wine country and visit the wineries.

I’d suggest starting in Yamanashi, the undisputed centre of Japanese wine production, with the longest...

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