KOSHU WINE PROJECT

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IN THE VINEYARD…

VINEYARD SITES - from seed to fruit

We have decided to take a scientific approach to grape growing in Japan. We have created three experimental vineyards;

1. One vineyard site is located at the foot of Mount Fuji on the Asagiri Plateau. The characteristics here are volcanic fertile soil, high altitude, with considerable rainfall and high humidity. We decided to use this site because it is typical of the conditions throughout much of Japan. This vineyard is located 90 minutes outside of Tokyo and is 30 minutes from the major highways. We believe that the techniques that work here can be applied to other areas in Japan.
2. The second vineyard site is in Tsuru. Using completely organic farming methods on a lower altitude with fertile clay soil, this site will provide us with a good contrast from the previous.
3. The third area is near Katsunuma. This site will allow us to develop techniques for people who have traditionally grown Koshu grapes for centuries.We are presently researching the effects of yield reduction on sugar levels on Koshu.

Viticulture not Winemaking 

The distinction between viticulture and winemaking is often confused and should not be. Viticulture is associated with the growth of the grapevine and the condition of fruit that it bears. Once the fruit is picked and transported to the winery it is then the winemaker who must make the best wine possible. It is true that many professionals combine the two practices to create what the French term a ‘vigneron’ or ‘winegrower’. It is in this sense that the two separate professions relate, in that the resulting product is wine and that an interest in one should result in an interest in the other. In the New World however, a viticulturalist may hold no interest in winemaking and vice-versa (perhaps to the detriment of the wine).  

Viticulture almost undoubtedly receives less recognition for wine quality, despite the fact that it almost undoubtedly deserves more. The act of managing the vines to produce high quality, disease free fruit far outweighs what the winemaker can do to that fruit when considering the quality of the wine. A winemaker who receives poor fruit is never going to be able to make a fine wine. This is not to say however that the winemaker cannot ruin high quality grapes to make poor wine, this is perhaps why many people decide that they would like to do both, quality control from the vineyard into the bottle is prized by many wine labels.  

The task of the viticulturalist is a difficult one and involves many facets. Below are some brief examples of what a viticulturalist needs to consider 

Soil: The vine must first and foremost have suitable soil in which to grow. Site selection is obviously the most important component, however fertilization, irrigation and soil condition must all be monitored and corrected by the vineyard manager. Considerations such as cover crops, machinery use, irrigation methods/timing and nutrient availability should all be accounted for. 

Growth: The growth of the vine is the most obvious and important tool for the viticulturalist. Monitoring of the vine will give the initial indication of any problems in the vineyard and assist in determining the correct treatment for the vineyard in order to produce the best grapes. An understanding of vine physiology and normal growth patterns is therefore crucial for a good viticulturalist in order to determine when there may be a problem and what that problem may be. The growth of the vine also determines other management practices such as pruning and yield manipulation. 

Pest and Disease: In the vineyard there are always pests and disease that eat, grow on, or infect grapevines. Sometimes these pests or diseases have little or no affect on vine growth and can be ignored, however many pest and diseases can have a devastating affect on vine health and therefore must be monitored and controlled effectively. Control normally involves the spraying of fungicides and pesticides, however these should be included in a more complete and integrated management system involving many other facets including vineyard sanitation, canopy management and varietal choice. 

Viticulture is an interesting and complicated job with a high level of practical involvement in all seasons. There is always something that needs to be done in the vineyard.  

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Viticulture in Japan

A Comparison with Other Wine Growing Regions 

The growth of vines specifically for the production of wine dates back to before the Roman Empire and is common now in many countries around the world. In areas such as France Italy and Spain the cultivation of the vine has been honed over many years to the point where the growers in these regions know where to plant what varietals and how to manage them to produce the best possible fruit for wine. 

Japan is also steeped in tradition and has many years of experience to draw on, yet there are a lot of management techniques and vine characteristics that determine very different parameters in fruit composition. 

For an understanding of why this might be one must first try to understand the vine growing culture and indeed the fruit growing culture in general. In Japan many fruits are considered delicacies and are grown with appearance in mind as to increase there value in the market. The viticulture industry specifically does not make a distinction between table grape vineyards and wine grape vineyards, therefore with an emphasis on the appearance of fruit throughout the growing season there is little effort made by growers to increase flavor parameters so sought after by wineries. This position is perfectly understandable given that table grapes fetch a far better market price and can be produced at very high crop loads. Although hard to pin down reasons why this might be the case some of these may have had an influence:

• Until very recently grape growers were not allowed to make wine from their own fruit
• Until recently the market in Asia for alcoholic drinks was very small and is still smaller than in many other countries.

The result of this is that in every season the fruit that may not quite be good enough (in appearance) for selling as table are sold to the wineries to make wine. 

The vineyards themselves are managed extremely efficiently for the production of great table grapes. They manipulate the flowers to make the bunches the right size and shape, they train the vines along a pergola trellis to maximize the suns energy, they crop at between 20-30 tonne/ha (over twice as much as many other winegrowing regions). 

What we hope to do with the Koshu project is encourage the production of grapes specifically for wine, that is with emphasis on flavor development and reducing yield (having less grapes per hectare), rather than appearance.

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ORGANIC FARMING

In the past, agriculture was natural because there was no other way to do it.  Until the recent introduction of technological research, farming was an enormously difficult (i.e. disease, war, weather).  In most years farmers would come close to starvation and very rare occasions they were able to get a decent crop.  At that time, nature was seen as the enemy; if it rained it was a problem, it is didn’t rain there was a problem.  Agriculture has been a constant struggle against nature

In the 20th century, people looked for a means to suppress nature through science and technology.  It began with irrigation and fertilization, and on to more advanced means such as chemical pesticides up to genetic engineering.  But what happened was toward the end of the 20th century; people began to notice that there could be severe consequences from suppressing nature.  Although there may be some detrimental effects of nature, there are more positive things in nature.  Technology upsets this balance and it can potentially destroy more good than bad.  Towards the end of the 20th century, people started to looks at ways to work harmoniously with nature rather then defeated it.

Seeing nature as man’s friend rather than the enemy…

This took on two characteristic of farming, one is organic farming and the other is biodynamic farming.  Organic farming is only using natural products − i.e. no chemicals or no pesticides, while biodynamic is not only using natural products, but it also means taking natural rhythms into consideration − like cycles of the moon to predict fermentation patterns.  Most of these organic techniques have been developed over tens of thousand of years and were specific to geographical regions.  So for example, what was handed down from father to son in Southern France is very difference than that of Yugoslavia.  What was handed down may also not have been entirely accurate; some was true, while others may have been superstition or hearsay.

What made success possible for organic farming, was the introduction of computers and the Internet.  A collection of information from around the world created a comprehensive database that was shared.  For example, if someone wanted to create a vineyard, instead of smothering it with chemicals, it could analyze the information in the database (such as soil consistency and humidity), and consult with the database to find other similar regions that has dealt with the issue successfully.  The outstanding example for this phenomenon is New Zealand.  Traditionally, New Zealand was considered unsuitable for winemaking, because the soil is rich volcanic, has considerable rainfall and high humidity; all of these conditions are considered negative for winemaking.  So looking through the database, finding similar areas in the world that were successful with grape growing, they were able to developed techniques to start a world class wine industry.  Twenty years ago, no one even considered the possibility of good wine from New Zealand, but now, it is considered to be one of the best in the world.

COMING SOON - HOW TO ESTABLISH YOUR OWN VINEYARD

VINEYARD TIMELINE IN JAPAN

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