Wine Atlas

Yamanashi

GI Yamanashi, granted in 2013, was Japan's first geographical indication for wine. It covers the entire Yamanashi Prefecture, with the historic Katsunuma district in Koshu city as its viticultural heart. Koshu, an indigenous Vitis vinifera variety with over 1,000 years of cultivation history, is the signature grape, producing delicate, citrus-inflected whites. Muscat Bailey A, a Japanese hybrid developed in the 1920s, is the principal red variety. The region lies in a basin surrounded by mountains including Mount Fuji, creating a continental microclimate with marked diurnal temperature variation.

Delicate whites from Koshu; light, fruity reds from Muscat Bailey A