“I also make wine.”
Why I wanted to create world-class brewed liquor and wine

Kuheiji Kuno, the 2013th generation owner of Manjo Jozo, a sake brewery in Nagoya, started making rice in pursuit of “realism.” In order to pursue even more realism, a project I have been working on since XNUMX is winemaking in France, the home of wine.

In order to spread the depth of Japanese sake to the world, Kuno launched a vigorous business offensive into starred restaurants in France. When he talked to a restaurant sommelier, he realized that wine is the cornerstone of brewed spirits around the world.

``I started thinking that in order to talk to them on an equal footing, I needed to be able to say, ``I also make wine,'''' Kuno says.

The quickest way is to buy an existing winery. That way, he would be able to acquire everything from the fields to the brewing equipment in one go, and be able to start brewing from that year. However, Kuno decided to try making wine using a completely different process. He started by sending his close confidant, Hirotaka Ito, who had extensive experience in brewing sake but no know-how in winemaking, to France to learn winemaking.

"You can't become a brand by building on something that someone else has created. That's why I really wanted to build a story from scratch."

Ito, who went to France on Kuno's orders, was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1979. He got a job at Manjo Jozo, a sake brewery in his hometown, and has had 15 years of experience making sake. Like Kuno, he also loves wine.

Entrusted with making wine
Days of learning in Burgundy

Kuno chose the Burgundy region, one of France's most famous wine-producing regions, as the place to make wine. It is the birthplace of Romanée-Conti, the most expensive red wine in the world. The red grape variety is Pinot Noir. The resulting wine has a delicate flavor, but it is also considered the most difficult variety to handle.

After moving to France, Ito began by attending a language school to learn French, and then trained at Denis Morte, a famous producer in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin.

The company mission Ito received from Kuno was to find a base for wine production and acquire vineyards. However, Burgundy boasts a long wine-making tradition. No one would so easily offer space and sell vineyards to an outsider, a Japanese person from the East with a different culture. In the end, it took three years to acquire a building for the winery in the village of Moret-Saint-Denis, next to Gevrey-Chambertin. Kuno says.

“Right around the time we entered the wine industry, there was a lot of speculative activity in the wine world, with rich people buying up wineries and vineyards.So it was natural that people were wary of us. As I said above, after three years, people have realized that what we are trying to do is not a temporary thing."

Kuno decided to build a brewery in a building located in the middle of the village of Moret-Saint-Denis, facing a road that runs along a famous brewery field commonly known as the Grand Cru Road. You can clearly see the condition of Clos de Tar, a special grade field. A signboard reading ``Domaine Kuheiji'' was finally put up on this building.

Although winemaking was possible in the fall of 2016, the vineyard contract had not yet been concluded at that time. Therefore, this year we decided to make wine from purchased grapes, but 2016 was a vintage that suffered from frost and hail damage that is rare even in Burgundy. Grape yields were extremely low, and many farmers were reluctant to sell their grapes. Ito bowed to the farmer and managed to obtain a bottle of Haute Cotes de Nuits Pinot Noir. The first batch was only XNUMX barrels.

Both in name and reality
Becomes Domaine Kuheij

The year after that, 2017. Get the long-awaited vineyard. A 2.5 hectare field located down the slope from the brewery and across from the prefectural road. The appellations (designation of origin) are Burgundy, Coteau Bourguignon, and Bourgogne Aligoté, and although it is not a Grand Cru or even a village name field, it is an old tree that is over 40 years old. Now preparations are complete for it to become ``Domaine Kuheij'' both in name and reality.

``If you put sake and wine side by side, they may seem to be two different things, but the principle is the same.With rice, the seeds become alcohol, but with wine, the fruit becomes alcohol.That's the only difference. ” said Kuno. That's why Ito was able to finish the wine without hesitation, he says.

Ito uses natural brewing methods that involve as little human intervention as possible. Black grapes such as Pinot Noir and Gamay are not destemmed and are brewed in their clusters. With this method, the grapes placed in the fermentation tank collapse under their own weight and ferment naturally, and are protected by the carbon dioxide gas produced during this process, so there is no need to add sulfite, an antioxidant, during the brewing stage.

``I felt that recent Burgundy wines were too controlled.Of course, if you make a mistake, you'll end up with vinegar, so you can't do nothing.However, if you control too much, any wine will turn out to be like Kintaro candy.'' It becomes a uniform thing like this.”

Domaine Kuheij's wines intentionally leave room for nature to pursue aromas and flavors that express the characteristics of the region and vintage.

When you actually taste it, the red wine ``Coteau Bourguignon'' has a charming mouthfeel with aromas of freshly picked red fruits such as raspberries and red currants. The white wine ``Burgundy Aligoté'' has a scent of white flowers and citrus fruits, and a fresh, pure acidity that will make you salivate.

Consistent sake production from rice cultivation in rice fields and wine production from grape cultivation. What kind of synergy will these two bring to Manjo Jozo, and will this be reflected in future sake and wine production? It is impossible not to check the evolution of sake and wine every year.

(Titles omitted)

Kuheiji Kuno

Manjo Jozo Representative Director Brewer

Born in Nagoya in 1965. The 97th generation of Manjo Brewery. After dropping out of university, he continued his acting career, but due to his father's illness, he took over the family business. From the mechanical mass production and subcontracting work style of his predecessors, he returned to small-scale production and handmade farm work. He launched a new brand, ``Brewer Kuheiji,'' and released it in 2010. He is actively trying to expand overseas. He started growing rice in 2016 and started producing wine in Burgundy, France in XNUMX.