Region

Regions

Wine regions and appellations, written from our experiences in the field.

Japan

Hokkaido

Japan’s northernmost wine frontier — cold-climate viticulture on volcanic soil

Hokkaido is Japan’s most exciting emerging wine region. Lower humidity, cooler temperatures, and volcanic soils produce wines of startling freshness — from Austrian-rooted Kerner and Zweigelt to increasingly serious Pinot Noir.

Yamanashi

Japan’s wine heartland — home of Koshu and the oldest continuously producing wineries in the country

Yamanashi Prefecture, centered around the town of Katsunuma at the foot of Mount Fuji, is Japan’s most important wine-producing region. It is home to the Koshu grape, over eighty wineries, and Japan’s first Geographical Indication for wine.

Katsunuma / Kofu Basin

France

Champagne

The world’s most celebrated sparkling wine region — and an unlikely hotbed of natural winemaking

Champagne is both the most industrial and potentially the most natural of wine regions. Six atmospheres of pressure, heavy glass, and high acidity create ideal conditions for minimal intervention — a paradox that a new generation of grower-producers is exploiting to extraordinary effect.