Ayana Misawa (三澤彩奈)

Life

Ayana Misawa is the daughter of Shigekazu Misawa (4th-generation proprietor of Grace Wine in Yamanashi) and the great-great-granddaughter of the estate’s 1923 founder, Chotarō Misawa. She trained internationally — at Bordeaux’s Faculty of Oenology, in South Africa (Stellenbosch), and in the Loire Valley — before joining Grace Wine full-time in 2008 as head of viticulture and winemaking.

Her training emphasized classical European fine-wine technique applied with discipline to a single variety: in her case, Koshu.

The Decanter Gold

The defining moment of Misawa’s career came at the 2017 Decanter World Wine Awards, where her Cuvée Misawa Akeno Koshu 2016 scored 98 points and won Gold — the first Japanese winery to do so. The recognition signaled to the international wine community that Koshu had crossed a credibility threshold from "interesting Japanese curiosity" to "world-class fine wine."

The 2016 Cuvée Misawa Akeno was sourced from a single 600–700m hillside vineyard at Akeno in northwestern Yamanashi. Vinification was classical sur lie — fermented in stainless steel, aged on fine lees, bottled with restraint.

Methodology

Misawa’s approach to Koshu has been methodical and site-driven. She has championed:

• Single-vineyard sourcing — separating the Akeno, Kayagatake, Toriibira, and Hishiyama parcels rather than blending across the estate
• Hillside terroir — proper drainage at altitude, rather than the historical valley-floor table-grape sites
• Vine age — preserving older Koshu plantings rather than replacing for yield
• Restrained winemaking — minimal new oak, careful lees management, no compensation for fruit shortcomings via technique

The approach has elevated not just Grace Wine but Yamanashi’s collective reputation.

Why She Matters

Ayana Misawa is the figure who pushed Koshu — and Japanese fine wine more broadly — across the international credibility threshold. Without the 2017 Decanter Gold, Koshu would still occupy the "regional specialty" niche it had held for decades. With it, the variety has a clear position in serious global wine conversations.

She also represents an important generational shift: the first Japanese winemaker trained at Bordeaux and Stellenbosch standards but committed entirely to a Japanese variety, rather than imitating European varieties or migrating between them.

Details

• Born: 1980s (exact year not publicly disclosed)
• Family: 5th-generation Misawa family (Grace Wine, founded 1923)
• Training: Bordeaux (oenology), Stellenbosch (South Africa), Loire
• Joined Grace Wine: 2008
• Role: Head of viticulture and winemaking
• Notable recognition: Decanter Gold (Cuvée Misawa Akeno Koshu 2016, 98 pts, DWWA 2017)