Nihon Wine vs Kokunai Wine

The Distinction

After the 2018 wine labeling law took effect, every Japanese wine label must clearly indicate which of two categories it falls into:

日本ワイン (Nihon Wine / "Japanese Wine")

100% Japan-grown grapes, vinified in Japan. This is the meaningful "Japanese wine" category — the wines made by domains like Domaine Takahiko, Grace Wine, Coco Farm, Château Mercian (estate wines), and so on. As of 2024 there are roughly 493 wineries producing under this category.

国内製造ワイン (Kokunai-seizō Wine / "Domestically Manufactured Wine")

Wine bottled in Japan from any combination of:

• Foreign bulk wine
• Foreign concentrate
• Foreign grapes
• Mixtures of the above with Japanese-grown fruit

The country of origin of foreign components must be disclosed on the label. This is a much larger category by volume — most inexpensive Japanese-bottled supermarket wine sits here.

Why It Matters

Before 2018, the line between these two was not legally drawn. Producers using foreign juice could and did present their wines as "Japanese." Consumers had no clear way to distinguish a Yamanashi-grown Koshu from a Chilean-bulk wine bottled in Yokohama. The 2018 law forced the distinction onto every label.

This matters at three levels:

1. For drinkers — a way to know what is really in the bottle. 2. For producers — a defensible category that protects investment in Japanese vineyards. 3. For exporters and importers — a legally verifiable claim that "Japanese wine" actually means something.

Practical Reading Tips

The front label may use English. The back label — in Japanese — is the legally controlled one. Look for:

• 日本ワイン (Nihon Wine) — means: fully Japanese, label-protected term
• 国内製造ワイン (Kokunai-seizō Wine) — means: bottled in Japan, mixed or imported sourcing

If neither term appears clearly, the wine likely was bottled before 2018 or is mislabeled.

Details

• Legal basis: NTA Notification No. 18 of 2015, effective 2018-10-30
• See also: Japanese Wine Labeling Law (2018), GI Japan, Wine Tokku-ku