Kaze no Rouge

Producer: Coco Farm & Winery
Region: Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan (grapes from Yoichi, Hokkaido)
Grapes: Zweigelt (majority), with small amounts of Pinot Noir and Regent
Type: Red, still
Style: Elegant, medium-bodied, dry
Color: Deep garnet
Alcohol: 11.4%
Wild yeast: Yes
Any added sulphites: Minimal
Filtered: No
Serving temperature: 14-16°C
Please store in a cool, dark place.

Tasting notes

An elegant, cool-climate red built mainly around Zweigelt from Fujisawa Farm and other young growers in Yoichi, Hokkaido. Expect blueberry, dark cherry, and blood orange fruit alongside clove, tomato leaf, black pepper, tanned leather, and forest floor, with fresh, fine acidity, spicy notes, and soft tannin on a long finish. The 2006 vintage was served at the 2008 Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit dinner.

Food pairing

Sukiyaki and other simmered beef dishes, pickled turnip, scallop and salmon roe, grilled or roasted meats, and other dishes that pair well with a bright, moderately structured red.

Winemaking

Zweigelt was brought to Hokkaido from an Austrian monastery in the 1970s and has since become one of the region’s signature red grapes. The Fujisawa family’s fruit, grown in Yoichi’s cool climate, is fermented with wild yeast and carefully aged in barrel at Coco Farm’s hillside winery in Ashikaga to preserve its bright, aromatic character.

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