This time, we will give you an overview of the Fermier winery located within Niigata Wine Coast! Niigata Wine Coast is a region of Niigata wine where five wineries are located on the Echizen beach on the Sea of Japan, about 50 minutes from Niigata Station by free shuttle bus. This location is a terroir of coastal dunes where sea winds have deposited sediment flowing from the river to the sea on top of a bedrock layer of magma that was once discharged by the eruption of Mount Tsunoda. Because wines with rare characteristics grown from this "terroir of sea and sand" are produced, they are also called "wines of the sea.
The taste is elegant with minerality from the nature of this terroir, and has a light texture on the tongue, making it an excellent match for seafood dishes.
We spoke with Mr. Honda, winemaker at Fermier Winery. This article focuses on Mr. Honda and takes a look into the world of "wine of the sea.
★Terms of reference★ ・Fermier (French for "farmhouse wine") Honda's winery, Fermier, is also a family-run winery.) Terroir (Derived from the French word terre, meaning "terroir". It is used to refer to the characteristics of wine, coffee, tea, and other grape varieties that are a function of the geography, topography, and climate of the growing region.)
Digging into the roots with Mr. Honda, the winemaker at Fermier Winery!
Mr. Honda was actually a company employee in Tokyo.
Q. "How did you start making wine?"
A. When my love of wine grew and I decided that I wanted to make wine in my hometown of Niigata, I just had the opportunity to learn about wineries at Cavedocchi, which led me to establish a winery on the Niigata Wine Coast.
Q. "What is the attraction of grape and wine making in Niigata?
A. I want to make wine that shows the characteristics of Niigata's nature and soil. Unlike other alcoholic beverages, wine is not made with water or other additives, so it is believed that the quality of the grapes themselves determines the quality of the wine. In wine regions around the world, unique wines are produced that are rooted in the local terroir of each region. The Niigata Wine Coast's well-drained, lean, sandy terroir is ideal for wine grape cultivation, as it concentrates nutrients in the fruit (similar to stress cultivation of tomatoes). It produces good wines that are elegant, long-lasting, and tense."
Q. "Are there any difficulties in making wine from scratch?"
A.: There is no goal in winemaking, and we are constantly monitoring the weather and grape conditions in order to improve our wines through trial and error. It took about four years from the time we planted the seedlings until they became wine. Even after that, the hard work of making good grapes and wine continues. We also have a basic staff of three, with part-time workers during the busy season, to manage our two hectares of vineyards.
Q. "What is the best way to drink Niigata wine?
A. We recommend that you come to Niigata and enjoy our wines with the seasonal ingredients of Niigata in that season and time of year. For example, we recommend tempura wild vegetables filled with the fragrance of fresh greenery and Albariño (white wine) in spring, gazpacho and Pinot Gris (rosé wine) or bisque of seafood from the Sea of Japan (Nanban shrimp and others) and Chardonnay (white wine) in summer, or wild duck roti and Cabernet Franc (red wine) in winter.
Here are the grapes in April!
Budding buds
The main flow of the annual cycle of grape growth is as follows: [winter] pruning during dormancy → [spring] budding, bunch trimming and bunch plucking → [summer] plucking and defoliation during maturity → [autumn] harvesting at optimum ripeness.
We were able to see budding buds when we interviewed them this time.
