Japanese Yamabudo Wild Grape Wine Experience
Japanese Yamabudo Wild Grape Wine Experience
Overview
John Daub and his friend Dean Newcomb travel deep into the mountains of Okayama Prefecture to visit Hiruzen Winery, a small family-run operation nestled within Daisen-Oki National Park at over 500 meters elevation. In the depths of a snowy January, they receive a warm welcome from CEO Ueki-san, who has been crafting wine from Yamabudo (山葡萄 / wild mountain grapes) for 36 years — since 1988. Hiruzen Winery is the only producer of Yamabudo wine in all of western Japan, making this a rare and special stop.
John and Dean taste everything the winery has to offer: non-alcoholic Yamabudo grape juice (surprisingly expensive due to the tiny yield from each seed-heavy berry), a delicate rosé, a sophisticated oak-aged red from 2018, and an award-winning pi-on ice wine. The tour then ventures into the distilling room, where Ueki-san produces momohatto (peach brandy) and a Yamabudo grappa — a pomace brandy with an intensely unique flavor drawn from the seeds. The episode captures the intimacy of a small craft winery in Japan's countryside, the challenges of cultivating wild grapes that require male and female vines to cross-pollinate, and the simple joy of discovering something that exists "only in Japan."
Highlights
- 00:00 John and Dean arrive at Hiruzen Winery in heavy snow, over 500 meters up in Daisen-Oki National Park — not the landscape you associate with wine country.
- 01:31 Tasting the non-alcoholic Yamabudo grape juice — John declares it "the best juice I've ever had" and learns why it costs more than the wine: the berries are tiny and nearly all seed, yielding almost no pulp.
- 05:00 The rosé wine — John admires the beautiful pink color and detects cherries and berries on the nose, calling it "very easy to drink."
- 09:36 Tasting the 2018 Yamabudo red wine — oak-forward, sophisticated, with vanilla and smoky notes from French and American oak barrels. John imagines it with a steak and a Harry Potter film.
- 12:17 Ueki-san explains the fascinating biology of Yamabudo vines: they are dioecious (separate male and female plants), making cross-pollination difficult compared to standard grapes. This is why the grapes are so scarce.
- 15:35 John pulls up Google Maps to orient viewers — a zoomed-out view of Japan showing their exact location on the Hiruzen Plateau, closer to the Sea of Japan side of Okayama.
- 16:21 Touring the barrel room — up to 60 French and American oak barrels aging wine, some for six months, some for up to three years. John is impressed by the scale hidden in this small operation.
- 25:17 The star of the show: the copper pot still that looks like a submarine or a Jules Verne invention. Ueki-san uses it to make momohatto (peach brandy) and Yamabudo grappa from the seeds and skins left over from winemaking.
- 27:13 John tastes the momohatto peach brandy at 40% ABV — "liquid heat" with a floral sweetness and a long, warming finish. He compares it favorably to Romanian țuică.
- 29:22 Tasting the Yamabudo grappa — Ueki-san explains it is essentially the same as Italian grappa, drunk after meals to aid digestion. John is blown away by the intense seed-derived flavor and wants to buy a bottle immediately.
- 34:08 Tasting the award-winning Hiruzen pi-on ice wine — a rare and highly coveted product. John mentions it sold out instantly in Tokyo.
- 36:50 John and Dean encounter Ueki-san's creative snowman, made with bowls to achieve a perfectly round shape and wine corks for eyes — a whimsical holiday tradition when grandchildren visit.
Timeline / Chapters
| Timestamp | Event |
|---|---|
| 00:00–01:00 | Arrival at Hiruzen Winery in snow; John introduces Dean Newcomb and the setting |
| 01:00–04:00 | Meeting Ueki-san; tasting non-alcoholic Yamabudo grape juice; explanation of why juice costs more than wine |
| 04:00–09:00 | Tasting Yamabudo rosé; comparing to red; discussion of Yamabudo grape characteristics vs. Tohoku varieties |
| 09:00–13:00 | Tasting 2018 Yamabudo red wine; oak barrel aging notes; Ueki-san explains male/female vine biology |
| 13:00–16:00 | Geographic context — elevation in Daisen-Oki National Park; why this is the only Yamabudo winery in western Japan |
| 16:00–19:00 | Barrel room tour — French and American oak; aging times; bottling process; small-scale family operation |
| 19:00–22:00 | Continuing the tour; discussion of German white pi-on wine; where to buy Hiruzen wine |
| 22:00–25:00 | Ueki-san's background — 36 years of winemaking; John reflects on the unique flavor and character |
| 25:00–28:00 | The copper pot still for momohatto and grappa; John tastes the peach brandy at 40% ABV |
| 28:00–32:00 | Tasting Yamabudo grappa; Ueki-san explains the Italian grappa tradition and digestive benefits |
| 32:00–34:00 | John dreams of cheese to pair with the wine; reference to upcoming visit to a local cheesery |
| 34:00–36:00 | Tasting award-winning pi-on ice wine; discussion of its popularity in Tokyo |
| 36:00–39:00 | Outdoor segment — snow-covered vineyard; the 9:1 female-to-male vine ratio; view of Mount Daisen; closing remarks |
Japan Travel Tips
- How to get there: Hiruzen is in Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan side. The nearest major station is JR Okayama Station, from which you can take a bus or drive into the mountains. Renting a car is the most practical option for visiting the plateau.
- Best time to visit: The winery is open year-round, but visiting in autumn (harvest season, September–November) offers the chance to see the actual Yamabudo harvest and winemaking in action. Winter provides a dramatic snowy landscape and the experience of drinking wine fireside.
- What to drink: Do not miss the Yamabudo rosé (easy-drinking, cherry notes) and the 2018 red (oak-aged, vanilla, smoky — excellent with red meat). If available, the pi-on ice wine is a collector's item.
- What to look for: Hiruzen Winery is one of the most obscure and special wine producers in Japan. The Yamabudo grape is native to Japan and nearly impossible to find outside Tohoku and this one western Japan producer.
- Cost: Prices were not explicitly stated, but Ueki-san notes the non-alcoholic juice is more expensive than the wine due to the extremely low yield from each seed-heavy berry.
- Buying the wine: The best experience is buying directly at the winery. A specialty shop in Shimbashi, Tokyo also carries regional products from Okayama and Tottori where it may occasionally be found. Otherwise, seek out specialty wine shops in Okayama Prefecture.
- Tip for foreigners: This is a small, rural Japanese winery — call ahead before visiting to confirm hours. English may be limited, but the warmth of the welcome is universal.
Japanese Language & Culture Notes
- Yamabudo (山ぶとう/山葡萄): Wild mountain grapes (Vitis coignetiae) indigenous to Japan. Unlike commercial grape vines which are self-pollinating hermaphrodites, Yamabudo requires both a male and a female plant for cross-pollination and fruit production. This dioecious nature makes cultivation extremely difficult and yields are naturally low.
- Daisen-Oki National Park (大山隠岐国立公園): A national park spanning Okayama, Tottori, and Shimane prefectures on the Sea of Japan side. Mount Daisen (大山), at 1,729 meters, is often called "the Mount Fuji of the West" for its dramatic profile.
- Hiruzen Plateau (蒜山高原): A highland plateau at approximately 500+ meters in Maniwa City, Okayama. Famous for dairy farming, craft cheeses, and now boutique winemaking. The climate is cooler and more alpine than most of Okayama.
- Grappa (グラッパ): Italian pomace brandy. Ueki-san uses the Japanese term "grappa" directly, reflecting the international nature of his craft. In Italy, grappa is traditionally served after a meal as a digestif. The alcohol stimulates digestion and cleanses the palate.
- Momohatto (桃ertino/momohatto): A Japanese fruit brandy, in this case peach brandy at 40% ABV, produced from local fruit using a traditional Italian-style pot still.
- JA Hiruzen: The local Japan Agricultural (JA) cooperative. Hiruzen is also famous for its dairy and beef — "JA Hiruzen beef" is a regional specialty.
- Osugi (大杉): A great cedar — a towering conifer tree symbolizing the spirit of Japan's mountains. Dean's quip about "only the Osugi go to the mountains" plays on the Osugi's dominance in highland cedar forests, paralleling the dominance of female vines (9:1) in the Yamabudo vineyard.
Food & Drink Guide
| Item | Description | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yamabudo non-alcoholic juice (山ぶとうジュース) | Deep red, intensely flavored wild grape juice | Tasted at Hiruzen Winery | More expensive than the wine due to tiny seed-heavy berries yielding almost no pulp. John called it "the best juice I've ever had." |
| Yamabudo rosé | Beautiful pink, easy-drinking, notes of cherry and berries | Tasted at Hiruzen Winery | 2021 vintage. John found it "very easy to drink" with a pleasant tartness. |
| Yamabudo red (2018) | Oak-aged, French and American barrels, vanilla, smoky, sophisticated | Tasted at Hiruzen Winery | John recommends it with steak. Aged up to 3 years in barrel. |
| Momohatto (桃ertino/peach brandy) | 40% ABV peach brandy, "liquid heat," floral sweetness | Tasted at Hiruzen Winery | Made in a copper pot still. John compared it to Romanian țuică. |
| Yamabudo grappa | Pomace brandy from seeds and skins, intense seed-derived flavor | Tasted at Hiruzen Winery | 90°C distillation for half a day. Drunk after meals as a digestif. John was most impressed by this unique product. |
| Pi-on ice wine (ピオンアイスワイン) | Award-winning sweet wine from the pi-on hybrid grape | Tasted at Hiruzen Winery | Won silver medal. Sold out instantly in Tokyo. |
| JA Hiruzen beef | Regional beef from cattle raised on the Hiruzen Plateau | Referenced for pairing with wine | John imagines eating it alongside the Yamabudo red wine. |
| Hiruzen cheese (蒜山チーズ) | Local artisanal cheese from the plateau's dairy farms | Mentioned as upcoming destination | John is eager to pair Hiruzen wine with local cheese — a future video. |
People
- John Daub — Host, Only in Japan Go. An American who has lived in Japan for 30+ years. His genuine enthusiasm for the Yamabudo products — especially the grappa — is infectious. He navigates between English narration and helping translate Ueki-san's Japanese explanations for the audience.
- Dean Newcomb — John's friend and travel companion. Present throughout, driving so John can taste the wines. Offers commentary on the scenery, the wine's characteristics, and shares in the humor of the visit. Often the one asking Ueki-san practical questions about the process.
- Ueki-san — CEO of Hiruzen Winery. A quiet, experienced craftsman with 36 years of winemaking experience (since 1988). Speaks mostly in Japanese, providing detailed explanations of the winemaking process, the challenges of Yamabudo cultivation, and the traditions behind grappa. His passion and pride in the craft are evident throughout.
Key Takeaways
- Yamabudo is Japan's indigenous wild grape and a rarity in the wine world. Unlike commercial grapes, it requires male and female vines to cross-pollinate, making cultivation deeply challenging and yields naturally small.
- Hiruzen Winery is the only Yamabudo producer in western Japan, located at 500+ meters elevation in Daisen-Oki National Park — an unlikely but stunning location for winemaking.
- The non-alcoholic Yamabudo juice is paradoxically more expensive than the wine because the tiny, seed-heavy berries yield almost no pulp. It is considered a premium health drink in Japan.
- Japanese grappa (grappa) made from Yamabudo pomace is an extraordinary and unique spirit — intense, seed-derived flavors unlike anything from Europe, despite sharing the same name.
- Small craft wineries like Hiruzen are worth the journey into Japan's countryside. The best experience is buying directly at the source, and visiting gives access to products that rarely reach Tokyo or international markets.
- The 9:1 female-to-male ratio in the Yamabudo vineyard reflects the efficiency challenge of dioecious plants — a fascinating botanical fact that makes every bottle of Hiruzen Yamabudo wine something special.
Notable Quotes
01:31 "Yeah, that might be the best juice I've ever had."
05:56 "The Yamabudo is indigenous to just Japan. So I think it makes it very special."
08:59 "It's wild. So it's very hard to get the trees to mate. We need more romance here."
10:43 "Oh wow. That is... Gene I wish you could do that. I'll have to buy a bottle. I'll have to buy a bottle for later."
11:25 "I really like this one because it would go good with meat like a steak or something. A little bit of cheese, game over. Happy, happy man."
25:43 "This looks like something from a Jules Verne book."
27:50 "Oh, that's got some kick."
28:27 "It has been chilled, but it's like liquid heat and that's good."
30:48 "The unique smell is from the seeds. It's been boiling for half a day at 90 degrees."
38:07 "Women outnumber the men 9 to 1. In the grape world."
Related Topics
- Only in Japan Go — rural Japan exploration
- Japanese craft alcohol and distilling
- Japanese regional cuisine and terroir
- Daisen-Oki National Park and the San'in region
- Japanese fruit brandies and liqueurs
- Japan's indigenous plant species and agriculture
- Mountain villages and depopulation in rural Japan
- The pi-on grape variety and Japanese wine history
Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #hiruzen-winery #yamabudo #wild-grape-wine #okayama-prefecture #daisen-oki-national-park #japanese-wine #wine-tourism #japan-countryside #grappa #momohatto #peach-brandy #ice-wine #pion-grape #rural-japan #mountain-grapes #only-in-japan #john-daub #dean-newcomb #japanese-alcohol #craft-winery #japanese-distillery #japanese-food-culture #maniwa-city #hiruzen-plateau
Full Transcript
Speakers:
- John Daub — Host, Only in Japan Go
- Dean Newcomb — John's companion
- Ueki-san — CEO, Hiruzen Winery (speaks in Japanese; translations/responses by John)
00:00:01 John Daub: Hey everybody, welcome to Hiruzen Winery. This is in the center of Okayama Prefecture in the Daisen Oki National Park. You can see the snow is quite deep here, and it is cold. Here's Dean with me again, Dean Newcomb. I'm John Daub. This is Only in Japan Go, and we're taking you inside of this winery to get a tour of what's called Yamabudo, or wild vine grapes, or mountain grapes, I guess Yamabudo would be.
00:00:36 John Daub: It's warm in here. There's a pan around here. It's a beautiful winery. You get the snow outside here, loads of bottles. I'm going to go straight in and just try this because I haven't had this variety of Yamabudo grape before. They're very famous in the Tohoku region up in Iwate, and this one is the only one, I believe, in western Japan. Is that right, Dean?
00:01:01 Dean Newcomb: Yeah, that's what we were told. The only Yamabudo.
00:01:05 John Daub: There's this much snow on the floor, and you don't normally associate that with the wine growing area, right?
00:01:08 Dean Newcomb: No, not with all this snow, but they make it here, and we have some delicious bottles of wine right here, and this is Ueki-san, the CEO of Hiruzen Winery.
00:01:21 John Daub: Can I have a drink?
00:01:22 Ueki-san: Hello.
00:01:23 John Daub: Hello. This is Yamabudo, a wild grape from Japan.
00:01:29 Ueki-san: Please have a drink. First, I'll take a glass of this juice.
00:01:36 John Daub: All right.
00:01:37 John Daub: He's inviting us to drink some of the wine here. This is a wild grape from Japan. It looks like this. This is a health drink from Hiruzen. Very healthy, very deep, deep red looking wine.
00:01:56 John Daub: There are two problems with this juice.
00:01:58 Ueki-san: The price is higher than wine.
00:02:01 John Daub: Oh my, really?
00:02:03 Ueki-san: It's more expensive than making wine.
00:02:05 John Daub: Yeah?
00:02:07 Ueki-san: This grape juice is more expensive than wine. That's interesting. Why? Because there are a lot of seeds in this, so even if you squeeze it, the juice is very small.
00:02:29 Ueki-san: The juice comes out straight, so it's the best part of the drink. The other problem is that you don't drink it because you think it's too good. You don't drink it because you think it's too good.
00:02:35 John Daub: What? What? There must be a reason.
00:02:39 Ueki-san: I drink it because of the season.
00:02:55 Dean Newcomb: Yeah.
00:03:09 John Daub: It's sweet, it's tart, full bodied, tart, it's got a really natural sweetness. It's different than normal grape juice for sure. It's really good. It's so hard to make the juice, the non-alcoholic juice because this type of grape, there's a lot of seeds in them and so there's so little amount of pulp I guess that you can squash down and actually make juice. So it's a very difficult process to make the juice and it's more expensive than the wine as a result of it. Interesting.
00:03:50 John Daub: Yeah, that might be the best juice I've ever had. We take it for granted, right? Like I'm gonna get a Concord grape juice. This is a little bit, this is tart. It's a little bit heartier than that. I like it. I'm not spitting that out in the spittoon there. That's going down the hatch.
00:04:19 John Daub: Hiruzen has been growing wild grapes in the mountains for a long time. This is the root of our wine.
00:04:31 Ueki-san: Why don't you try some wine?
00:04:35 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. I can drink.
00:04:36 John Daub: Dean is driving so I will try the wine. Yes please.
00:04:42 Dean Newcomb: Wine.
00:04:43 John Daub: John's gonna get really drunk. No I'm not. Just gonna taste a little bit of it. I don't spit wine out. I drink it. Thank you.
00:04:55 John Daub: WRX Trip was in the house. This is a Yamabudo rose. Yamabudo Rose. Interesting. Look at that color. Pretty.
00:05:10 Dean Newcomb: We'll compare it with the Yamabudo. We'll add some red wine.
00:05:15 John Daub: Ah okay. We're gonna have some of the red wine to compare the two. Interesting.
00:05:21 Ueki-san: The Yamabudo is the same but the color is different. If you drink it, it will taste a lot different. This rose is the same as the white wine. The Yamabudo is squeezed a little bit and then you put it in the juice.
00:05:39 John Daub: I just put on the screen Yamabudo. This is what it looks like. It's a different — I'm using this picture right now. It's different than regular grapes. The color is different. It's a very deep purple you can see there.
00:05:51 John Daub: So you have these wild grapes of course making very special wine out of it. Now the ones in Tohoku, the Yamabudo, the wild vine grapes, in Tohoku it's more sour. It's like Iwate prefecture has Yamabudo and it's a little bit sour, more sour. It's very sour but it's very unique tasting wine. And I mean for me my palate was not used to it. But in West Japan the weather is different. And of course anyone who follows wine knows that the weather plays a big impact in the cultivation of this. So I'm very curious to see how this compares to it. Let's try with the rose first. I'm only doing this because I saw this in a movie once. This makes sense. Add some oxygen into it. Oh yeah.
00:06:48 John Daub: Dean I know what's going on here. You look like a Tohoku to me. It's very good smell. Bouquet. What do I smell? What do you smell?
00:07:11 Dean Newcomb: Cherry.
00:07:13 John Daub: Yeah a little bit of cherries. Look at the spice. A little bit of spice. It's not like cinnamon. There's a spicy smell to it. I can't place it. Maybe it's a secret to tell you what's in it.
00:07:46 John Daub: It's a taste that I haven't really tasted. It's such a beautiful color isn't it?
00:07:56 Dean Newcomb: It is a beautiful color.
00:07:59 John Daub: Wow that is so good. It's not sour. It's got a very slight tartness to it but the sweetness certainly is more powerful than the sourness of it. For mountain, Yamabudo this is really really good. I've only had Yamabudo which is a Japanese — I guess it's... Yamabudo is only in Japan right?
00:08:24 Dean Newcomb: Only in Japan. Yeah it's indigenous to just Japan.
00:08:27 John Daub: So I think it makes it very special. I think it's a very special wine to try. Wild vine grapes. Are there a lot of trees?
00:08:35 Ueki-san: The biggest problem with this is that the tree is divided between male and female. So there's very little amount of fruit. There's not a lot of... That's where it's really difficult. The male and the female tree.
00:08:52 John Daub: Yeah there's not a lot of the vines out there. It's not the same as the mass production wine that you would have in like Yamanashi or other regions. It's wild. So it's very hard to get the trees to mate. We need more romance here. So I guess it's smaller batches which makes it more craft.
00:09:21 John Daub: It's got such a pleasant finish to it too. It's got a very pleasant finish. It's easy to drink.
00:09:27 Ueki-san: Oh thank you.
00:09:28 John Daub: Very easy to drink. Alright let's try the red here. This is a special wine from 2018.
00:09:39 Dean Newcomb: Oh 2018. It's a very special one. It's a good year.
00:09:45 John Daub: You can see it maybe more from here, the color. Oh there you go. It's hard to get the focus. iPhone focus. I'm not going to get it.
00:10:03 John Daub: Wow. It's like a konjac. It certainly smells... This is so much more sophisticated. More so than I am and thus I cannot describe the smells. It is so sophisticated. Like a vanilla? I don't know. Like a konjac vanilla. I can't. It's very... Oh oak.
00:10:30 Dean Newcomb: Yeah oak. Very oak.
00:10:33 John Daub: Alright let's just try it here.
00:10:43 John Daub: Oh wow. That is... Gene I wish you could do that. I'll have to buy a bottle. I'll have to buy a bottle for later. Oh that is so sophisticated. Again there is an oak finish to the — taste a very oak finish to it, a little bit tart, but the sweetness is very well balanced.
00:11:25 John Daub: I really like this one because it would go good with meat like a steak or something. I can see it — finishing the day, the end of the day with just a little bit of cheese, game over. Happy, happy man, watch some of those Harry Potter movies. It's on Netflix right now, that's what I was doing before I came here, sorry. But that was probably what I would be doing if I was at home.
00:12:02 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. Do you want to see the oak barrels?
00:12:07 John Daub: Yeah let's go see the oak barrels. Wow, don't touch that wine, that's coming back for the rest of it. So the male and the female trees to get the — it's quite hard. Which one is the key there? That's the male on the bottom and the female on the top. You can tell from the symbol there. The female is the part that becomes the fruit and the other part is the part that gets the pollen.
00:12:44 Ueki-san: The normal grapes are all the same. So when your flowers bloom, the mountain — the mountain grapes are different because they require that mating.
00:12:56 John Daub: So other ones grapes do not require it. So interesting. Wow. Wow. So this is about 200 on this vine here. I see.
00:13:14 Dean Newcomb: But it's very hard to get them to produce those grapes, so you have a lot less. How many are there compared to other grapes?
00:13:23 Ueki-san: I'd like to know. Half. It's like this in the mountains.
00:13:35 John Daub: Oh, yeah, but half. It's not as many. Right, so because they're in the wild, you don't get as many. But the flavor is certainly very sophisticated, very recognizable, very good characteristics, very unique. You don't forget drinking Yamabudo wine. So if the weather is bad during the flowering season, the grapes don't get the fruit right away. And the fruit doesn't come out at that time. So it's very difficult. The weather absolutely plays a part of it.
00:14:12 Ueki-san: But compared to Iwate, Iwate is a little different. The weather in Iwate is a little warmer, right?
00:14:17 John Daub: Yes, that's right. Iwate is a little more flowering early. But the matsutake and matsutake mushrooms you saw earlier are not growing very well.
00:14:31 John Daub: I think you get the sourness of the grapes up in the north just because of the weather, how harsh the winters are up there. But you have a lot of those wild grapes up there. Down here, the weather is a lot more moderate. Although you can see there's snow there. The winters are shorter and the summers are a little bit warmer. But it's cool because we are in the mountains. This has a huge impact on the taste. Again, this is the only Yamabudo winery in West Japan. So it's really important to point that out.
00:15:11 John Daub: So you have to be over 500 meters up to get to Iwate. Over 500 meters. If you go to Iwate or Tohoku, you'll be around the coast. So everyone knows about Yamabudo. But in Western Japan, it's 500 meters up. So only people who like mountains or live in the mountains know about this winery.
00:15:35 John Daub: So you might be wondering where exactly we are. I made this off of Google Maps here. There's Japan right there. We're at the blue spot. There's Nagoya and Yokohama, Tokyo on the right side. We're in the center of Okayama. More closer to the Sea of Japan, I guess you could say. There's Daisen Oki National Park. And down there in the plateau, just on the hills here, over 500 meters up, that's the winery in the blue spot right there. So that's where we are located at the time. I just turned it off there. Boom. So now you know where we are.
00:16:13 Ueki-san: So that's oak.
00:16:14 John Daub: Yes, that's right. Let's go take a look inside of the barreling process to this.
00:16:25 John Daub: Wow. Cool. Oh, it's so cool. It's cool. So this is this year's wine.
00:16:40 Ueki-san: This year, we're going to move it to the barrel. The barrel is French oak.
00:16:51 Ueki-san: Here, we have the French oak and the American oak. French and American oak. There are two types of barrels. We mainly use the French oak.
00:17:03 Ueki-san: This is 2020, 2021 wine from last year, and they are in American and French oak barrels. So this is all.
00:17:14 John Daub: All of it?
00:17:16 Ueki-san: Yes, all of it. It's all in the barrel. So, if you put it in the barrel for a year or two, the aroma of the wine, the aroma of the wood, and the inside of the barrel is burnt, so it has a smoky aroma.
00:17:36 John Daub: Oh yeah, I got that with the red. So you can get a little bit of the sourness. The way you feel about red wine is completely different.
00:18:14 Dean Newcomb: I don't know. There's about 30 of them. About 30 of them in this room, and there's more out in another room. Up to 60 in here.
00:18:31 John Daub: How many months do you stay here? How many years?
00:18:35 Ueki-san: Well, the first one is half a year. Six months is the fastest. Up to three years.
00:18:45 John Daub: And that's about the sweet spot here. And we have, this is the 2021 Rose?
00:18:52 Ueki-san: Yes.
00:18:55 John Daub: Oh, this is so cool. Yes, it's in a bottle, and then it's aged. I love it when they use clear glass, and you can see the color through it. And without the label, this looks like pirate wine.
00:19:05 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. Right?
00:19:07 John Daub: Without the label, it's so much cooler. But, yeah, that's the Rose. That's beautiful. And there's a bunch of bottles here. When you see it behind the scenes, it makes me want to buy more. More bottle of wine. Right? Because I'm just like, I'm looking at the crate here and watching the process. You know, we're looking at the process here. That is a lot of wine. It's a huge, huge pallet of Rose wine.
00:19:37 John Daub: That Rose was so good, too. Both of them have amazing characteristics here. And this is white wine, too.
00:19:42 Ueki-san: Yes, this is German white wine. It's finally starting to fall off here. If it goes well, it has a light aroma.
00:20:05 John Daub: German wines are a little bit sweeter. It has a light overtones, undertones.
00:20:08 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. It has a little bit of sweetness to it.
00:20:12 John Daub: A little sweet, a little. This is 600ml?
00:20:17 Ueki-san: No, 700ml.
00:20:18 John Daub: This is 360ml.
00:20:20 Ueki-san: 360ml.
00:20:25 Dean Newcomb: 375ml.
00:20:26 Ueki-san: 360.
00:20:29 John Daub: 360ml. I knew it was a little bit smaller. It's certainly a smaller batch compared to the palette of the Rosé wine here.
00:20:40 John Daub: Where do you buy wine? Only here? Even at the supermarket?
00:20:43 Ueki-san: We don't really get that many from the mountains. Our wine is mostly from this area of Hiruzen. We want to bring it out, but we can't get the raw materials.
00:20:58 John Daub: I think it's a wine that you can come to Hiruzen and drink.
00:21:26 Ueki-san: You can definitely find it in Tokyo.
00:21:27 Dean Newcomb: Tokyo?
00:21:31 Ueki-san: There might be a part of it at Okayama's wine shop. Maybe. There's an Okayama and Tottori store in Shimbashi in Tokyo. Maybe you can find it there.
00:21:51 John Daub: Again, the best is always to come straight to the source. Another reason to travel to Japan's countryside and to the mountains. Try the uniqueness. Again, I have not had wine that had that flavor, that very characteristic, unique tartness of very light tones of oak. I just enjoyed that wine. I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I can understand when you have good wine.
00:22:16 Dean Newcomb: It made a difference for you.
00:22:18 John Daub: It did. It did. How long have you been making wine? How many years?
00:22:23 Ueki-san: This year is my 36th year.
00:22:28 John Daub: 36 years. Yeah. Heisei Jun... No, Showa 40... It's amazing. I've been making wine since Showa 43.
00:22:39 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. That's about when I was born, 1970.
00:22:44 John Daub: Impressive. 1988. 88 years.
00:22:46 Dean Newcomb: I was born in Showa 49.
00:22:53 John Daub: Showa 49. I've only made wine 36 times. I'm still making wine. This is actually 1988.
00:23:05 Dean Newcomb: I was 74 and that's 88.
00:23:08 John Daub: So it's not quite close. 36 years. Although I do look younger. Maybe not today.
00:23:19 John Daub: Shall we look at what you have here? Yeah, let's go take a look here. That's cool. Literally that room is cool.
00:23:38 Dean Newcomb: It's a walkway. Walkway with... You can see where the action happens.
00:23:44 John Daub: You can see where the action happens. We're making wine here. It's winter. When do you start?
00:23:49 Ueki-san: We harvest Yamabudo from the end of September. End of September they're harvesting it. October and November they're quite busy inside here.
00:24:13 Ueki-san: Right now the next step is wine. And I'm going to clean everything and fill it up into the barrel and the vinyls. Now they're cleaning it out and the season's finished making the wine. This isn't very difficult. We're selling it. You gotta sell what you made. And you just need to fill the vats.
00:24:44 John Daub: Yeah, it is a smaller operation. You can see the wine bottles are upside down here. You'd rinse out and sterilize the bottles before you would put the wine in there. And I guess this is one of the machines to help with that process there. But certainly it's a very small family run business and that's kind of nice for me. I like to support those kinds of businesses and the wine is worthy of your drinking.
00:25:14 John Daub: This machine is interesting. What are you making here?
00:25:17 Ueki-san: This is a machine that is not found in other wineries. The best one is the Grappa.
00:25:25 Ueki-san: When you squeeze the red wine, it has a lot of skin and seeds. It's all coming out. Those will just end up in the field, but there will still be wine in it.
00:25:43 John Daub: In Japanese, we could call it something like that. This looks like something from a Jules Verne book. With the grapes.
00:25:53 Ueki-san: The seeds are really strong and have a strong smell. It's unique. It's brandy from the — I'll show you later.
00:26:04 John Daub: Yeah. So they're making something like brandy. Yeah, so you can take some of the skins and the things left over and create something like a brandy, a very unique alcohol.
00:26:16 John Daub: The coolest looking machine. It almost looks like something you would put into the ocean, like a deep diver to go look for Titanic or something.
00:26:31 Dean Newcomb: Or a flute or saxophone.
00:26:33 Ueki-san: Peach brandy. They're making that too.
00:26:37 John Daub: Oh yeah, brandy. Yeah. I had a friend named Brandy. Brandonia.
00:26:47 Dean Newcomb: Make sure her name is Brandy. It's not Brandania.
00:26:51 John Daub: You want to taste that? Oh yeah, yeah.
00:26:55 Dean Newcomb: Yes, yes.
00:26:56 John Daub: You're not going to do it. I'm acting like it's mine. Yeah, you're not doing it. I got to do it. So then, in Okayama, I'm going to have peach brandy. Peach brandy.
00:27:08 Ueki-san: Yes, I need three glasses. 40%.
00:27:13 John Daub: 40%? Oh. That's my age, 40. As far as you know. Oh, look at the glass.
00:27:29 John Daub: This looks like a lantern. Do you have a lighter? We could probably... Christmas, we'll do Christmas pudding.
00:27:38 John Daub: Yes, yes. That would light. Oh, wow. How special is this for me?
00:27:57 John Daub: Oh, that's got some kick. This is made in that space — something. It was right behind it. All right, cheers.
00:28:16 John Daub: It's got a kick to it, but it's good. Oh, I can smell that now you're drinking. You feel hot all the way down here.
00:28:25 Dean Newcomb: Yeah, you can feel it's like liquid heat.
00:28:27 John Daub: It has been chilled, but it's like liquid heat and that's good. It has aftertaste is very unique. Now the flavors, when it cools down, now the flavors are starting to come out. There's like a very sweet, like floral taste to it.
00:28:52 John Daub: Certainly not grapes. Very pleasant. It's hard to say like a berry. Very pleasant aftertaste. It melts as the wine — I guess this is very cold. As it warms up, the flavors change. In your mouth. It's not very fragrant.
00:29:14 Ueki-san: This is the brandy that we made from the pomace.
00:29:22 John Daub: So this is a brandy?
00:29:24 Ueki-san: Yes. In Italy, it's called grappa.
00:29:28 John Daub: It's called grappa. Grappa. You drink it after a meal.
00:29:33 Ueki-san: Give me some grappa. This is really... If you think this is a good scent, I'm the same. I love alcohol. People who love sake, love grappa.
00:29:47 Dean Newcomb: So you eat pasta after?
00:29:48 Ueki-san: That's right. Like this? Yes. After the pasta, the last thing you eat is steak. And the last thing you eat is grappa. You drink that for 2 hours. And when you think you've eaten too much, you drink this.
00:30:06 Ueki-san: Alcohol stimulates the internal organs, and helps with digestion. It's good for digestion.
00:30:13 John Daub: There's some alcohol in this. Yeah. It's an excuse for drinking sake. It's like the very end of the meal, it sounds like.
00:30:23 Ueki-san: So this is a — I often use Italian machines in Japan. There are some exhibitions, and I've only been there twice. I've always chosen my back. It's fun. It's fun.
00:30:47 John Daub: It's got a very unique sweetness to it. It reminds me a little bit of the țuică that I've had in Romania too. It's made from apricots. It's very good but this has a less fire. Grappa. Grappa is Italian. The unique smell is from the seeds. It's been boiling for half a day at 90 degrees.
00:31:15 John Daub: Ah, my teeth. Yeah, what he was saying, the seeds of the grapes. That's what I think — that's what it was. Made from the seeds, the remaining parts of it created into a liquor, the grappa. And that has the flavors of slight grape and the taste of the grape. It's not the seeds in there but it's really the seeds, the tane. So after you've had your pasta, you've had your dessert, you're totally full.
00:31:37 Dean Newcomb: Oh yeah. You can't eat anything else. This comes up.
00:31:39 Ueki-san: Yeah, this is good for the processing.
00:31:49 John Daub: My friends in Romania, I would wake up, the older Romanians, we'd wake up, I'd stay at my friend's house. First thing we had was stuff like this.
00:31:52 Dean Newcomb: Good morning, I'm drinking this.
00:31:55 John Daub: Wow. I'm not going to stop. That's how you get fire for your day, I guess. Is that when you're in the kitchen? That's what they did in Romania with their drink, țuică. I love that stuff too. That's great. I love it. It's good.
00:32:38 John Daub: I love that. The seeds do have the... There's stuff inside those seeds that has value. So, my gosh. You gotta be tough to drink that and it's good. I feel like a drunk just sniffing. You do? Well, guess what? I imbibed and I feel very happy, warm. I want to raise cheese.
00:33:01 John Daub: This is the best area for Japanese wagyu beef. This — cheese was really helpful. Wow.
00:33:11 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. The combination of wine and cheese is really...
00:33:15 John Daub: This would be great with cheese. That's where we're going. Day after tomorrow, we're going to a cheesery.
00:33:19 Dean Newcomb: Yes, we are. And I will be eating too.
00:33:21 John Daub: Right. From the winery to the cheesery. And Brandonia is making sure, Dean, that we get a bottle for tonight.
00:33:28 Dean Newcomb: Yeah, where you don't have to drive. Thank you, Brandania.
00:33:34 John Daub: Thank you. Water. Water, yeah. You can attempt to see the grapes outside.
00:33:39 Dean Newcomb: Oh, right. Okay.
00:33:41 John Daub: There's the trees. Yeah, let's go take a quick look, see at some of the grapes, the vines outside. If the Wi-Fi will allow us to go. Right. So that far. If we can, we can go. I'm going to go and see the grapes. Let's go. Yeah. It's good. The water is good too.
00:34:09 John Daub: Oh, this wine won a silver medal, right? So this is an award-winning winery as well. This is the pi-on... This is the most common type of pi-on in Japan, and it's a pi-on ice wine.
00:34:19 Ueki-san: Pi-on ice wine.
00:34:20 Ueki-san: Last year, only women would choose domestic and foreign wines. I got it from a place called Gajoen in Tokyo. When I got home, everyone in the press was promoting it. It just disappeared from the shelves in an instant.
00:34:39 John Daub: Oh, wow. This is a little sweet, but this is the first wine of the year. This is the last wine of the year.
00:35:30 John Daub: Thank you for the food. The cheese inside is delicious.
00:36:19 John Daub: This is a very cute wine. This is very beautiful. This is very pretty. This is very pretty. May I try it?
00:36:48 John Daub: That's good craftsmanship. And then you get a perfectly round snowman with cork bottle eyes.
00:36:57 Dean Newcomb: Of course he does!
00:36:59 Ueki-san: On holidays, we can put 10 of them here. Everyone is so funny and makes them for us.
00:37:08 John Daub: That's genius. I never thought to make a snowman using bowls to make it perfectly like that. When the kids visit, there's like 10 of them all the way around here.
00:37:19 Ueki-san: There's a Yamabudo, isn't it?
00:37:21 Ueki-san: You can see the vines. We take the vines, make them ourselves, and plant them.
00:37:31 John Daub: How do you line up the female and male? It's not quite as big as the other ones you see. I put about 10% of the males.
00:37:43 Ueki-san: If there are 9 females, I put about 10% of the males.
00:37:49 John Daub: How many males? 10% male and 90% female?
00:37:56 Dean Newcomb: I like those odds. I want to be a grape.
00:38:05 John Daub: Wow. Women outnumber the men 9 to 1. In the grape world.
00:38:14 Ueki-san: Yeah. I think this is a very close match. They call it the osugi of the mountains. So, they only go to the mountains, and I haven't seen much of the Yamabudo.
00:38:24 Dean Newcomb: I've only seen the osugi.
00:38:31 Ueki-san: The humans use more of osu.
00:38:33 John Daub: He says it's just like real life.
00:38:34 Dean Newcomb: Yeah. Really?
00:38:48 John Daub: Really? That's — these are the heroes of the mountains, and Daisen is over there on the side here, and that's the biggest. It looks like Mount Fuji. Daisen is the Mount Fuji of the West of Japan. It's really pretty. We're in Okayama Prefecture for those that are just joining us, as the sun is starting to set here at Hiruzen Winery, and we're joined by Ueki-san who's been showing us his winery here. It's been around for 36 years, since 1988, in the Daisen Oki National Park.
00:39:21 Dean Newcomb: Indeed, indeed. It's pretty cool to have wine in the national park.
00:39:31 John Daub: Mitchell and Rachel, thank you. Shall we? We can try here to the challenges. We've already been live streamed for 30 minutes, which I didn't think we would be doing. Let's go see — I don't know how good the Wi-Fi is going to hold out, but we're going to try to take you around to the back here. If it does hold up, thanks for watching. If it can't — if the Wi-Fi goes out right here — thanks for watching. We'll keep challenging until...