Summer has come to Nagano – and we are enjoying a succession of warm, sunny days ranging up to 30 degrees Celsius and dropping in the evening to the low 20’s – an ideal diurnal range for Syrah grapes. As we noted before, the climate in Nagano is friendly to the Syrah grape and growers here are increasingly featuring this wine in their portfolios. Another reason may be that the wine produced from the Syrah grape in Nagano agrees better with Japanese sensibilities. It is light, fruity and hints of Japan’s local pepper, “sansho”. The contrast with California, Spain and Australian Shiraz wines can be quite stark.

Probably one of the largest obstacles to the growth of the Nagano wine industry is the challenge of producing wine at scale with the consequent ability to bring it to the local market at prices competitive with producers from Australia, California, Europe, and others. While tariffs remain on imported wines, they are slated to decrease over the next several years and the top level for the United States and Europe is currently just 15 percent and Australia only 4 percent.