Craft Wine Shop, the e-commerce site operated by Japanese wine specialist trading company CruX Inc., has become a national partner of Star Wine List.
On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, the company will support the first Star Wine List of the Year Japan 2025 awards ceremony in Japan as sponsor of the Best Japanese Wine List category and is also scheduled to appear on stage.
CruX is also launching new initiatives to expand the Japanese wine market, including a new service from Craft Wine Shop and a new editorial structure for Japanese wine web media NihonWine.jp.
Here are the details.
New Initiatives to Expand the Japanese Wine Market
CruX Inc. has worked to spread and develop Japanese wine as a specialist trading company dedicated to the category.
Alongside businesses spanning distribution, wholesale and retail of Japanese wine and food, media and education, the company has continued to focus on global initiatives.
Its efforts have included exports of Japanese alcoholic beverages and serving as the Japan office for the Washu Award, a wine competition in which leading sommeliers active in East Asia evaluate Japanese wine. Through such projects, CruX has worked to expand the market for Japanese wine both domestically and internationally.
Now, as Japanese wine receives growing global recognition, the company is launching new measures aimed at extending distribution into international markets.
Three New Initiatives
The three initiatives being launched by CruX are as follows.
1. Sponsorship with Star Wine List
Star Wine List, founded in Stockholm in 2017, is a guide introducing excellent wine bars and wine restaurants around the world. Selections are made by a global team of sommeliers and wine specialists together with ambassadors worldwide, earning it the nickname “the Michelin Guide for wine.”
CruX has become a national partner of Star Wine List. At Star Wine List of the Year Japan, being held in Japan for the first time on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, CruX will sponsor the Japan-specific Best Japanese Wine List category and support the on-stage awards presentation.
*Registration is required to enter ProWine Tokyo.
Visitors may also attend the public ceremony beginning at 15:00 on April 15.
【ProWine Tokyo Official Site】
https://prowine-tokyo.com/en/visitors/
2. New Service from Craft Wine Shop
Craft Wine Shop, CruX’s Japanese wine e-commerce site, will add cross-border e-commerce capabilities and begin delivering Japanese wine to customers worldwide.
With more than 1,000 Japanese wines from Hokkaido to Kyushu, the site is one of Japan’s largest specialist online shops for Japanese wine and is supported by a broad audience ranging from professionals to enthusiasts.
Craft Wine Shop will become multilingual and provide a service allowing wine professionals and enthusiasts around the world to purchase Japanese wine in small lots.
The initiative is intended to expand the global market for Japanese wine. Service launch is planned for around summer 2025.
3. NihonWine.jp Begins a New Chapter with a New Editor-in-Chief
NihonWine.jp, CruX’s web media platform covering a wide range of Japanese wine information, is starting under a new structure with Miyuki Isobe as editor-in-chief.
Isobe has spent many years reporting and writing for NihonWine.jp and was deeply involved in production of the Japanese wine documentary Vin Japonais and the Japanese cheese documentary Fromage Japonais. She is a wine and cheese professional.
Isobe commented, “Going forward, we plan to treat Japanese wine as a culture in its own right. We will make the site multilingual and increase content aimed not only at people in Japan but also at overseas audiences. We want to communicate Japanese wine from a broad perspective that includes Japanese food and culture.”
The site will move ahead under its new structure while making use of the content assets accumulated to date.
Profile: New Editor-in-Chief Miyuki Isobe
After approximately 20 years in banking, she began working in wine in 2019. As a J.S.A. Wine Expert and C.P.A. Cheese Professional, she works in wine and cheese promotion.
- Editor-in-Chief, NihonWine.jp
- Japanese Wine Promoter / Wine Consultant
- Production Committee, Japanese wine documentary Vin Japonais
- Secretary-General, Production Executive Committee, Japanese cheese documentary Fromage Japonais
Reference
◾️ Star Wine List of the Year Japan 2025 Award
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 15:30–17:00
Venue: Forum Area, East Hall 8 H-2
Organizer: Star Wine List
URL: https://starwinelist.com
◾️ Craft Wine Shop
URL: https://craftwineshop.com/
◾️ NihonWine.jp — Web Media Covering Japanese Wine Today
CruX Inc.