Mercian Corporation announced that at the "International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2021" held in London, UK, "Château Mercian Fuefuki Koshu Gris de Gris 2019" won the only Gold Medal awarded to a Japanese wine.
What is particularly noteworthy this time in the "Orange Wine" category is that this marks the first time in the competition's history that a region other than Georgia, the famous producing region of orange wine, has won a Gold Medal.
Here, we also share information about the other award-winning wines.
About "Château Mercian Fuefuki Koshu Gris de Gris 2019"
Koshu is a white grape variety characterized by thick skins and a wisteria-purple color.
"Château Mercian Fuefuki Koshu Gris de Gris 2019" is a white wine crafted to express these characteristics in its flavor profile, and is known as a bottle highly acclaimed by many wine enthusiasts.
"Château Mercian Fuefuki Koshu Gris de Gris 2019" is an "orange wine" that takes on an orange-like hue by fermenting white grapes along with their skins, and is characterized by a luscious aroma reminiscent of apple compote and a plump, rich flavor.
In the "International Wine Challenge," where wines are evaluated through a blind tasting method across multiple rigorous selection processes by authoritative judges, there is no doubt that winning this Gold Medal is a valuable achievement for Japanese wine.
Numerous Château Mercian Wines Win Awards
In this competition, not only "Château Mercian Fuefuki Koshu Gris de Gris 2019," but numerous other Château Mercian wines won awards.
We summarize them below.
6 items
- "Château Mercian Hokushin Chardonnay Unwooded 2019" (White)
- "Château Mercian Hokushin Left Bank Chardonnay Rivalis 2019" (White)
- "Château Mercian Hokushin Right Bank Chardonnay Rivalis 2019" (White)
- "Château Mercian Iwade Koshu Kiiroka Cuvée Ueno Tank No. R133 2019" (White)
- "Château Mercian Mariko Omnis 2016" (Red)
- "Château Mercian Niitsuru Chardonnay 2019" (White)
5 items
- "Château Mercian Hosaka Muscat Bailey A Single Vineyard Viticulturist Nobuo Inomata 2018" (Red)
- "Château Mercian Hosaka Muscat Bailey A Single Vineyard Viticulturist Hideto Yokouchi 2018" (Red)
- "Château Mercian Mariko Chardonnay 2019" (White)
- "Château Mercian Mariko Syrah 2017" (Red)
- "Château Mercian Yamanashi Koshu 2019" (White)
The Day Japanese Wine Takes Flight on the World Stage Is Near!
Château Mercian has continued to win wonderful awards at international competitions for several years.
However, this time, an orange wine winning a Gold Medal is a clear sign that the level of Japanese wine is unmistakably rising.
This accolade for Château Mercian was surely joyful news that raises expectations for a wide variety of Japanese wines to win awards at the IWC going forward.
Reference