Château Mercian Tengu-zawa Vineyard in Yamanashi applied for certification as a Ministry of the Environment “Nature Coexistence Site” and was certified on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
For the Kirin Group, this is the third such site, following Château Mercian Mariko Vineyard in Nagano, certified in October 2023, and Château Mercian Jyonohira Vineyard in Yamanashi, certified in February 2025.
Here are the details.
About the Ministry of the Environment's Nature Coexistence Site Program
To help achieve the global “30 by 30” target adopted at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in December 2022, Japan's Ministry of the Environment began operating a certification system in fiscal 2023 for areas rich in biodiversity that are owned or managed by private-sector organizations and local governments.
Sites certified under the program are also expected to be registered in the international OECM database.
Tengu-zawa Vineyard, which has now been certified, is an estate-managed vineyard opened by Château Mercian in 2017 in the Kami-odawara area of Enzan, Koshu, Yamanashi.
Biodiversity tracking began in 2016, before the vineyard was developed, and monitoring has continued ever since. As of 2025, 111 plant species and 30 butterfly species had been confirmed, including rare species.
Wines from Château Mercian Tengu-zawa Vineyard
Château Mercian plans to launch wines from Tengu-zawa Vineyard on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
The releases include “Château Mercian Tengu-zawa Tempranillo 2024” and “Château Mercian Tengu-zawa Albariño 2025.”
They will be available at winery shops and through Mercian's official e-commerce store, Château Mercian online.
“Tengu-zawa Tempranillo 2024” offers vivid aromas reminiscent of red flowers and cassis, followed by spicy nuances and fine-grained tannins.
“Tengu-zawa Albariño 2025” has bright, refreshing aromas of pear and green apple, with a fruit character reminiscent of quince spreading across the palate.
Reference
Reference Links
Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050: https://www.kirinholdings.com/jp/impact/env/mission/
Kirin Group Environmental Report: https://www.kirinholdings.com/jp/investors/library/env_report/