Koshu (grape)

Like Montepulciano, Koshu is both a place and a grape, which has caused me no end of confusion. Unlike Montepulciano, there isn't an entry in a commonly available wine book, such as Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book to tell me that this is the case. Come to think of it, information on Japanese wine is not readily forthcoming, though I suppose, Johnson has been helpfully writing that the most popular Japanese vinifera variety is the Koshu grape. If only he had written that the Koshu is a place in Yamanashi prefecture which also produces wine! (to be fair he has always mentioned Yamanashi as it is an important area for the Japanese wine industry. Well Koshu (A grape with rose coloured skin) is thought to originate in Asia Minor, traveling through the Silk Road to China and then onto Japan via Buddhist monks. Although Johnson reckoned it to have been discovered in 1186, it seemed to have been cultivated in Yamanashi prefecture since the 8th to 9th century. Usually made into off-dry and sweet styles, recently there have been efforts to make dry styles. I had the above wine at the Wines of Asia meeting of the Hong Kong chapter of the Wine Century Club, together with a few others made from the same grape. It was looking it up after the wine tasting that I managed to sort out this confusion.