Noto Wine: best grapes in 10 years after the earthquake

The Noto Peninsula is best known for its sake, but it is also home to a winery. Noto Wine, in the town of Anamizu in Ishikawa Prefecture, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Located in an area that was badly hit by the earthquake of January 2024, it began the full-scale grape harvest and winemaking on 8 September 2026. This season it expects to use about 130 tonnes of grapes and to produce roughly 130,000 bottles, converted to 720-millilitre bottles.

This season’s winemaking begins with Chardonnay

The Noto Peninsula juts out from the middle of Honshu into the Sea of Japan. Noto Wine stands on Asahigaoka in Anamizu, roughly in the middle of this peninsula. On the first day, employees harvested Chardonnay, used for white wine. About six tonnes of grapes were put through a crusher, and fermentation of the pressed juice has begun. According to the Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun, this year the vines were damaged neither by late frost nor by the long rains of the rainy season. Late frost is frost in spring that damages buds, and the rainy season is the wet period around June and July. As a result, the grapes are the best in ten years for both quality and quantity. The balance of sugar and acidity is also good, and high-quality wine is expected.

Making wine every year after the earthquake

The Noto Peninsula Earthquake of 1 January 2024 registered a maximum intensity of 7, the strongest level on the Japan Meteorological Agency scale. Hiroshi Ome (40), assistant manager of production, told the newspaper that the effects of the earthquake are now gone. He added that he is glad to be able to make wine every year. In the affected area, rebuilding some breweries and wineries is still taking time. Against that background, being able to produce on a normal scale, and with the best grapes in recent years, is significant. It shows that the makers of the region’s food and drink are getting back on their feet.

Tasting Noto in Europe

“Japan Wine” means wine made in Japan solely from grapes grown in Japan. It is distinguished from wine made from imported juice. The quantity available in Europe is still limited, but what to look for is clear. The 2026 vintage is one that the producers themselves rate as the best in ten years. White wines such as the Chardonnay look set to be defined by their balance of sugar and acidity. Try them with seafood or lighter Japanese dishes, and compare them with sake from the same Noto region. That way you can taste two brewing cultures nurtured by a single peninsula. In the lists of Japanese wine specialists and importers, look for the names “Noto” or “Ishikawa” and the 2026 vintage.

Sources

• Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun, “Grapes ‘at their very best’, high-quality wine expected: full-scale winemaking begins at Noto Wine in Anamizu, Ishikawa” https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/1308891