Meet the Winemaker (Episode 88): Katsuhisa Fujino, Mercian, by Debra Meiburg MW

Katsuhisa Fujino of Mercian Corporation gives Debra some insights into the Japanese wine industry and its 170-strong wineries. Although Mercia Corporation's winery is located in the Katsunuma area of the Yamanashi prefecture, many are based in the Nagano prefecture, and Debra questions whether the extreme winter cold is a barrier to winemaking, and what the challenges of grape growing in Japan as a whole are.

With Japanese wines staking their claim on several international awards recently, Debra poses the question to Katsuhisa -- what is the attraction of Japanese wines? Katsuhisa discusses the research and development that has gone into the industry since 2000, as well as the introduction of a wine competition in 2003.

Finally, they talk Koshu -- its qualities and perfect food pairings.