Milestones

  • 1877

    Dai-Nihon Yamanashi Budoshu Gaisha established, the first private Japanese wine company. The company sent two young men, Masanari Takano and Ryuken Tsuchiya, to France. It then started large-scale wine production using Koshu grapes.

  • 1949

    Mercian founded

    This year witnessed the creation of the first post-war real wine* brand, "Mercian". Taking up a new challenge, we aimed to create Japanese wine worthy of global recognition.
    *Defined as a wine made by authentic methods with no sweeteners or other additives.

  • 1966

    Mercian 1962 (White) wins a gold medal at an international wine competition.

    17 years since the founding of Mercian. Mercian 1962 (White) wins the first Japanese gold medal at an international wine competition.
    This was the moment when the world took notice of Japanese wine, and when the passion for winemaking passed on through generations since the Meiji Era (1868 to 1912) finally bore fruit.

  • 1970

    Château Mercian founded

    Château Mercian created as a legitimate Japanese winemaking brand. This marks the start of fine wine production in Japan.

  • 1976

    Merlot first grown in Kikyogahara

    Shogo Asai (pen name Usuke Asai), known as the "father of modern Japanese wine", argued for introducing European varieties to ensure authentic wine production. In 1976, we started cultivating the wine grape variety Merlot in Kikyogahara, near Shiojiri in Nagano Prefecture.

  • 1984

    Cabernet Sauvignon grown
    in Jyonohira

    After growing Merlot in Kikyogahara, we started growing Cabernet Sauvignon in our own vineyard, Jyonohira. We broke away from the conventional Japanese belief that grapes had to be grown on trellises, and instead used the French style of vertical shoot positioning. This marked a new direction for grape cultivation.

  • 1990

    Vertical shoot positioning and
    trellis cultivation in Hokushin

    By now, the Château Mercian range had evolved to the point where it won gold medals in a number of famous international wine competitions. It was now time to pioneer the creation of wines that express Japan's climate and natural features. To further develop the brand, we started vertical shoot positioning cultivation of Chardonnay in the Hokushin District of Nagano Prefecture in the 1990s. This period also saw the introduction of measures to increase quality, such as limiting harvest volumes and increased cultivation density through adoption of spur pruning in trellis cultivation.

  • 1998

    With Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux acting as advisor, the quality of iconic single-vineyard wines such as "Kikyogahara", "Jyonohira" and "Mariko" improved in leaps and bounds. Based on the teaching that "great wines are elegance itself", the company learned the intensity and passion of winemaking.

  • 2003

    Joint research with
    the University of Bordeaux

    The Koshu grape, previously dismissed as mediocre, was found to have hidden distinctive citrus aromas. To exploit the potential of this discovery to its fullest, joint research started the following year (2004) with the late Takatoshi Tominaga, a researcher working with Denis Dubordieu at the University of Bordeaux.

  • 2003

    Cultivation in
    the company Mariko Vineyard

    During our search for land suitable for growing higher quality grapes, we stumbled across the ideal soil environment in the Mariko District near Ueda in Nagano Prefecture. We opened the Mariko Vineyard there with enthusiastic support from the local community. We manage every element of the vineyard and use it to experiment to our heart's content, including pushing ourselves to grow grapes of the highest quality.

  • 2005

    Koshu wine,
    "Château Mercian Koshu Kiiroka 2004"
    was released.

    Start of joint research with Takatoshi Tominaga, who worked with Denis Dubourdieu at the University of Bordeaux, to draw out the hidden citrus aroma of the Koshu grape variety discovered in 2003. The collaboration resulted in the release of "Koshu Kiiroka 2004" in 2005. A new category of aromatic Koshu wine was born.

  • 2010

    Katsunuma Winery renovated

    New winery in the Katsunuma area of Yamanashi Prefecture opens, combining active winemaking activities with a visitor center, exhibits, tasting café and vineyard. The many visitors get an opportunity to explore the charms of wine and experience its history and traditions.

  • 2017

    140 Years of Japanese Winemaking

    Château Mercian grew from Japan’s first privately owned wine company, Dai-Nihon Yamanashi Budoshu Gaisha, founded in 1877. We kicked off the 140 Years of Japanese Wine Project to celebrate this long history.

  • 2017

    New vineyard in the Kataoka District
    near Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture

    An approximately 9 hectare vineyard opens in the Kataoka District near Shiojiri in Nagano Prefecture, with cultivation managed by Mercian. Although the Kikyogahara and Kataoka Districts are both close to Shiojiri, their terroirs are noticeably different. We were determined to make Kataoka a new area of note, and so the wines made there exploit its soil characteristics to the fullest.

  • 2017

    Kenichi Ohashi as Master of Wine joined
    Château Mercian as brand consultant.

    Kenichi Ohashi, certified as Master of Wine in 2015, joined Château Mercian as brand consultant. The company shifted its focus to the international market.

  • 2018

    Opening of the Kikyogahara Winery

    Château Mercian Kikyogahara Winery opens in Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture. New facilities were created on the site of the Shiojiri branch of the Daikoku Budoshu Company (which later became Mercian). The exterior of the historic 1938 building was retained while the inside was renovated. The "garage winery" operating in this tiny space specialises in the production of top quality wines, including the iconic Château Mercian Kikyogahara Merlot Signature range, Kikyogahara Merlot, and Kikyogahara Merlot Rosé (winery exclusive).

  • 2019

    Mariko Winery opened

    We opened its own managed vineyard, the Mariko Vineyard, on the Jinba plateau in the Maruko district of Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, which has grown to produce wines that are highly acclaimed in Japan and abroad. 16 years later, in September 2019, On a small hill in the Mariko Vineyard, Chateau Mercian Mariko Winery opened as the first winery in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. Surrounded by a vast vineyard of approximately 30 ha, the winery is a fascinating place where everything from growing grape to vinification takes place. It aims to coexist with the region and the future while producing high quality wine.

  • 2020

    Château Mercian Wine Museum is
    recognised as a cultural
    property of Japanese Heritage

    In 2020, "the 140-year history of Japanese wine - Wine that is made using Japanese grape is the fruit of Japanese rich culture" was recognised as a Japanese Heritage Site by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the Château Mercian Wine Museum and its collection were also recognised as a cultural property. The Château Mercian Wine Museum underwent partial renovation in the summer of 2020, and the exhibition content has been renewed and opened to the public with bilingual notation.

    Watch the video for more information (Japanese Heritage video)

  • 2021

    "Château Mercian Mariko Winery" selected for the second consecutive year

    Château Mercian Mariko Winery was ranked 30th in the world and Best in Asia in the World's Best Vineyards 2020, which selects the world's best wineries involved in wine tourism. The following year, in 2021, the winery was also the only Japanese winery to be ranked 33rd in the world, making it the second consecutive year it has been selected. Under the slogan "Japan recognized as one of the world's foremost wine regions", we will continue to promote Japan as a wine-growing region to the rest of the world.