There are approximately 700 wineries in New Zealand.
The population of New Zealand is 5.08 million, which means there is one winery for every 7,000 people.
In comparison, Japan had 331 wineries in 2019.
Japan's population is 125.8 million, which means there is one winery for every 380,000 people.
I wonder if the number of coin laundries in Japan and the number of wineries in New Zealand are roughly the same, in terms of population ratio.
When you think about it, wineries may still be relatively unfamiliar to Japanese people.
But, if you go to a winery, it's fun!
It had been a while since I last went there, and I thought it was fun after all.
Yesterday, I went to the Spring Grape Wine Festival held at my local winery in Komaki, Aichi.
What makes Komaki Winery unique is that it aims to balance "making delicious wine" with "employment support for people with disabilities."
Originally based in Nagoya, AJU Independence House provided employment support for people with disabilities, and with the cooperation of Aichi Prefecture and Komaki City, established Komaki Winery in 2015. People with disabilities are involved in grape cultivation, wine production, and sales.
Head brewer Shirai says, "I would like to use the experience I gain working here to pave the way for me to work in other facilities as well."
By the way, Komaki is where I was born. As it is a local winery, I felt a sense of familiarity with it and often visited it.
Before COVID-19, we organized bus tours to visit the property with Bokumo's customers, and we also invited Shirai to Bokumo to hold a wine tasting event.
I learned about this year's Spring Wine Festival because Shirai-san brought a flyer to Bokumo. Shirai-san is a very thoughtful person. I'm grateful.
On the day of the event, which was the first in three years, the venue was bustling with locals who had been waiting for the event, wine fans, and people who supported Komaki Winery. We were lucky to be blessed with fine weather!
We bought pizza, beef skewers, and other food from a food truck and paired it with wine from Komaki Winery, and everything was delicious.
The white wine from Komaki Castle Nobunaga Wine is a slightly dry wine made from Rose Ciotat as the main variety.
It has a slight Muscat-like flavor and a strong acidity, making it a wine that goes well with food.
The red variety of the "Nanatsuboshi" series, named after the seven-spotted ladybug, has a bright color typical of Muscat Bailey A and a charming, candy-like scent.
It had a clean, dry taste and went well with meat.
It's been seven years since the winery was established. It's been a while since I last tasted their wine, but I thought the quality of their wines has improved dramatically.
I once heard from a winery in Yamanashi that the grapes suddenly become more delicious once the vines are over 10 years old.
If that's the case, Komaki Winery's wines in three years may once again be one level above delicious.
Participating in this wine festival made me realize that winemaking is a great local industry. It's wonderful that there is a winery, volunteer staff, and the local community supports the activities.
It's always fun to go there. Drinking at the production site is something special.
I hope that by this time next year we will be able to toast without wearing masks.
And next year, I want to have a toast at a winery in New Zealand!
