Kōshū (grape variety)
Kōshū ( Japanese 甲 州 ) is the name of a white wine variety that is only found in Japan. Although the skin of the berries is reddish to red in color, it is assigned to the white wine variety. The cultivation areas of this vine, which is considered the national grape of Japan, are in the prefectures Yamanashi , Yamagata and Okayama , all in the southern part of the main island of Honshū ; The vine was named after the earlier province of Kōshū , which roughly coincides with today's Yamanashi Prefecture. There are hardly any larger connected vineyards; Most of the grapes are bought from a few wineries from small vintners with only a few 100 square meters of vineyards. Almost 90 percent of the area under vines is concentrated around Kasunuma in Yamanashi Prefecture. In contrast to other native Japanese vines, the Kōshū is a Vitis vinifera variety, so it comes from European vines. It is thought to have first reached China via the Silk Road , from where it reached Japan with Buddhist monks long before the year 1000. It was first mentioned in writing in 1186.
The vigorous and productive vine prefers deep soils. It is resistant to most vine diseases, but very sensitive to frost. It is one of the late ripening varieties; the harvest usually does not begin before mid-October. The large, slightly oval berries are quite loosely gathered in large, conical grapes. When ready for harvest, they are light red in color. The berries are thick-skinned and firm, so they are not easy to squeeze. The kōshū is also valued as a table grape . As typical Vines of vines for the production of table grapes which is often Pergola chosen -Education. Individual old vines often carry up to 800 kg of grapes. In deep soils the amount can increase to up to 2500 kg grapes / vine.
Most of the musts of the Kōshū are blended with other, mostly international varieties . Lately, single-variety wines have also come onto the market and even into international trade. The wines are light, greenish-yellow in color, light, fresh and fruity. Successful wines have a subtle aroma of yuzu and nashi . In addition, rosé wines , mostly blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, are produced. The Kizan winery produces brandy based on the Kōshū vine.
See also
literature
- Hans Ambrosi , Bernd HE Hill, Erika Maul, Ernst H. Rühl, Joachim Schmid, Fritz Schumann: color atlas grape varieties. 300 varieties and their wines. 3rd, completely revised edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-8001-5957-4 .
- Pierre Galet : Dictionnaire encyclopédique des cépages. Hachette, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-01-236331-8 .
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon. 3rd, completely revised edition. Hallwag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8338-0691-9 .