Asia and fine wine are not things you would necessarily expect to be synonymous. Thankfully, due to advances in viticultural techniques and an increasing demand for excellent wines in the region, Asian wine is most definitely on an upward curve.
From Japan to China and even great produce coming from Himalayan regions, there are more and more coming onto the market all the time, making the hunt for the best somewhat arduous. Thankfully, the wine experts here at Octavian have been monitoring the wines coming from this part of the world for some time.
In our Journal, we look to keep our readers in the know when it comes to the latest fine wine trends and with this in mind, we have created this guide to Asian wine and just why we should be interested here in the UK. So read on to see if Asian wines are for you and be sure to take a look around the rest of the site too, where you can learn all about our state of the art wine cellarage facilities in the heart of the west country.
What Are The Best Asian Wines?
The reason we should all be sitting up and taking notice of Asian wine is due to the fact they are now coming from all across what is a vast continent. Indeed, Asia runs across much of our globe from Israel all the way through Indonesia, Japan and of course, China. For this reason, it would be almost impossible to profile every fine wine worth its salt on the continent, but we have highlighted what we feel have been the best performing Asian wines over the last few years.
Hatten Wines Sparkling Tunjung NV – Bali, Indonesia
Many thought growing quality grapes and in the volume needed to make wine, was impossible in Bali. Thankfully the clever clogs at Hatten Wines have cracked it and we can confirm the results have been pretty spectacular. Traditionalists won’t like this, and it certainly wouldn’t pass in classic French regions, but Belgia, Probolinggo Biru and Alphonse Lavallee have been blended to great effect with the Tunjung, it should be classed as a proper Asian Wine.
Recanati Winery Chardonnay Reserve 2014 – Israel
One of several excellent wines coming out of Israel at the moment, this Chardonnay would be at home on any table. The local terroir in this part of Israel has been producing great wines since the turn of the century and is largely down to the duo of Lenny Recanati and Uri Shaked.
This wine has all the typical Chardonnay flavours of grapefruit, melon and beeswax proving that truly excellent wine can indeed emanate from Asia.
Jade Vineyard Ariea 2014 – Ningxia, China
One can’t really overlook China when writing about Asia, even when we’re talking about wine. In fact, as a nation they have declared they aim to be the world’s number one wine producing country within three years; in terms of volume they may succeed.
To be fair, this effort is quite excellent and the Octavian team had an excellent time sampling this excellent sauvignon. The Ningxia is looking to expand from 100 wineries to around 1,000 in the near future so don’t be surprised if you see more and more great Asian wines coming from this producer.
Koshu: A Japanese Wine Phenomenon
Regular readers here at the Octavian Journal may remember us covering Japanese wine not so long ago and in particular, the national tipple of Koshu. This is Japan’s best loved grape and it boasts this title not least due to the superb wines it is responsible for. It is always likely to play second fiddle to sake in terms of being Japan’s most drank alcoholic beverage but Japanese wine is quickly establishing a solid reputation for itself.
As we recommended in our aforementioned article, you may want to try these out as a starter for ten.
- Grace, Akeno, Cuvee Misawa Koshu, Yamanashi (2016)
- Grace, Katsunuma, Kayagatake, Koshu (2017)
- Grace, Katsunuma, Private Reserve Koshu, Yamanashi (2017)
Fine Wine Is Precious
Should you decide to get ahead of the curve and invest in some of the finest Asian wines, then ensure you allow them to fulfil their potential and store them sufficiently. We have been helping connoisseurs just like you for over thirty years, to ensure you deepen the value and pleasure of your wine. This not only maximises your enjoyment of the product but also ensures that should you decide to sell your product, the chances are it will have increased in value; one can only guarantee this by investing in reputable wine cellarage.
Explore our Corsham Cellars here and see how we can help you to eliminate any risk of your fine wines falling short of their vast potential. We set the standard for storage, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Octavian team of fine wine experts.