Chateau Mercian

Chateau Mercian's roots lie in "Dai-Nippon Yamanashi Budoshu Kaisha," Japan's first private wine company, founded in Katsunuma in 1877. Its Meiji-era founders sent young men to France to study the then-unknown techniques of grape growing and winemaking on site. Though the company endured hardship — even disbanding at one point due to the difficulty of grape cultivation — its spirit was carried on and connects to today's Chateau Mercian.

After the war, once the "Mercian" name was established as a brand, it was among the first in Japan to pivot to serious dry winemaking, strengthening its pursuit of world-standard quality by inviting the chief winemaker of Bordeaux's Château Margaux as a technical advisor. The keyword born from this was "Finesse & Elegance" — a delicate, harmonious style reflecting Japan's view of nature and sense of beauty.

From the 1970s onward, it thoroughly explored "the right variety in the right place" through trial cultivation across Japan — Merlot in Kikyogahara, Chardonnay in Hokushin, Koshu and Muscat Bailey A in Yamanashi, and so on — selecting the most suitable land and plots for each variety. This thinking has crystallized in today's Terroir Series, a major pillar of Chateau Mercian: conveying the character of region and vineyard through wine.

Today it operates multiple sites, centered on the Katsunuma Winery in Yamanashi, along with the Kikyogahara Winery and Mariko Winery in Nagano. Each winery is equipped with vineyards, brewing facilities, an archive and a tasting counter, open as a place to experience the history and terroir of wine. The Mariko Winery in particular draws attention from wine lovers worldwide as a stunning vineyard surrounded by vast estate fields.

Under the vision of "making Japan one of the world's great wine regions," Chateau Mercian has also contributed to raising the quality of Japanese wine as a whole through the development and sharing of new techniques. It actively engages in wine-centered regional development, including cultivation support in partnership with local grape farmers, talent development and the use of idle land. From a single glass to the vineyard, the region and the future — that is the story held within a bottle of Chateau Mercian.

Founded in 1877, regarded as the origin of Japanese wine

Started in 1877 as Japan's first private wine company, "Dai-Nippon Yamanashi Budoshu Kaisha," it is one of the oldest wineries in Japan. Having researched grape growing and winemaking since the dawn of Japanese wine, it is a brand often called the very origin of Japanese wine.

"The right variety in the right place" and the Terroir Series

From Koshu and Muscat Bailey A in Yamanashi to Merlot and Chardonnay in Nagano and grapes from Fukushima and Akita, the principle of choosing the ideal land for each variety — "the right variety in the right place" — lies at the heart of the Terroir Series, vividly portraying the character of each region.

Finesse & Elegance — a harmonious, refined taste

Born from the idea of "wine like a Japanese garden," Chateau Mercian's philosophy of "Finesse & Elegance" guides its winemaking toward a delicate, refined balance in harmony with nature — with nothing overpowering and nothing lacking.

A world-recognized flagship of Japanese wine

Winner of numerous gold medals at international wine competitions and one of the wineries with the most gold medals at the Japan Wine Competition. The Mariko Winery was selected in "World's Best Vineyards" for four consecutive years in the Top 100 and as No.1 in Asia, earning high acclaim worldwide.