Japan has swiftly become one of the most interesting markets in the wine sector. It is the tenth world importer, with around 2 million hectolitres per year, ahead of countries such as Sweden, Denmark or Switzerland. In 2013, its wine purchase amounted to 145,000 yens, 23.8% more than the previous year. Therefore, it is a growing market in wine demand and, despite a low national consumption per capita (2.3 litres per year), in some areas of Tokyo, the country’s trend setting city in many aspects of its economic, social and cultural life, the consumption reaches up to 6.8 litres per person and year. 

Dehesa del Carrizal, the winery from Retuerta del Bullaque (Ciudad Real) producing Pago Wine, has been in the Japanese market for more than one decade and has experienced the recent interest of the Japanese for its singular and high-quality wines. It began by introducing only certain varieties of its wines, but ever since 2013 it has commercialized the whole range of Dehesa del Carrizal: varietals (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot) as well as blended wines (MV and Colección Privada). This decision has caused a 50% increase of the brand presence in the Japanese country in the last 24 months. These are deeply interesting figures positively reflecting the positioning of Dehesa del Carrizal in the Nipponese market. 

In order to achieve this positioning, it has been crucial for the winery from La Mancha to go hand in hand with the local distributor Spainclub and its wide network, consisting of restaurants, bars or food institutes, but also language and dance schools. The strategy focused on associating the brand Dehesa del Carrizal with the Spanish culture in its broadest sense, not only with the food sector.

The sales of Chardonnay lead the ranking list of the best-selling Dehesa del Carrizal wines in Japan. “Our white Chardonnay is amazingly popular. It is the wine by the glass in specialized wine bars, jazz bars, and restaurants of Spanish food or Japanese haute cuisine”, explains Christophe Beele, the winery Export Manager. Moreover, the white wine from Dehesa del Carrizal is present as the only wine served in many of the ‘one-dish-only’ restaurants. They are very exclusive establishments, specializing in only one meal of artisan food, such as horse meat or eel. In this type of restaurants only one dish is served, to be harmonized with only one wine too. The owners of these exclusive places state that the key of their success lies in “the excellent harmony achieved between the specialized dish and the Chardonnay wine by Dehesa del Carrizal”, remarks Beele.

Besides, the red varieties produced in the winery from Retuerta del Bullaque, mainly Cabernet and Syrah, are present in some Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo. The Petit Verdot deserves a special mention, this wine has only recently been introduced by Dehesa del Carrizal in the Japanese market and it has awakened huge interest among restaurateurs, critics and, of course, consumers in the Nipponese country.

“The Japanese love all that is different and good. Dehesa has a very peculiar terroir, unique in the world, so as to produce wines with very particular features”, says Christophe Beele. And that singularity is the key for the success of the brand in Japan.

However, the work is not merely producing a first-rate wine. “We need to pay attention and take care of every detail, from the bottle to the brand image, the communication, etc. In Japan, the quality-presentation-joy relationship of our wines is undoubtedly what they most appreciate”, concludes Beele.