Six Things You Need To Know About Japanese Wine Market

Do you know Mr Kenichi Ohashi MW, a famous wine expert in Japan ?

NOW LET’S HEAR HIS INSIGHTS ABOUT JAPANESE WINE MARKET.

1. Japanese young people drink less, the older they are, the more they drink. Kenichi Ohashi said that this is totally different from the situation in Europe and the United States. Japan is a country with a relatively aging population. Therefore, the elderly account for a large proportion. Elder people drink more, so if you need to import wine into the Japanese market, Compared with asking young people what they like to drink, asking the elderly what they like to drink will be more informative.

2. The total amount of alcohol consumed in Japan is now declining.

   The largest proportion of alcohol consumption is beer, accounting for 31.2%. The second is spirits, accounting for 24.4%, and the third is local shochu, which is made from liquor and sake and with raw materials containing starch, such as wheat and potatoes. Shochu accounts for 10.2%, and in the previous years, the growth of shochu was very fast and had stabilized in the last year or two. For wine, it only accounted for the total consumption. 4.2%. In Japanese wine consumption, local Japanese wines only account for one-third of the country’s wine consumption. More than 60% of Japanese wines are imported wines.

   However, during the year from 2014 to 2015, Japan’s wine consumption increased by 10,000 cases, which is different from the large increase in household consumption of Chinese wine. Japan’s wine consumption growth is mainly concentrated in restaurant consumption. In France, the individual wine consumption is 42.5 liters, Italy is 33.3 liters, Japan is 2.98 liters, and China’s is 1.18 liters per person, so Japan is still a relatively small market.

3. The structure of the Japanese wine market is also divided into three levels.

   One is a winery or importer, the second is a distributor, and the third is a retail store. The ratio of on trade and off trade is 36:64. In imported wine, The proportion of consumption on trade is also gradually increasing. The wine purchased from the retail store also needs to match with japenese meals.

4. The Japanese wine market is also very attractive to wineries in various countries.

   Why?  first of all, Japan has a large number of high-end restaurants with large amounts of alcohol. The number of Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan is the highest in the world, and there are 217 in Tokyo. There are 89 Michelin restaurants in Osaka, and there are also many places in Nagoya. Many wineries are very eager to enter the Michelin restaurant for their own wine, because if their wine is in the Michelin restaurant wine list, not only the wine sales can increase, also the winery reputation will be very good .

5. Japenese wine consumers prefer high-end wines.

    High-end wines such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne are popular in Japan. Japan’s consumer spend averagely US$ 11.2 for wines, which is higher than the UK’s £5 and France’s three euros. In addition, the price of wines sold in restaurant is about 15 dollars per bottle, or around 10 dollars, the best in the market is the wine from 4.5 to 9 dollars. The overall amount of Bordeaux, Burgundy, champagne is small, thus the overall price has been raised. 

6. Japan is the country with the largest number of sommeliers in the world, and Japan has a sommelier association. This association is very authoritative in Japan and they will become an important force in stimulating wine consumption trends.