Venue: Various locations Marunouchi Area Organized by: Marunouchi Japan Wine Weeks 2024 Executive Committee (Organized by: Japan Winery Awards Association, Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., DMO Tokyo Marunouchi) With the cooperation MARUNOUCHI HOUSE and Marunouchi Happ.
Period Thu, October 24th to Sun November 10th, 2024, the Japan Winery Awards Council, Marunouchi Area Co., Ltd., and DMO Tokyo Marunouchi will be holding the Marunouchi Japanese Wine Weeks 2024, Events to learn about, drink, and support Japanese wine, in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo, to promote the appeal of Japanese wine and support it throughout the city.
Japanese wine is a fruit wine made in Japan using only grapes harvested in Japan, but the appeal of Japanese wine has not yet been fully conveyed. Meanwhile, Marunouchi is a major wine consuming area. Therefore, we planned to take advantage of the market characteristics of Marunouchi to promote understanding and increase awareness of Japanese wine, and furthermore, to support local production and consumption of Japanese wine and regional revitalization, and to support the producing areas and producers. In addition, we also aim to utilize it as a powerful content for MICE and inbound attraction.
In addition, the Japan Winery Awards Council, a general incorporated association, Organizer the Japan Winery Awards®, an award that honors the terroir (climate and environment) that produces excellent Japanese wine and the makers. The awards ceremony is held in this area every June, which was the impetus for the Marunouchi Japan Wine Weeks 2024.
Venue for Marunouchi Japanese Wine Weeks 2024 will be DMO member hotels, Restaurant and Shops located in Marunouchi, etc. A total of 40 wineries will offer around 80 types of Japanese wine, and there will also be a Japanese wine study session, creating content that will allow more people to become familiar with Japanese wine in a variety of ways.
Five-star award-winning winery Invite a brewer Opening Events held
Toasting with guests with Japanese wine
A commemorative photo with the brewers from the eight companies
To mark the start of the 18-day Events, an opening event, "The 3rd Annual Japanese Wine Toast Day®" Events, was held on the first day, October 24th Thu, at THE FRONT ROOM, a cafe on the first floor of Marunouchi Bldg., which features an open atrium space.
This ceremony was held in late October every year, following the implementation of standards on October 30, 2018 that clearly distinguish between domestic wines that use overseas ingredients and Japanese wines. To celebrate the high-quality grape harvest and the resulting high-quality wine, and toast in respect to the producing areas and producers, the ceremony is held.
The ceremony invited winemakers from eight wineries that received five stars in the Japan Winery Awards® 2024, as well as government and local government officials, and general participants such as wine lovers, to attend. All 16 representative wines from each winery were on display, and participants were provided with an opportunity to sample them all at once, allowing them to enjoy top-class Japanese wines while also enjoying interacting with the winemakers.
Toshisaburo Endo, Representative Director and Chairman of the Council of Japan Winery Awards, one of Events 's Organizer, spoke about the significance of choosing Marunouchi as the venue:
Japan Winery Awards Association Representative Director and Chairman of the Board: Tosaburo Endo
"Marunouchi is the heart of Japan, located near the Imperial Palace, and is also a business hub, with many people who are sensitive to and have a strong ability to communicate. What's more, wine consumption is high, so there are many wine lovers here. However, wine lovers tend to prefer foreign wines, and the reality is that Japanese wine is not very familiar to them. That's why I thought that if we could get the people of Marunouchi to try some delicious Japanese wine, they would be able to convey its appeal and quality. I think Marunouchi is the perfect place to promote the fact that there are many excellent Japanese wines." (Endo)
High-quality Japanese wines from all over Japan Providing a place to enjoy casually
Measures implemented at 12 stores within MARUNOUCHI HOUSE
Currently, there are wineries all over Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, but because Japan's land is so diverse, the wines produced vary depending on the climate and environment (terroir) of each region. Furthermore, in recent years, the efforts of each winemaker have added individuality, resulting in high-quality wines. These wines are highly regarded both at home and abroad, and it is no longer uncommon for them to win awards at international wine competitions.
In order to allow people to taste these Japanese wines, this Events featured wineries from all over Japan that have won the Japan Winery Awards®, and set up spaces in various locations where they would offer the wines they are proud of.
One of these was the "Japan Wine Hopping Weeks @ MARUNOUCHI HOUSE," which took place throughout the Period Events. Twelve stores in Marunouchi House on the 7th floor of Shin Shin-Marunouchi Bldg. MARUNOUCHI HOUSE offered wines selected by each store along with a recommended pairing menu.
Generally, if you want to drink award-winning wine, you would buy a bottle, but here they offer wine by the glass so that you can try them casually. They also held a stamp rally called the "Japan Wine Hopping Challenge" to encourage people to enjoy a variety of Japanese wines.
In luxury hotels etc. Hosting Events to familiarize oneself with Japanese wine
At DMO Tokyo Marunouchi member hotels An ingenious development
In addition to MARUNOUCHI HOUSE, we created a variety of different opportunities to allow participants to enjoy Japanese wine in a style that suited their tastes.
First up were the luxury hotels Restaurant that are members of DMO Tokyo Marunouchi. The eight participating hotels were The Peninsula Tokyo, Shangri-La Tokyo, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo Congress, Tokyo Station Hotel, Palace Hotel Tokyo, Marunouchi Hotel, and THE UPPER, and each Venue served carefully selected Japanese wines by the glass in luxurious spaces such as lobby Lounge and Restaurant.
For a more casual experience of tasting Japanese wine, Marunouchi Happ.STORE, Shops with a drinking corner, also offers 11 types of wine by the glass and also makes it possible to purchase bottles.
Marunouchi Happ.STORE ・Café＆Gallery
There will also be a "Maker's Special Dinner with Tokyo Congress Kaikan Ajimu Winery" where you can enjoy the marriage of Cuisine and Japanese wine. Koji Furuya of Ajimu Winery in Oita Prefecture, which received a five-star award in the Japan Winery Awards® and the highest award at this year's Japan Wine Competition, will talk about winemaking. And at the "Learn and Tasting Japanese Wine on Japanese Wine Day" Events, which was open only to registered Machi Workers working in Marunouchi Area, participants were able to deepen their understanding of Japanese wine through a talk session and also had the opportunity to sample the wine.
At the Anshin-in Winery in Tokyo Congress Kaikan Maker's Dinner
Machi Worker Exclusive Workshops
Marunouchi has a lot of potential, and is an area with a high affinity for wine, which is what we focused on this time. This Events made extensive use of the entire town to create a variety of opportunities to increase engagement with Japanese wine.
Going forward, this content, which has the potential to act as a catalyst for regional revitalization, will be used to attract MICE and inbound tourists, and will also be used to plan and implement a variety of projects that take advantage of the town's unique characteristics.
