Coco Farm & Winery Pinot Noir 2022

Profile & Story

Coco Farm & Winery was founded in 1958 in the mountains above Ashikaga, in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture, growing out of a vineyard first cultivated by local middle school students and their teacher, Noboru Kawada. The winery itself was built at the foot of the mountain in 1980 and began winemaking in 1984, working entirely with Japanese-grown grapes. The estate uses no chemical fertilizers or herbicides, fermenting with wild yeast and wild lactic acid bacteria. The vineyards sit on Jurassic bedrock at 50 to 200 meters elevation, with slopes averaging 38 degrees so steep that every step of the work is done by hand. Coco Farm's Pinot Noir is sourced from these estate plots, where the warmth of the Tochigi summer pushes ripening hard.

Pairing Recommendation

Pairs well with grilled or roasted poultry, or Japanese-style charcuterie.