From 16 to 22 February 2020, twelve graduate students and five faculty from Montpellier SupAgro, France, visited Kyoto University to participate in a week-long study tour focused on the Japanese wine industry, cuisine, and tourism. The tour was held as a Wild & Wise Collaborative Learning Program with support from Kyoto University. Montpellier SupAgro is a research and education partner of KyotoU's Graduate School of Agriculture, having signed an academic exchange and cooperation agreement with the latter in 2015.
The study tour kicked off 16 February with participants watching Japanese traditional cultural performances in Kyoto. Activities over the next two days included a courtesy visit to Kyoto University, a bara-zushi cooking session, organized with support from the prefecture of Kyoto, and visits to two local wineries — Amano-hashidate Winery and Tamba Winery — and Horiba Ltd, a measurement and analysis instrument manufacturer well-known in Montpellier.
On day four, participants took a long-distance trip to Yamanashi, where they spent the next two days exploring viticulture and winemaking under Japan's unique climatic conditions, and experiencing the country's distinctive wine and beverage cultures. Destinations included the University of Yamanashi's Institute of Enology and Viticulture and Advanced Biotechnology Center, Mars Yamanashi Winery, and Kirin Distillery Co Ltd, the last of which is located in neighboring Shizuoka.
The final field trip, held on the sixth day, offered on-site learning experiences at Katashimo Winery (Kashiwara, Osaka), Gekkeikan Sake Co Ltd (Fushimi, Kyoto), and Takii Co & Ltd, a seed producer and supplier based in Kyoto, leading to deep insights into connections among the brewing industry, food culture, and seeds. The program concluded on the following day with a workshop to discuss challenges facing Japanese wine businesses and explore possible solutions.
Participants also had opportunities to meet and develop friendships with KyotoU students who had earlier visited Montpellier SupAgro as part of ILAS Seminars.
Learning about winemaking in Japan at Amano-hashidate Winery, Kyoto
Exploring Japanese whisky at Kirin Distillery, Shizuoka
Learning about viticulture and enology at Katashimo Winery, Osaka
Workshop on challenges facing Japanese wine businesses
At Horiba Biwako E-Harbor, Shiga
