From 10 through 18 July, 10 graduate students and four researchers from the Institute of Higher Education of Viticulture and Enology (IHEV) at Montpellier SupAgro, France, visited Kyoto to learn about the Japanese wine industry on a study tour that constituted part of Kyoto University's international exchange/fieldwork course, "Wine Business Strategy in Languedoc-Roussillon, France", scheduled for later in the summer.
The first day of the tour was devoted to a courtesy visit to the Kyoto Prefectural Government, which has recently signed a sister-relationship agreement with the French region of Languedoc-Roussillon, the capital of which is Montpellier. The group was greeted by Mr Charles-Henri Brosseau, Consul General of France in Kyoto, and Mr Hironao Kojima, Director General of the Kyoto Governor's Office, who expressed appreciation for the students' and researchers' visit from France.
On the second day, the group attended a special seminar on Japanese viticulture and enology, organized in association with the western division of the Japan Chapter of American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV-J). The participants actively exchanged knowledge with the seminar's featured lecturers: Dr Masahiko Yamada (National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Institute of Fruit Tree Science; NARO-IFTS), who discussed the "Advances in Table Grape Breeding in Japan and a New Cultivar, 'Shine Muscat'"; Dr Koichi Suzaki (NARO-IFTS), who talked about "Emerging Diseases in Grapevines in Japan and Measures to Combat Them", and Dr Nami Goto (National Research Institute of Brewing), whose subject was "Comparing Sake and Wine".
The group spent the remainder of the tour on field trips, visiting Tamba Wine (winery), Amanohashidate Winery, Horiba Seisakusho (Horiba, Ltd.), Institute of Enology and Viticulture at the University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi Fruit Tree Experiment Station, Suntory Tomi No Oka Winery, Tsuji Culinary Institute, and Katashimo Wine Foods, giving members opportunities to not only explore viticulture and winemaking under Japan's unique climatic conditions but also experience the country's distinctive wine and culinary cultures.
Participants also had opportunities to meet and develop friendships with KU students who would be taking part in the international exchange/fieldwork course to be held at Montpellier SupAgro in August.
Courtesy visit to Kyoto Prefectural Government
Learning about Japan's viticulture and its relationship to local climate conditions
Listening to an enologist describing winemaking in Japan
Reception at the University of Yamanashi
Visiting a winery that uses locally grown grapes
Final presentation
