Domaine Mont is a winery located at an altitude of around 50 m in Yoichi, Hokkaido. Atsuo Yamanaka, owner, studied with Takahiko Soga of Domaine Takahiko and learned winemaking for 2 years. He set up his own winery in spring 2016.
Facing east, as soon as sun rises, sun shines through his 1.5 ha vineyard, in a privileged environment where grapes are grown with good ventilation and drainage.
Because temperature rarely exceeds 30 degrees during the day and drops below 20 degrees at night, photosynthesis is efficient and, as a result, moderate acidity tends to persist and sugar content to increase. Accumulated temperature at Yoichi is similar to that in northern Burgundy and Alsace.
This is why Mr. Yamanaka only grows 5,000 vines of Pinot Gris, one of the most successful varieties in Alsace. As far as possible, he avoids using pesticides and especially insecticides, as he respects insects as wild yeast carriers. This wine is surprisingly orange in color, as it is pressed after a short fermentation to extract its umami flavor.
In 2020, for the first time, botrytis developed on Pinot Gris grapes just right: 10% of grapes (in 2018 and 2019, there was no botrytis at all). Mr. Yamanaka intentionally harvested grapes without selecting them and made wine with infected berries. Year was wet and cold.
Ideally, you should wait at least one year and preferably three years before drinking it. Ideal with sea urchins, caviar, sautéed abalone, dried and salted mullet roe (bottarga, karasumi), oysters, dried tuna, anchovies, sashimi, crab, lobster, lobster, fish or scallop tartars, razor clams, pressed cheeses, parmesan, tajines, pastilla, lightly smoked fish, blanquette de veau, poule au pot.
