COCO FARM & WINERY
Ashikaga, Tochigi

Grapes: Petit Manseng (from Yamagata and Nagano)
Type: Sparkling
Style: Dry, medium-bodied
Colour: Medium gold
Alcohol: 12.5%
Wild yeast: Yes
Any added sulphites: 10 ppm
Filtered: No
Serving temperature: 5-8°C
Production: 1,369 bottles
Please store in a cool, dark place.

Attention!
Chill the bottle thoroughly in an upright position before opening. May spill at high temperatures.

Tasting notes
Complex aromas of pineapple, citrus, honey, toast and brown sugar. On the palate it is fresh and fruity with a long acidity, followed by a lingering Umami and savouriness. Chill well in the fridge or in ice water to enjoy the clean, crisp taste. 

Food pairing
Brandade (emulsion of salt cod), simmered bamboo shoots with dried bonito, Quiche Lorraine, Chopped horse mackerel with miso, pan-fried sea bream with basil sauce, squid tempura, Chinese stir-fried shredded beef and green pepper, pork belly simmered with star anise. 

Winemaking
This is a white petillant made from Petit Manseng grapes grown by their skilled contract growers. The grape variety, which originally came from the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains in south-west France, was first planted in 2006. It adapted well to Ashikaga's climate and began to show its character. The cultivation of the variety was later taken over by their contract growers, and has been carefully cultivated and rooted in the Japanese climate thanks to their frontier spirits.

In autumn 2022, Petit Manseng, fully ripe and with a high sugar content, was transported from Yamagata and Nagano to the winery, where it was pressed gently in whole bunches at low temperature. The juice was then racked and fermented naturally with wild yeasts for 10 days at 23°C or lower.  After that it was transferred to wooden barrels and the fermentation continued for two months. Due to the high sugar content of the grapes at harvest time, the yeast continued to produce carbon dioxide during the fermentation, and when winter came, the yeast went into dormancy in the wooden barrels for three months. In spring, about a month after the yeast began fermenting again, the wine was racked, blended and bottled in the crown when the sugar content was just right (18g). The primary and secondary fermentation was carried out with wild yeast, not with cultured yeast. This petillant was made without filtration, fining or added sugar.

“COCOROMI series” (“Kokoromi” = experiment in Japanese) is a name for their challenge.