ProWine Tokyo

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

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Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

Local transport

Get around the city with these convenient transport options.

Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Vinification

The winemaking process from pressing to fermentation and maturation. At the fair it is the vocabulary used when producers explain tank versus barrel regimes to importers comparing styles for the Japanese market.

2

AOP / AOC

French protected origin designations (Appellation d'Origine Protegee / Controlee) that fix where grapes are grown and how a wine is made. Buyers use the classification to position a bottle on Japanese wine lists and shelf tiers.

3

IGP

Indication Geographique Protegee, a broader European origin tier than AOP/AOC that allows more varietal and blending freedom, often used for entry-level listings in Japanese retail.

4

Grand Cru / Premier Cru

Hierarchical vineyard or village classifications, most associated with Burgundy and Bordeaux, that drive price positioning and allocation requests from Japanese sommeliers and collectors.

5

Negociant

A merchant that buys grapes, must or finished wine and matures or bottles it under its own label. Negociants are frequent exhibitors looking for Japanese distribution partners.

6

Barrique

A 225-litre oak barrel, mainly used in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Barrel regime and age are recurring questions when importers compare a producer's range.

7

Methode traditionnelle

The second fermentation in bottle used for Champagne and traditional-method sparkling wines. Sparkling ranges are a growing segment on Japanese retail shelves and restaurant lists.

8

Dosage

The liqueur added after disgorgement to set a sparkling wine's sweetness level, from brut nature to demi-sec. Dosage choices often decide which cuvee a Japanese importer selects for a given channel.

9

Terroir

The combined soil, slope, climate and human practice that gives a wine its sense of place. Origin stories are central to how producers differentiate themselves in a crowded Tokyo tasting floor.

10

Nihonshu-do (sake meter value)

A numerical scale used in Japan to describe sake dryness or sweetness. It helps trade buyers compare sakes alongside wine in the same tasting programme.

11

Junmai / Ginjo / Daiginjo

Sake grade terms based on rice polishing and whether a little brewing alcohol is added. Understanding them matters when matching Japanese beverage lines with overseas importers.

12

Shochu and awamori

Japanese distilled spirits, shochu made mainly from sweet potato, barley, rice or buckwheat, and awamori from Okinawan rice. Both sit in the spirits category that trade visitors compare with whisky and gin offers.

13

Bonded warehouse

A licensed storage area where alcohol stays in duty suspension until release into the Japanese market. Exhibitors planning samples and post-show shipments must work through a licensed importer or forwarder.

14

Private label / OEM bottling

Wine or spirits produced to a retailer's own brand. Japanese department stores, chains and e-commerce operators regularly discuss private label volumes with producers at the fair.

15

Blind tasting

Tasting without seeing the label, used by buyers to compare quality independently of brand or price. Trade tastings and seminars at wine fairs often run blind panels for sommelier audiences.