Introducing Japanese Wine Co.: An Interview with Founder Kei Nishida

Our longtime friend Kei Nishida, founder of Dream of Japan, a platform dedicated to connecting authentic Japanese artisan products and their makers with the world, is back with another exciting launch: Japanese Wine Co. Through a brand inspired by a memorable home-style dinner in France, vineyard road trips through Oregon, and a love for thoughtful culinary pairings, Kei is bringing exceptional Japanese craft wines directly to U.S. tables. Featuring award-winning Grace Wine from Yamanashi and California-grown Koshu from Kazumi in Napa Valley, this new collection highlights the subtle, versatile flavors of authentic Japanese viticulture.

Based in Los Angeles, Kei-san and his team are on a mission to share the brilliance of Japanese winemaking with wine lovers across the country. These rare bottles are shaped by unique regional climates and Japanese production techniques, making them balanced, elegant, and perfect alongside everyday meals.

We caught up with Kei-san to learn more about his latest venture and how Japanese wine is finding its place at the table.

For readers who might be meeting you for the first time on our blog, could you tell us a bit about your background and your role at Dream of Japan?

My name is Kei Nishida, and I am the founder and CEO of Dream of Japan. Dream of Japan started as a company called Japanese Green Tea Co., where we offer unique tea grown in sugarcane soil from Shizuoka. We ended up winning the Global Tea Championship with this tea, which put us on the map back in 2017.

In 2021, we expanded our business to offer unique charcoal-roasted (sumiyaki) coffee from Hokkaido and added Japanese Coffee Co. to the family. Then we added Katana-style handmade knives and craft scissors via Japanese Knife Co. Along the way, we had the opportunity to acquire Shizuoka Tea, Kagoshima Tea, and the History of Katana YouTube Channel.

Each had a unique offering, and it was getting to the point where we needed a “parent” company, so we decided to create an umbrella brand for all, which we called Dream of Japan. 

There are so many “hidden treasures” in Japan, and we are so excited to share those products and stories with our customers, followers, and audiences. It’s like sharing Japan’s best-kept secret, and you know I cannot express the pleasure of when someone resonates with what we love and share.

I believe Arigato Travel also follows a similar concept, and I feel that you always share Japan’s “best-kept secrets” with travelers, and that is why I love your company and am always proud to share about you. The places that Arigato Travel shares are so carefully selected, vetted, and tried through the team’s own experiences, always thinking about the traveler’s perspective, so different from general guidebooks, faceless search engine results, or AI.

You have built a reputation for sharing authentic Japanese tea, coffee, and handcrafted knives, so what inspired this new venture into Japanese Wine Co.?

This was a suggestion and a dream of Miki, the Partner and Chief Design Officer at Dream of Japan.

You can read the whole story on Japanese Wine Co.’s About Us page here, but in a nutshell, when she lived in the UK, she was invited by her friend to come to France and had a bottle of Bordeaux; since then, she has been in love with wine.

She knew that Japanese wines, especially Koshu, are not available here in the USA.

Koshu, by the way, is an ancient Japanese grape variety. Koshu is also a place name, so people often get confused.

As mentioned before, our company started with sugarcane tea, which was not available in the US, then Sumiyaki coffee, which also was unavailable.

So the natural answer for us was… let’s see if we can do it again and introduce another authentic Japanese product.

But it wasn’t easy. We started to contact many wineries, but most were not interested in growing their business outside of Japan. Similar to tea farms, they just do not have the capacity and people to be able to grow their business internationally, which is what we discovered. (Please see this article about tea farms)

Then we met Michelle Kazumi Sakazaki from Kazumi Wine. She is the first and only winery in the USA growing the Koshu grape. She offered us the ability to carry her wines. We are so lucky to have met her.

What wines and curated sets does Japanese Wine Co. offer to wine lovers and curiosity seekers alike?

Right now, we have four wines, two grown in Japan and two grown in Napa Valley. From Grace Wine in Katsunuma, Yamanashi: Grace Koshu ($49), a dry white made from the Koshu grape, and Akeno ($100), their red from Misawa Vineyard, which is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. 

From Kazumi Wines in Napa Valley: Kazumi Napa Valley Koshu ($65), the only Koshu grown in America, and Kazumi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($100), which received 95 points from The Wine Palate for the 2023 vintage.

We also offer a Subscribe & Save option. It is 5% off every order, and a full case of 12 bottles or more, mixed however you like, gets 10% plus standard shipping included. You can skip, change the wines, or cancel anytime, with no fee and no minimum. 

I dislike being locked into a subscription myself, so we did not want to do that to our customers. More info can be found on our shop page here.

You only focus on the two producers, Grace Wine from Yamanashi and Kazumi Wines from Napa Valley; how did you connect with them, and what drew you to their products and philosophy?

As mentioned above, meeting with Michelle Kazumi Sakazaki from Kazumi Wine was the first door opened. She nicely welcomed us to her world and her wine.

She is such a nice person, and we always enjoy talking with her, and we learn a lot from her each time we talk with her.

Michelle introduced us to Grace Wine; I do not think they would have accepted our request if not for Michelle.

How do the differences in region and growing methods, like Yamanashi’s high-altitude, hand-sheltered vineyards versus Napa Valley’s sunnier climate, come through when tasting Grace Wine and Kazumi side-by-side?

This is the fun part, and I truly enjoy comparing them and introducing them to others. You know, someone asks me about the differences between Matcha and Sencha; I can go on and on, and you might have seen that on our blog at Japanese Green Tea Blog. 

We only have a few articles on Japanese Wine Blog as of now, but I am already enjoying writing about Japanese wine and how they differ. 

Grace Koshu grows in Katsunuma above 400 meters, and because autumn rain is a real enemy there, the team covers each bunch of grapes with a small umbrella out in the vineyard. It is fermented and matured only in stainless steel, so nothing stands between you and the grape. In the glass, it is pale lemon with a hint of green: summer mandarin and orange, apple, pear, white peach, a little acacia flower, gentle acidity, and a soft bitterness right at the finish. We would describe that clean lingering feeling as umami, which sounds strange for a wine until you drink it with food. 

Kazumi Koshu is the same grape with a Napa Valley accent. More sun, and Michelle uses mostly neutral French oak with some stainless steel, four months of aging, two of them sur lie. It comes out sharper and more vivid: kumquat, grapefruit, lime, crisp apple, a flinty mineral streak, and a salinity that reminds me of a sea breeze. 

Side by side, Grace tastes like a quiet Sunday afternoon and Kazumi tastes like it just had a cup of coffee. Same grape, both dry, both 12% alcohol. Most people are genuinely surprised. If anyone wants the background on the grape itself, we put it all here: Everything You Need to Know About Koshu Wine. 

The two reds tell the same story. Akeno comes from Misawa Vineyard at 700 meters on clayey volcanic ash soil, fermented spontaneously, matured 15 months in French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered, at 12.5%. It is restrained and elegant, a wine that does not raise its voice. The Kazumi Cabernet Sauvignon is 14.6% and is proudly Napa: blackberry, bramble, currant, violet, silky tannins, a long finish. They make a good pair in the Japanese Heritage Red Set. 

One thing I am careful about: Kazumi’s Cabernet is grown in California, so I never call it a Japanese wine. It is a Japanese-founded winery making Napa Valley wine, which is a different and equally beautiful thing.

Japanese wines pair exceptionally well with a wide range of foods; what are a few of your favorite dishes and meals to enjoy alongside a glass?

I’m so glad you asked about pairing. 

We believe that pairing is one of the most enjoyable parts of wine, and we included pairing recommendations for each of our wines under the FAQ section.

And guess what?

So far, we have always paired them with Japanese food! (Well, it is my personal preference – surprise!)

We plan to expand this more on our blog. (Please subscribe to our newsletter here to get notified of new articles and pairing suggestions!)

Here is an example of how we recommended pairing with Kazumi Koshu. Doesn’t it make you hungry? Or better yet, crave a glass of good Japanese wine, maybe?

WHAT FOOD DOES KAZUMI NAPA VALLEY KOSHU PAIR WELL WITH?

Kazumi Koshu’s crisp citrus, flinty minerality, and whisper of sea salt make it a sommelier’s pour for refined, delicate plates. A few we love:

• Yellowtail sashimi with sudachi and a pinch of sea salt – ハマチの刺身 すだち塩 – the wine’s saline-citrus lift mirrors the fish.
• Salmon meunière in a brown-butter lemon sauce – サーモンのムニエルブラウンバターレモンソース – its bright acidity cuts the butter clean.
• Roast chicken salad, olive oil and lemon ローストチキンのサラダ仕立て、オリーブオイルとレモン- light, herbaceous, effortless.
• Shrimp and seasonal vegetable tempura with sea salt – 海老と季節野菜の天ぷら塩- crisp wine, crisp tempura.

Serve well chilled.

What is the general price range for these bottles, and where are they currently available to ship?

Bottles are $49 to $100. The current lineup and prices are always listed on our shop page. However, shipping is the part I have to explain carefully, because wine in the United States is complicated. We are licensed in California as an importer, a wholesaler, and an off-sale retailer. Because we are a retailer rather than a winery, we are only allowed to ship to states that permit out-of-state retailer direct-to-consumer wine delivery.

Today, that means California and Washington DC only. We are working on including more states and we will announce them as they become available. The full, current list is on our shipping policy page.

Orders ship with FedEx from our Napa warehouse, and someone 21 or older has to sign for the delivery. Standard shipping is included on orders of $100 or more for the Grand Opening campaign, which is a limited-time offer at the moment. During the warm months, you can add Summer Wine Protection for $16, a recycled foam cooler with ice bricks, because heat is far crueler to wine than time is. Local pickup at our Napa fulfillment center is also available. And if a bottle is not for you, we have a 30-day money-back guarantee – other questions are answered on our FAQ page.

Finally, as you embark on this next chapter with Japanese Wine Co., is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Thank you so much, Kristian-san, for interviewing me and for this opportunity. 

We generated a special coupon code for the Arigato Travel followers. 

Please use coupon code ARIGATO to get an additional 5% discount.

This code is valid on top of the existing subscription discount and includes free shipping on orders over $100. If you subscribe, the discount will be grandfathered in the future, and customers can unsubscribe anytime.

If anyone is curious to get notified about Japanese wine, please subscribe to our newsletter from here: https://japanesewineco.com/news (free, unsubscribe anytime)

Arigato – Gozaimasu!

Thank you so much, Kei-san, for taking the time to share your passion and give us a closer look at this exciting new chapter of Dream of Japan. We are thrilled to see Japanese craft winemaking earn a well-deserved place on dining tables across the country.

To explore the collection or order a bottle for your next meal, visit Japanese Wine Co. today!

Read more about Japanese Wine Co. on:

Japanese Wine Co. Website: https://japanesewineco.com/

Dream of Japan Website: https://dreamofjapan.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopdreamofjapan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShopDreamofJapan

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ShopDreamOfJapan

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shopdreamofjapan/

Featured Photo Credit: Japanese Wine Co.

Want to experience the rich terroirs and stunning vineyards of Yamanashi in person? Journey straight from the city into Japan’s premier winemaking region on our Wine Country Day Trip from Tokyo.