YAMATOKORIYAMA, Nara -- Sales have begun for a new wine purely made from locally grown figs in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture. Moderately sweet, Ichijiku Wine was praised as refreshing and having a nice aroma at its unveiling at City Hall.
According to the municipal government, Nara prefecture is the seventh-largest producer of figs in the country, with 90% of the 500 tons produced annually grown in Yamatokoriyama. However, the area is not well known as fig producing area.
Therefore, entities such as the municipal government and the local society of commerce and industry come up with the idea to produce a wine from the figs, and established the Yamatokoriyama fig wine council in November to carry on the project.
The wine's recipe was entrusted to the Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, Osaka Prefecture, and Asuka Wine Corp. in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, handled the production.
With the cooperation of about 20 fig farmers, roughly a ton of figs that had been in frozen storage was used in early January, yielding 1,400 720-milliliter bottles (priced at 1,496 yen) and 400 360-milliliter bottles (priced at 898 yen).
A promotional video detailing the process of winemaking, including brewing, was also created. The Kansai Culture and Art High School in Nara City was commissioned by the Yamatokoriyama city government, through a contribution agreement, to create the labels for the bottles. Out of 20 prospective works, a drawing depicting fig fruits and a glass filled with wine, drawn by second-year student Misaki Kubo, was chosen.
At a tasting event on Feb. 22, the conference members raised their glasses filled with the light chestnut-colored wine and toasted. Local citizens who had gathered also got a taste.
Yamatokoriyama Mayor Kiyoshi Ueda, who is also head of the council, said, "[This wine] has a flavor that is sure to be a huge hit among the ladies."
Ichijiku Wine is on sale at 11 stores in Nara Prefecture, mainly in Yamatokoriyama.
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