Napa Winery to Produce Japanese-Style Rice Wine
A new winery in the Napa Valley promises relief for the touring oenophile whose jaded palate has come to dread yet another encounter with the ubiquitous Cabernet and Chardonnay.
Kohnan Inc., the California subsidiary of Japan’s MCB Trading, won approval from the Napa Valley Planning Commission to build a 160,000-gallon facility whose raw material will be California rice instead of California grapes.
Tours, Tastings
The plant will make both sake--fermented rice wine--and shochu, a more potent distilled rice spirit that is little known in this country but popular among Japanese youth.
Like many of the Napa Valley’s 200 wineries, Kohnan will offer tours, tastings and sales to the public. The $6-million plant will be located on 12 acres at the new Napa Airport Corporate Park, said Kinya Tsuruta, the plant’s San Francisco architect. Grounds will include a Japanese garden; the first phase is scheduled for completion in September, 1988.
“Napa is strategically located,†Tsuruta said, citing the location’s large work force, reasonably priced land and good transportation. The Napa Valley’s tourist trade and reputation as one of the world’s great wine-growing regions were also considerations, he acknowledged. “People will be a lot more likely to visit a plant in Napa than in Fairfield,†home of Budweiser’s Northern California brewery and an unsuccessful competing site for the Kohnan facility.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
