Winery in Rain-Hit Okayama Facing Shortages of Grapes

July 23, 2018

Kurashiki, Okayama Pref.- A winery in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, that uses locally produced grapes is struggling to find alternative grape suppliers after recent torrential rain in western Japan.

"This year, we'll probably see our production fall by half," said Kazuo Ishikawa, 70, manager of Funao Winery, which usually produces about 3,000 bottles of wine made of Pione grapes and some 4,000 bottles of juice a year.

The winery has procured some 90 pct of Pione grapes from the Mabi district of Kurashiki, where many grape fields were flooded.

The winery needs to procure grapes from other areas in order to maintain the level of production, but that is not an easy task.

In some flooded fields, farmers are seen facing the need to plant new grape trees. It normally takes five to six years for grapes to be harvested since being planted.

"Our production will likely suffer a prolonged impact," Ishikawa said.

Located on a hill distant from the Takahashi River, which became swollen due to the record rain, Funao Winery escaped being flooded.

But group tours to the winery were canceled one after another following the downpour, while individual customers also decreased.

"I hope many tourists will come to Kurashiki to liven up the city," Ishikawa said.

The death toll from the disaster reached 218 as of Sunday, the worst for a rain disaster in the country since the current Heisei era began in 1989. Jiji Press