Strategies, challenges, and opportunities in the Japanese market. Practical tips from Shigeru Hayashi on how to successfully position Piedmont wines in Japan.
From the shadow of the French model to the value of UNESCO heritage: the great sommelier explains how to transform the identity of the Piedmontese territory into a reference point for the Japanese public.
Wine-producing Piedmont holds one of the most fascinating expressive heritages in the world: an anthropological and natural mosaic of vineyards and hills across Langhe, Monferrato, and Roero, rightfully protected by UNESCO. And yet, when this immense value travels overseas to meet the Japanese market, it clashes with a complex cultural barrier. While the iconic status of appellations like Barolo and Barbaresco is undisputed, the deep identity of the Piedmontese territory and the variety of its grapes still struggle to be decoded by a Japanese audience historically accustomed to the linearity of French offerings.
In this exclusive interview, Shigeru Hayashi – sommelier, writer, journalist, and Japanese expert on Italian food and wine – offers a lucid, pragmatic, and highly strategic reflection on the positioning of Piedmontese appellations in Japan. Hayashi doesn’t just outline the macroeconomic difficulties tied to the devaluation of the yen, but charts a true course of value enhancement for local producers.
The focus thus shifts to the need for a more incisive geographical narrative and the strategic promotion of grape varieties considered “entry points” – such as Langhe Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto – capable of intercepting new consumer trends without undermining the prestige of the great reserves. Finally, an unbreakable human and gastronomic bond emerges: that of Japanese chefs who learned the cult of raw materials right in the Piedmont hills, and who today stand as the perfect ambassadors of a modern, elegant Nebbiolo, capable of harmonizing even with the purity of traditional Japanese cuisine.
You often describe the image of Italian wine in Japan by comparing it to France, a country that “presents itself with a single voice”. In the first quarter of 2026, Italian wine export data showed a gap between growing volumes (6.2%) and declining values (-4.3%). In your opinion, does the French advantage remain structural, or is something changing?
Yes, France’s dominance remains structural. We are talking about a historical bond: French wine has been imported to Japan for over 160 years, ever since the country opened its doors to the world. Japan chose France as a model to learn Western gastronomic culture; consequently, for a long time, Western cuisine in Japan was identified with French cuisine, and wine with French wine.
On a purely gastronomic level, things changed in the 1980s: the wave of the Italian trend led to the extraordinary success of Italian restaurants, which surpassed French cuisine in terms of widespread presence. However, the wine sector did not keep the same pace. The distribution network and key institutions, starting with the Japanese Sommelier Association, remain heavily focused on French wine.
As a result, despite the enormous growth of Italian restaurants, the consumption of Italian wine has remained focused almost exclusively on the restaurant industry, failing to penetrate other consumption channels. This structural limitation is also due to the fact that many importers are specialized trading companies, focusing only on the niche of Italian food and wine.
Piedmont has built its identity on the word “terroir” — Langhe, Monferrato, Roero are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. Does this language, so central to an Italian winemaker, really reach the Japanese consumer, or does it remain industry jargon?
Unfortunately, the territorial specifics and the value of Piedmont’s World Heritage sites are not yet widely recognized by the general Japanese public.
Of course, great appellations like Barolo and Barbaresco enjoy excellent notoriety. But even for Barolo, despite a strong brand fame, there is a lack of real awareness of its geographical roots and deep identity.
The first step to take is putting Piedmont on a map. There is a need for constant, strategic, and visual promotional work to truly help the Japanese consumer understand what makes the hills of Langhe, Monferrato, and Roero unique.
You have insisted for years on the need for education, pointing out that most sommelier exams in Japan are still based on French wines. What exactly needs to change, and can Piedmontese producers play a direct role in this process?
There is a paradox: while many professionals in the Italian restaurant industry in Japan have direct experience in Italy, those handling commercial distribution have trained almost exclusively on French models. For this reason, many intermediaries consider Italian wines complex, fragmented, and difficult to understand.
The concrete solution is to invest in direct, on-the-field experience. It is essential to organize training courses in Italy aimed at those managing the distribution chain, distributors, wholesalers, and wine shops, who currently handle low volumes of Italian wine simply due to a lack of familiarity.
In this scenario, Piedmont, as a benchmark for premium production, has a great opportunity: it must actively demonstrate that its great reds have nothing to envy compared to high-end French wines, while simultaneously promoting a formidable selling point: the extraordinary value for money when compared to their French counterparts.
Recent data shows the Japanese market shifting towards “value for money” and the standard segment, between 2.82 and 5.86 euros per bottle. Piedmont, with wines like Barolo and Barbaresco, largely exists in higher price brackets. Is this a risk of marginalization, or an opportunity for the “entry point” represented by Langhe Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto?
We cannot ignore the economic situation: the yen has depreciated by about 40% against the euro compared to pre-COVID levels. Faced with this financial pressure, importers tend to seek lower-tier products to keep consumer prices from skyrocketing.
However, iconic appellations like Barolo and Barbaresco remain irreplaceable pillars for any respectable wine list. To support them in this phase, the key is activation in venues through “by the glass” tastings and themed dinners. Creating targeted tasting opportunities within restaurants stimulates customer curiosity and gives importers the confidence needed to keep ordering.
At the same time, offering more accessible wines like Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba is not a fallback, but a brilliant strategy. These wines represent the perfect “entry point” to the world of great Piedmontese reds, educating the consumer’s palate before guiding them toward more prestigious bottles.
You worked for Suntory and know Japanese logistics and distribution well. For a small family-run Piedmontese winery without a consolidated export structure, what is genuinely the first useful step to enter this market today, beyond good intentions?
The first concrete step, which might seem counterintuitive, is to consolidate your positioning in the domestic market, selling and making yourself known in top-tier wine shops and restaurants in Italy.
When a producer meets a Japanese importer, one of the first questions they will be asked is: “Which Italian restaurants carry your wine?”. In the Japanese market, the HoReCa channel is the true keystone. Many Japanese sommeliers, chefs, and specialized importers have studied or worked in Italy; when choosing a wine, they try to recreate the same identity and selection found in the best Italian venues. If a winery is not well-regarded at home, it will be very difficult to convince a Japanese buyer.
You have experienced firsthand the evolution of Italian restaurants in Japan, which today number over 12,000. What role do these venues really play in the discovery of Piedmont wines, and how much does it matter that they are mostly run by Japanese restaurateurs who learned to cook in Italy?
The role of these professionals is invaluable. For over thirty years, a steady stream of Japanese chefs has been training at ICIF (Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners) near Asti, a project I was proudly a teacher for in the early 1990s.
After the theory, these young professionals undergo months of practical internships in Piedmontese kitchens. By living there, they consume and breathe the culture of Piedmont wine on a daily basis. When they return to Japan, they bring with them a wealth of extraordinarily professional and authentic skills and anecdotes.
The Japanese, by cultural inclination, are a people very attentive to theory and detail: they have a deep desire to share with scientific precision what they have experienced and learned, passing this gastronomic culture down to younger generations of colleagues as well.
Japanese cuisine is based on simple ingredients and delicate flavors like dashi. Nebbiolo, with its tannins and structure, is often perceived as a “demanding” wine. How do you build a credible bridge between a young Barolo and a traditional Japanese dish without forcing the pairing?
Today we are witnessing a global macro-trend that rewards lightness and elegance. The approach to Nebbiolo winemaking is also changing, moving towards lighter colors and lower alcohol content: an evolution that is extraordinarily favorable for meeting the delicate flavors of Japanese cuisine.
Traditionally, in Japan, Nebbiolo has been paired with structured meat dishes, such as Teppanyaki or Sukiyaki, or relegated to wine bars. This new search for finesse, however, opens up unexplored frontiers.
Personally, when I visit my favorite sushi restaurant, I love bringing red wine bottles aged 10 or 15 years, when time has smoothed and softened the tannins. A sublime pairing? With lightly grilled tuna cheek or collar.
Unfortunately, high-end traditional dining in Tokyo is still dominated by Burgundy wines, ordered at exorbitant prices even when a Barolo would offer superior complexity. The fact that Japan boasts over 12,000 Italian restaurants without having a historical immigrant community is unique in the world, but this exceptionality has led distributors to rest on their laurels in this comfortable niche.
The real future challenge is to break out of the boundaries of Italian restaurants to conquer the tables of traditional Japanese dining and home consumption. I have dedicated two books to the combination of “Japanese cuisine and Italian wine,” and a third will be released next year, in two languages. I truly hope it can be another cultural bridge to make the Japanese fall in love with great Italian bottles in their everyday lives too.
The reflections of Shigeru Hayashi outline a clear path: the Japanese market rewards wineries capable of communicating their territorial identity with consistency, vision, and a presence on the ground. It is precisely to support producers in this positioning strategy that I Vini del Piemonte, in collaboration with Slow Wine, is returning to Tokyo for its annual promotional event.
This is a concrete opportunity to showcase your labels by speaking directly with importers, sommeliers, and industry professionals, establishing a foothold in that HoReCa channel which, as highlighted in the interview, represents the crucial hub for operating successfully in Japan.
Registrations are still open (last spot avaiable): we invite interested wineries to seize this opportunity to consolidate their contacts or to present themselves in a structured way on this strategic market.
Discover the details and the program of the event in Tokyo
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