KOFU—A university research institute here abandoned its practice of wasting booze in pursuit of creating the education world’s first fully independent wine-producing method, from raising grapes to selling the intoxicant.

The University of Yamanashi’s Institute of Enology and Viticulture said this is the first Japanese university project to make and sell wine without the involvement of a private-sector winery.

Under the “Shin University of Yamanashi wine project,” the institute undertakes all processes involved on its own.

“Shin” is a Japanese prefix that can mean “new” or “genuine.” It has obtained “vogue” status after it was used in recent movie titles.

In early September, volunteer students were harvesting grapes on a farm owned by a university employee. They picked “Muscat Bailey A” grapes, a variety native to Japan that is used to make red wine.

After finishing the harvesting, the students removed stem parts of the grapes and immature fruits at the IEV offices. They then pressed the grapes, prepared them for fermentation and put them into tanks.

Grapes of the Koshu variety, which is used to make white wine and is indigenous to Yamanashi Prefecture, were scheduled for harvesting and fermenting in late September.

A number of wine products have carried the names of universities across Japan, including the University of Yamanashi. But those products were developed jointly with businesses and put on sale by wineries.

“Our wine products, made entirely at the University of Yamanashi, embody the technologies and enthusiasm that we have nurtured at this university,” said Shunji Suzuki, a professor of viticulture who heads the IEV.

‘CLEAN’ WINE MADE BY STUDENTS

The IEV, which is dedicated to the study of fruit wine, is the successor of a research institute established in 1947 under the Yamanashi Engineering School, predecessor of today’s University of Yamanashi Faculty of Engineering.

Under its “wine science” studies, the IEV has been working to improve the quality of wine, a specialty of Yamanashi Prefecture, and to nurture next-generation experts. The studies include genome analyses of grape cultures and wine-producing technologies.

The university’s campus provides IEV students with not only classrooms but also fermenting equipment and a farm.

Products from those lessons, however, have been thrown away because they are considered part of the educational process.

But now the wine is being bottled and sold.

Suzuki initiated the “Shin” wine project to work with students and realize a “new” and “genuine” wine-making process that includes everything, including sales.

He said he hopes the students will exert their originality and ingenuity into making wine consumed enthusiastically by others.

Suzuki began selecting the farm site and producing wine on a trial basis in 2023.

He filed applications with a public health center and a tax office and obtained a license to make wine on the university campus for eventual sale.

In 2024, he used crowdfunding to gain money for plant and equipment investment. He collected nearly twice the targeted sum.

Project members began growing grapes in the spring that year. They harvested 600 kilograms each of the two varieties in autumn and matured them under low temperatures for six months.

Their wine volume is a small fraction of typical production at a winery. Therefore, project members use smaller pot-shaped stainless-steel tanks.

That makes the wine more susceptible to external influences, including temperature. So, quality control should be exercised more thoroughly, and production methods and raw materials should be more faithful to the basics, Suzuki said.

“Our students are making a ‘clean’ variety of wine,” he said. “It gives off no defective smells and reflects the flavor of the yearly grape harvests.”

In spring, the wine of 2024 was sealed in about 1,000 bottles featuring the students’ own labels.

The label design was selected in a competition among students and graduates of the University of Yamanashi.

The 750-millimeter bottles were put on sale in July on consignment at three outlets in Kofu, including a convenience store on the university campus and a liquor store. They cost 2,500 yen ($17), including tax, per bottle.

The IEV has received direct consumer feedback, including compliments, on its X account and through other channels, the officials said.

PLANS FOR BRANDY

The project is expanding.

To cope with climate change, IEV officials in April planted seedlings of a warming-adapted grape variety developed in Yamanashi Prefecture.

A trial is also under way to make wine from a grape variety that requires about five years to grow but is less likely to deteriorate in color and quality under high temperatures.

And as a second stage of the project, IEV officials are attempting to distill wine into brandy.

The program will revive brandy-making classes that have been suspended for about 20 years because of the complicated production processes involved.

The officials said they plan to use the traditional distillation and aging process for brandy that can take 20 to 30 years to complete.

They called for donations on the crowdfunding platform and raised nearly twice their target sum.

“Wine studies are inconspicuous, but they do help form a broad fan base for our university,” Suzuki said. “We hope to be working with our students to think about wine making of the future so the University of Yamanashi will remain a driver of research in the years to come.”

The IEV is displaying its research subjects outside the north exit of Kofu Station through January.

The exhibits include panels describing the wine project, a real wine cask, wine bottles and a quiz section for guessing aromas