【What is DomaineUCHIDA? #01】

This time, I'll present to you the third Japanese winemaker's interview.

This is Mr Osamu Uchida, who makes natural wine in Bordeaux, France. His representative work 『Miracle』is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and uses the rare method of Maceration Carbonic in the Médoc area.

Médoc has a lot of famous chateaux that you may have heard of; for example, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Pontet Canet. If you are a wine enthusiast, here is a Japanese winemaker who is making wine in this great place you'll want to visit at least once in your life.

-Thank you for accepting my interview today. You make natural wine by yourself in Médoc. Could you tell me more about your story?

Mr Uchida: I founded『DomaineUCHIDA 』in 2015 and have been making wine since then. Before that, I had rented land in Loire and made wine. It's already been 20 years since I came to France. There really have been a lot of things that have happened since then.

Heading to France after experiencing a setback

-After you graduated from high school in Japan, you came to France and did a homestay in a winery. Why did you decide to go there?

Mr. Uchida:In high school, I was part of the track and field club, where I was a long distance runner. My high school "Kojyokan" was one of the track and field powerhouses back then. I worked myself to the bone to become a pro; however, it wasn't enough, and I wasn't able to fulfill my dream. That was the first setback for me. Then, I thought that I wanted to leave Japan and see the world. I considered a lot of countries, but I ended up choosing France because it has a rich culture, especially in arts and history. It was truly a coincidence.

-And then you came across wine in France, right?

Mr Uchida: Right. My homestay was at a small winery, where my host grandfather made wine. At that time there was no concept of bio, and he was making wine without any chemicals or pesticides. This experience was the starting point of my interest in natural wine. I was definitely interested in wine at that time, but I never thought that I would be making wine myself after that.

Dark past at high school in France 

-After graduating from your language school, you got transferred to a high school in France to get a *Baccalaureate. I can imagine that there were a lot of difficulties.

Mr Uchida: I felt like I was in hell every day... I call this period my "Dark Past". There were language barriers and age gaps. At that time, the other students didn't know anything about Japan because there was no internet. I was bullied in high school, and my nickname was "Konnichiwa". It was really rough.

-But you didn't give up.

Mr Uchida: I thought about giving up many times. The bullying continued from morning to night, but I didn't want to give up because I wanted to be confident in myself so I could get a Baccalaureate. Fortunately, I was able to make good friends. 

*Baccalaureate・・・It is a French "high school diploma" for those who wish to enroll in university.  (Source by France Ryugaku Center)

The reason I started making wine 

-During the 7 years that you stayed in France, you visited more than 300 wineries. When did you decide to make wine?

Mr Uchida: I started visiting wineries from the time I was in language school. As you know, I started to be interested in wine from the winery I first homestayed in, but I never thought about making my own wine at that time. However, when I wanted to enroll in high school to get a Baccalaureate, I thought of studying wine as a certification to enroll in the Faculty of Brewing in Bordeaux University.

-After that, you enrolled in the Faculty of Brewing at Bordeaux University. How was it?

Mr Uchida: Because it was the Faculty of Brewing, there were a lot of classes about wine. I was confident because I had the experiences of studying wine at high school.

A bitter experience of ESPOA group

-After graduating from university, you came back to Japan once. Did you have any problems?

Mr Uchida: No, I only had a little financial problem. Because I'd only ever worked in France since graduating high school in Japan, I wanted to return to Japan to work as a member of society.

-You worked at a group called ESPOA that exports wine. How was it?

Mr Uchida: Honestly, I was overconfident at that time. 「This man called "Uchida" is coming from France!」is how I was welcomed. I thought that I could do anything now, especially since I had graduated from a French university.

-How was it after you started to work there?

Mr Uchida: First, my boss said that I had to sell wine to offices in Osaka. At that time, I thought it was too easy for me because I had lots of knowledge about wine. However, there were days where I couldn't sell a single bottle. For instance, some staff who worked in restaurants would be excited upon hearing I'd been in Bordeaux and listen my story, but I also had to sell wine to people who had no interest in wine. For them, it was just "You stayed in France? It sounds like it was good experience! And...?" and then it was finished. It was good that this experience brought me down a peg or two.

-Now you manage 『Winers』 and export wine by yourself.

Mr Uchida: I made use of my experience from the ESPOA group. I export my wine from France to Japan through this company, but I am also thinking about managing my own trade. These days, I only trade my wine through Winers.

Founding of DomaineUCHIDA

-After you started to make your original wine, could you tell me more about your story?

Mr Uchida: At first, I made wine in Loire by renting the land. When I considered starting my own winery, I thought about which place would be best. My friends recommended Loire because it is easy to enter even for new people. I thought about the Bordeaux region because I was already fond of it, but they recommended the "Entre-deux-Mers" area in Bordeaux because it's easy to enter, and even if I changed my mind, I could choose Médoc. That's why I chose Médoc. Although it's true I was attached to Médoc because of my first homestay, I thought I shouldn't do the same thing as other people, and should do things differently. Fortunately, with the help of friends I was able to rent a field in Médoc. However, the path of hardship continues.

(To be continued...#02)