Yama Sauvignon (yama budou × Cabernet hybrid), vacuum-aged 3 years. The most wine-like Amethyst Dew profile — treasured as a non-alcoholic pairing.
In Japanese, yama means mountain and budou means grape — together, yama budou is, literally, the mountain grape. And that's what it is: a small, dark, intensely tart wild grape that grows in the cold mountains of northern Japan. It's one of only two grape varieties native to Japan. The fruit was used as a medicinal tonic seven centuries ago and almost disappeared as cultivated varieties displaced it. Today, a handful of farms in the cold northern mountains keep it alive.
Sasaki-san's family farm in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, has been growing yama budou for over fifty years. Around 2010, they began cultivating Yama Sauvignon — a Japanese hybrid grape that crosses yama budou with Cabernet Sauvignon. The goal was to combine yama budou's cold-climate hardiness and native Japanese character with Cabernet's refined tannin structure and mid-palate complexity.
Amethyst Mariage is the result. Where The Rich and The Fresh are pure yama budou, the Mariage is made from Yama Sauvignon vines — and the difference shows. The wild edge of yama budou softens. Tannin becomes more structured, more reminiscent of traditional European red wines. Acidity holds but isn't as bracing. The mid-palate carries more weight. Of the three Dew profiles, this is the most directly wine-like — the closest to what someone would expect from an aged red.
The farming and processing follow the same standards as the rest of the series: no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides for over fifty years. The pomace is returned to the field as compost. Harvested only from vines fifteen years and older. Whole-pressed with skin and pulp, then sealed in airtight vacuum tanks at low temperature. With no oxygen in the tank, fermentation never begins, and no alcohol develops. Over three years, aging rounds out the tannin, softens the sharp acidity and raw edge, and builds a rounder, deeper, more complex flavor. No fermentation, no concentration, no dilution — the change comes from time alone.
It's a non-alcoholic option that comes remarkably close to a structured red wine in its tannin, structure, weight, and finish. The Amethyst Dew series is served at Michelin-starred restaurants and fine dining establishments in Japan and the US; Mariage in particular has gained traction with sommeliers building non-alcoholic pairing programs, since it presents the least adjustment for guests accustomed to red wine.
Ayako, Umami Curator at The House of Umami, has spent time with Sasaki-san at the farm in Kuji. Visiting in autumn — the vines on steep terraces, the small crew working through the short harvest window, the fruit going straight from vine to press — she returned convinced this was a product the House of Umami needed to carry.
