In Japanese, yama means mountain and budou means grape — together, yama budou literally translates to “mountain grape.” True to its name, 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 the country. The fruit was used as a medicinal tonic seven centuries ago and almost disappeared as cultivated varieties displaced it. Today, only a handful of farms in the cold northern mountains keep it alive.
Sasaki-san's family farm in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, is one of them. His father planted the first vines in 1971 specifically to save the variety from extinction. No synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides have touched the soil in over fifty years. The pomace from each pressing is returned to the fields as compost. Sasaki-san harvests only from vines that are at least fifteen years old, allowing the fruit to develop greater depth, structure, and concentration.
What's in the Duo:
・The Rich— Picked in late October at full ripeness, after the leaves have fallen. Deep, rounded sweetness, low astringency, a long finish that recalls a mature red wine.
・The Fresh— Picked in September while acidity is still bright. Lean, structured, more bracing on the palate. Its character is closer to a high-acid red wine than to conventional grape juice.
Both are pressed whole — skin, pulp, and juice together — then sealed into vacuum tanks at low temperature. They are left untouched for three years. No fermentation, no concentration, no dilution. The wild tannin and sharp acidity that define yama budou gradually soften into something deeper and more complex. The result is non-alcoholic, but not in the way that phrase usually suggests.
The Amethyst Dew series has been adopted by Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan and abroad — typically served in wine glasses, paired with red meat or aged cheese, or built into reductions, glazes, and sauces.
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. The Duo is the simplest way to experience both profiles side by side.
Each bottle arrives in its own producer-branded gift box — ready to present together as a set, divided as two separate gifts, or enjoyed at home for personal tasting.
