Tasting Circle: Japanese Hybrid Wines

​Very little Japanese wine ever leaves Japan. Almost none of it reaches New Mexico. And yet, here it is.

​Hybrid grapes come from crossing Vitis vinifera (the European species behind most of the wines you've heard of) with one of the native grape species native to North America or East Asia. The native grape vines bring toughness: resistance to disease, humidity, and cold that vinifera has never had. That's one of the reasons wine can be grown and made in Japan, where rain and humidity rot European vines but hybrids and hardy table grapes thrive.

​We'll taste wines made from Delaware, Steuben, Shine Muscat, Kyoho, and Japan's signature red grape Muscat Bailey A, which was bred in 1927 specifically for the Japanese climate.

​The wines are still largely under the radar, which means you have almost certainly never had anything like this. Adventure!

​Last Ditch style, as always: no pretension, no expertise required, just a good time with some interesting wine.

​Pay what you can. Suggested contribution is $35. Thirsty, curious tasters won’t get turned away for lack of funds.