Tap-Kop Blanc
タプ・コプ ブラン
Kondo Vineyard
Sauvignon Blanc · Kerner · Gewürztraminer · Riesling · Chardonnay
About this wine
Tap-Kop Blanc is an aromatic dry white wine sourced from Kondo Vineyard's Tap-Kop farm in Mikasa, Hokkaido. The wine is a blend of aromatic white varieties — primarily Sauvignon Blanc, Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Chardonnay — harvested from cool-climate vines farmed without synthetic chemicals. Pressed slowly and fermented in large wooden tanks and stainless-steel barrels, it captures the vivid freshness of the Sorachi appellation. The wine rewards 1–2 years of cellaring to develop complexity while retaining its characteristic bright acidity.
If you enjoy Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or Alsatian Riesling, Tap-Kop Blanc offers a similar aromatic freshness with a uniquely Japanese mineral cool-climate character.
Sommelier's Note
"Tap-Kop Blanc is Kondo's clearest expression of Sorachi's cool-climate aromatics — vivid citrus zest and stone fruit on the nose, a crisp mineral palate, and an unusually long finish for a Japanese white at this price. Serve at 10–12°C."
Food Pairings
Fresh Hokkaido seafood — sea urchin, scallops, crab; Hokkaido dairy dishes including cream-based pasta, brie, and raclette; white fish carpaccio; light vegetable tempura.
When to drink it
Dinner parties featuring seafood; casual izakaya with Hokkaido produce; summer picnics
Specs
- Grape Varieties
- Sauvignon Blanc, Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay
- Style
- White, dry
- Price Range
- Around ¥3,500–¥4,000 (cellar-door price)
Terroir & Winemaking
No synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides used in vineyard. Slow pressing; fermented in large wooden tanks and stainless-steel barrel. Minimal sulphur addition.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does 'Tap-Kop' mean?
- 'Tap-Kop' (タプ・コプ) is the Ainu name for the Mikasa farm, reflecting the Ainu Indigenous heritage of Hokkaido's landscape where the vineyard is located.
- How long can I age Tap-Kop Blanc?
- The producer recommends 1–2 years of cellaring to allow the wine to develop. With proper storage it can likely develop well for 3–5 years from vintage.
- What is the difference between Tap-Kop Blanc and Tap-Kop Blanc Z?
- Tap-Kop Blanc Z was an exceptional single-vintage (2020) release. The 'Z' designation indicates a wine from that specific vintage that showed unusual tropical fruit characteristics due to particular fermentation conditions that year.
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Talk to the SommelierMore wines from this producer
タプ・コプ レンベルガー
Tap-Kop Lemberger
ReddryLemberger
Tap-Kop Lemberger is a red wine made from Lemberger (Blaufränkisch) grown at Kondo Vineyard's Tap-Kop farm in Mikasa, Hokkaido. Lemberger is a rare variety in Japan, and Kondo's cool-climate version brings out the variety's characteristic freshness, spice, and dark fruit profile. The wine exemplifies the estate's minimal-intervention philosophy.
コンコン クヴェヴリ
Konkon Kvevri
orangeamberdryPinot Gris · Auxerrois · Chardonnay · Sauvignon Blanc · Gewürztraminer · Kerner · Sylvaner · Riesling
Konkon Kvevri is Kondo Vineyard's most distinctive wine and Japan's most celebrated example of qvevri-style winemaking. It is a field blend of up to eight white varieties — Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Kerner, Sylvaner, and Riesling — drawn 56% from the Tap-Kop farm (Mikasa) and 44% from the Moseushi farm (Iwamizawa). Grapes are harvested together from the mixed-planted parcels and fermented with skins and seeds in buried Georgian qvevri vessels (600L+) as well as local Hokkaido earthenware made by potter Futoshi Nakamura of Shari Kiln. The wine spends approximately six months in qvevri before moving to oak barrels for five more months. In its youth, aromas of black tea, kumquat, and fresh herbs appear; with time, rose, ginger, clove, and sandalwood emerge, and the wine deepens into an amber profile of extraordinary complexity. Production is extremely limited.
タプ・コプ ピノ・ノワール
Tap-Kop Pinot Noir
ReddryPinot Noir
Tap-Kop Pinot Noir is Kondo Vineyard's premier red, made from Pinot Noir grown at the Tap-Kop farm in Mikasa (60%) and the Moseushi farm in Iwamizawa's Kurisawa district (40%). The wine showcases the cool-climate character of Sorachi with vivid red berry fruit, a perfumed nose of red fruits and spice, and an elegantly structured palate. In its youth it displays bright red cherry and raspberry, with clove and pepper notes emerging on the finish. With further aging (peak expected 2026–2032 from the 2021 vintage), deep forest floor, mushroom, and spice complexity develop.