Japan Winery Map

Know the grapes

Kai Noir甲斐ノワール

Wineries growing it
4
Awards
37
Years with awards
2003–2024

A red-wine grape combining Black Queen's deep colour and acidity with Cabernet Sauvignon-like aromas, usually making a firm, focused wine.

Kai Noir is a red-wine grape bred by the Yamanashi Prefectural Fruit Tree Experiment Station from Black Queen and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was named and registered as Grape Norin No. 5 in 1990, then received formal variety registration in 1992. The skins colour well and the grapes can reach high sugar levels, while retaining marked acidity and a Cabernet-like aroma. The wines are deeply coloured and focused, with astringency that is not usually aggressive. The prefecture identifies warmer areas west of Yamanashi as suitable growing regions.

Japan (Yamanashi Prefectural Fruit Tree Experiment Station)deep colourfirm acidityCabernet-like aromasoft astringency

Notes on aroma and taste describe general tendencies for this grape, not claims about any particular wine — the actual character depends on the producer and how it is made.

Statements of fact — origin, crossing, plant-variety registration and growing regions — have been checked against public bodies, research institutes, or the breeder (1 sources).

Kai Noir at the Japan Wine Competition

37 awards in the published results carry “Kai Noir” in the entry name, across 11 wineries and 17 years. These are read from the entry names, not from declared grape composition, so wines whose names do not mention the grape are not included.

  • Gold 2
  • Silver 1
  • Bronze 24
  • Encouragement 10

Wineries with the most awards

Ordered by how many awards we list. Producers differ in how many wines they entered and in how many years they entered, so this is not a ranking of quality.

Wines that have won more than once

Grouped by producer and wine, showing those with three or more awards. Names come from the published entry names, with the vintage removed because each row spans several vintages.

By year

Wineries growing Kai Noir

4 listed wineries are recorded by their sources as growing this grape.