Japan Winery Map

Know the grapes

Kernerケルナー

Wineries growing it
31
Awards
216
Years with awards
2003–2026

A German-bred grape related to Riesling, with showy aromatics and firm acidity.

Bred in Germany in 1929 by crossing the red grape Trollinger with Riesling. It combines a sweet muscat-like perfume with the fresh acidity of green apple and citrus, and is made both dry and off-dry. Relatively cold-hardy, in Japan it is grown mainly in Hokkaido, where it is one of the signature white grapes of areas such as Yoichi. It suits sashimi, vinegared dishes and lightly salted cooking.

Germanymuscatgreen applewhite flowers

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 (2 sources).

Kerner at the Japan Wine Competition

216 awards in the published results carry “Kerner” in the entry name, across 20 wineries and 24 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.

  • Grand Gold 1
  • Gold 25
  • Silver 58
  • Bronze 105
  • Encouragement 14

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 Kerner

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