Kura Master, held in Paris, France, has announced that it will launch a Japanese Wine Competition from this year.
For the inaugural year, the competition will focus on Koshu, a native Japanese grape with a long cultivation history that is increasingly recognized in the European market as a representative variety of Japanese wine.
Here are the details.
About Kura Master
Kura Master is a competition held in Paris, France.
With a mission to spread the appeal of Japanese alcoholic beverages around the world, it launched a sake competition in Paris in 2017, added a honkaku shochu and awamori competition in 2020, and began an umeshu competition in 2023. This year marks its ninth competition overall.
As the competitions have continued, judges have naturally deepened their understanding of sake, honkaku shochu, awamori, and umeshu. At the same time, interest in alcoholic beverages beyond French wine has expanded, and Japanese wine is no exception, attracting strong interest and expectations. Under Mr. Levinson's leadership, the new competition aims to evaluate the appeal of Japanese wine from fresh perspectives and enhance its value in international markets.
The first year focuses on Koshu
In recent years, Koshu has increasingly been recognized in European markets as a grape representative of Japanese wine and as a variety that highlights the distinctiveness of Japan's wine culture.
Because French wine culture traditionally studies wine by region and grape variety, Kura Master chose to limit the inaugural Japanese Wine Competition to Koshu in order to deepen judges' learning and understanding.
The entry fee is €307 per wine, including registration, shipping, customs duties, liquor taxes, and related expenses.
For further details, see the reference information below.
Reference
Entry requirements
Schedule
1. Entry requirements announced: Tuesday, January 28, 6:00 French time / 14:00 Japan time
2. Entry period: Monday, February 10 – Friday, March 21
3. Judging: Monday, May 26, ESPACE CHARENTON, Paris, France
4. Winning wines announced: Monday, June 16. Jury Prize, Platinum Awards, Gold Awards, and Top 3 announced on the official website.
5. Kura Master 2025 awards ceremony: Wednesday, September 24, at the Residence of the Ambassador of Japan to France, planned
Jury Prize certificates will be presented.
6. Kura Master 2025 winning-wine tasting: Thursday, September 25, at Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, planned
Entry overview
＜How to enter＞
Applications will be accepted online through the official Kura Master website from Monday, February 10 through Friday, March 21. See the URL below for details.
https://kuramaster.com/
＜Entry conditions＞
The Kura Master Japanese Wine Competition will judge one category, Koshu. The entry fee is €307 per wine, including registration, shipping, customs duties, liquor taxes, and related expenses.
See the following URL for rules and detailed conditions.