07-07-2025
Japan's Mercian drops Beaujolais Nouveau for local wines
Beaujolais Nouveau has fallen in popularity from its peak in the early 2000s. (Photo by Hayato Sawa)
SEI MATSUMOTO
TOKYO -- Japan's Mercian will stop selling France's Beaujolais Nouveau wine, a variety that was once hugely popular in Japan but has been falling out of favor, as rising import costs eat into profitability.
Beaujolais Nouveau is a nouveau wine, a type that can be sold in the same year the grapes are harvested. It is produced in the Beaujolais region of France and released on the third Thursday of November each year. Mercian, a unit of Kirin Holdings, has decided not to sell the wine in the autumn of 2025, and does not plan to from 2026 onward.
