[Held on Sunday, July 20 and Monday, July 21] Funao Winery Summer Festival 〜 Beat the summer heat and have fun for all ages! Featuring a new product with the rich flavor of Muscat grapes too

July 12 marks the founding day of Funao Winery, which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year (2025).

To mark its founding day, a summer festival will be held on July 20 and 21. They have held anniversary events in the past, but this is apparently the first time they have held a “summer festival.”

When asked, “Since July 12 is a Saturday, why not hold it on the day itself?”

“We wanted to make it an event that both adults and children could enjoy.”

So they decided to hold the summer festival at the start of the summer holidays.

What is the “Funao Winery Summer Festival”?

The “Funao Winery Summer Festival” will be held on Sunday, July 20, and Monday, July 21, 2025 (a public holiday).

The event is planned to include the following activities, making it something adults and children can enjoy together.

• On the 20th, food stalls that children are sure to enjoy will line the venue
• On the 21st, a workshop where you can try making small crafts
• On both days, a variety of nearby shops will offer delicious food and unusual items

Please see the image below for details.

Two new products are also scheduled to go on sale in July. They will be available at the summer festival, so we’ll introduce them here as well.

Ice cream made with “Muscat of Alexandria”

The first new product, released on July 3, 2025, is ice cream made with “Muscat of Alexandria.”
Its full name is “ICE CREAM containing the juice of about eight Muscat of Alexandria grapes grown in Funao Winery’s vineyard”—a somewhat lengthy product name.

This is the second original Funao Winery sweet, following “Janna Pudding,” released in 2024. The Muscat ice cream was developed in collaboration with Le Foyer, located in Ariki, Kurashiki City.

When I had the chance to try it, I found that it had the rich flavor you expect from ice cream, yet wasn’t too sweet. Its smooth, moist texture made it easy to enjoy not only for adults but also for young children.

This ice cream is sold exclusively at Funao Winery’s main store and Kurashiki Ivy Square store, and apparently isn’t available anywhere else. However, it will be sold at the venue for the Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival, which will be held at the Mabi Branch Office on July 12.

Of course, it will also be sold at this summer festival.

I asked manager Jogo Tetsuya about the thinking behind its development.

Why does a winery keep making one sweet after another?

Jogo (surname only)

Okayama Prefecture produces 95% of all Muscat of Alexandria grapes in Japan, and Funao is one of its major growing areas.

Funao Winery was founded with the desire to “deliver the rich aroma of Muscat of Alexandria all year round, just as it is, and make the name of Funao, the home of Alexandria grapes, known throughout Japan.”

However, grape growers who produce Muscat of Alexandria are aging, and in recent years, advances in breeding have made seedless grapes more popular. As a result, people are gradually having fewer opportunities to enjoy Muscat of Alexandria at home.

By developing specialty products other than wine, we hope to help people who don’t drink alcohol and people of all ages enjoy Muscat of Alexandria, and to spread its flavor and name even further.

In fact, we also plan to develop Muscat of Alexandria vinegar and juice, among other products.

Please look forward to them.

Limited-edition wine released for Tanabata: “2024 Muscat Bailey A Rose Dry Sparkling”

The other new product is Funao Winery’s first rosé sparkling wine, “2024 Muscat Bailey A Rose Dry Sparkling.”

It will be released on July 7, 2025, a date with three sevens. Only 489 bottles will be available.

This sparkling wine is characterized by its generous use of only the fresh juice that naturally flows from crushed grapes (free-run juice), as well as the savory flavors produced by the sur lie method, which brings out the yeast characteristics unique to dry wine to the fullest.

Growing Muscat grapes with care and effort—harvest experiences in autumn, too

We were given a tour of the work being done in the greenhouse at Funao Winery, where Muscat of Alexandria grapes are grown.

Inside the greenhouse, small green bunches of Muscat of Alexandria covered the vines. Despite the intense heat that day, workers were trimming excess leaves and shaping the bunches while checking the growth of the branches and the balance of the clusters.

From removing unwanted buds, to training and securing the branches and leaves, to thinning the grapes to shape the bunches, one labor-intensive task after another has been underway since spring.

As I watched the workers repeatedly move back and forth through the greenhouse, doing every task with their heads tilted upward, I could tell how demanding the work must be.

This year, too, preparations for wine made from Muscat of Alexandria grapes are set to begin around September.

They also plan to offer a grape-harvesting experience in this greenhouse, where Muscat of Alexandria grapes are grown for winemaking. I’d love to visit.

Enjoy the winery’s lush summer festival

Sokai Nami, the public relations representative at Funao Winery Co., Ltd., which planned the “Funao Winery Summer Festival,” said:

Sokai (honorific omitted)

Many people, from young children to older adults, came to the Spring Cherry Blossom Festival.

We were delighted and encouraged to hear from many families who told us, “This is our first time visiting a winery.” This summer festival will be held during a very hot time of year, but we hope you’ll enjoy it at our lush, green winery—a different experience from the cherry blossom season.

On the day, we plan to sell chilled glasses of our new sparkling wine. Local vendors will also have snacks that pair well with wine.

We look forward to welcoming you. We hope you’ll join us!

From the Writer

“Funao Winery” was breathtaking in spring, with its abundance of cherry blossoms.
A friend who went to the cherry blossom festival said, “I had no idea there was a cherry blossom spot like this. Maybe I’ll come here for hanami from next year on.”

When I visited this time, the surrounding mountains were completely covered in green. Seeing the cherry trees, lush with leaves, basking in the sunlight brought the phrase “mountains dripping with green” to mind.

The baby swallows that had been building nests in spring had grown quite large and were practicing leaving the nest. By the time of the summer festival, surely all the nests will be empty.

I hope many people will visit the winery in summer too, and that it will be a lively event everyone can enjoy.

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