[July 20 (Sun) & 21 (Mon) Event] Funao Winery Summer Festival - Let's blow away the summer heat and have fun for both adults and children! There will also be new products with the rich flavor of muscat.

July 12 marks the 21st anniversary of the Funao Winery's founding this year (2025).

To commemorate the founding date, a summer festival will be held on July 20 and 21. It seems that anniversary events have been held in the past, but this will be the first time for a "summer festival."

When I asked, "Why not hold it on Saturday, July 12?"

They replied,

"We wanted to create an event that both adults and children can enjoy."

Thus, they decided to hold the summer festival right at the beginning of the summer vacation.

What is the "Funao Winery Summer Festival"?

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

The following activities are planned, making it an event that both adults and children can enjoy together.

• On the 20th, there will be stalls that children will love
• On the 21st, there will be workshops where you can experience making small items
• On both days, various nearby shops will set up stalls offering delicious food and unique items

For details, please check the image below.

Additionally, two new products are scheduled to be released in July. They will also be sold at the summer festival, so let me introduce the new products.

Ice cream made with "Muscat of Alexandria"

The first new product is ice cream made with "Muscat of Alexandria," released on July 3, 2025.
The official name is "ICE CREAM made with about 8 grapes of Muscat of Alexandria grown in Funao Winery's vineyard," which is a bit long.

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

After tasting it, I found that it has a rich creaminess typical of ice cream, yet it is not too sweet, and it has a moist melt-in-your-mouth texture, making it easy for both adults and small children to enjoy.

This ice cream will be sold exclusively at the Funao Winery main store and Kurashiki Ivy Square store, but it will also be available at the "Mabi Funao Grand Dance" event held at the Mabi branch on July 12.

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

I asked the manager, Jogo Tetsuya, about the intention behind the development.

Why are you making sweets one after another, even though you are a winery?

Jogo (no honorifics)

Okayama Prefecture produces 95% of the Muscat of Alexandria in Japan, and Funao Town is one of the major production areas.

Funao Winery was founded with the desire to "deliver the rich aroma of Muscat of Alexandria throughout the year and to make the name of Funao Town, the production area of Alexandria, known nationwide."

However, due to the aging of grape farmers producing Muscat of Alexandria and the recent preference for seedless grapes due to varietal improvements, the opportunities to enjoy Muscat of Alexandria at home have gradually decreased.

Therefore, by developing specialty products other than wine, we hope to familiarize people of all ages, including those who cannot drink alcohol, with Muscat of Alexandria and further spread its taste and name.

In fact, we also plan to develop Muscat of Alexandria vinegar and juice in the future.

Please look forward to it.

Limited wine "2024 Muscat Bailey A Rosé Dry Sparkling" released on Tanabata

The other new product is Funao Winery's first rosé sparkling wine, "2024 Muscat Bailey A Rosé Dry Sparkling."

It will be released on July 7, 2025, a day with many sevens. There will be a limited sale of 489 bottles.

This sparkling wine is characterized by the luxurious use of only the fresh juice (free-run) that flows naturally when the grapes are crushed, and the umami derived from the sur lie method, which maximizes the characteristics of the yeast unique to dry wine.

Labor-intensive Muscat cultivation - Harvest experience in autumn

I had the opportunity to observe the work being done in the greenhouse of "Muscat of Alexandria" at Funao Winery.

Inside the greenhouse, there are clusters of small green Muscat of Alexandria grapes all around. Even on this very hot day, they were trimming unnecessary leaves and balancing the branches and clusters.

There are labor-intensive tasks such as removing unnecessary buds (bud thinning), training and fixing branches and leaves, and thinning out grapes to balance the clusters, which have been ongoing since spring.

The work of repeatedly going back and forth in the greenhouse is all done while looking up, and I felt it must be very hard.

This year, the production of wine made from Muscat of Alexandria will begin around September.

Additionally, it seems that a harvesting experience for Muscat of Alexandria cultivated for wine will also be held at this house. I definitely want to visit.

Enjoy the Summer Festival at the Lush Winery

Nami Soukai, the public relations representative of Funao Winery Co., Ltd., which planned the "Funao Winery Summer Festival," spoke as follows.

Soukai (no honorifics)

During the spring cherry blossom festival, many people, from small children to the elderly, came to visit.

There were many families who said, "This is our first time visiting a winery," which made me very happy and encouraged.
This summer festival will be held during a very hot season, but please enjoy the summer festival at the lush winery, which is different from the cherry blossom season.

On the day of the event, we plan to sell chilled new sparkling wine by the glass. Local shops will also provide snacks that pair well with the wine.

We look forward to your visit.

In Conclusion

In spring, I was overwhelmed by the abundance of cherry blossoms at Funao Winery.
A friend who went to the cherry blossom festival said, "I didn't know there was such a famous cherry blossom spot. Maybe I'll have a hanami (flower viewing) here next year."

When I visited this time, the surrounding mountains were completely wrapped in green. Seeing the richly leafed cherry trees basking in the sunlight, the phrase "the mountains drip" came to mind.

The swallows that were building nests in spring have grown up and were practicing leaving the nest. By the time of the summer festival, all the nests will surely be empty.

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

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