Kenichi Hori: Beyond the Vintage
Burgundy, Japan and a Career Dedicated to Understanding WineInterview & Field Documentation:
Olivia Matsumoto | Tokyo, 17 October 2026
Editor’s Introduction
On 17 October 2026, GEN DE ART Le Magazine attended a Burgundy wine seminar led by Japanese wine specialist Kenichi Hori at Académie du Vin in Tokyo. Alongside our documentation of the seminar, we conducted an individual interview with Hori about his professional journey, the evolution of Japan’s wine market and his approach to wine education.
The session centred on seven red Burgundies from the 1996 vintage, drawn from Hori’s private collection. Participants tasted the wines blind, recorded their impressions and exchanged observations before the identities were revealed. Hori then guided the discussion through vineyard geography, historical records, viticultural conditions and winemaking decisions.
The distinction between direct sensory observation and the information subsequently used to interpret it was central to the afternoon. For GEN DE ART, whose cultural coverage connects Europe and Japan, the seminar also offered a view of how Burgundy’s wine culture is studied and communicated outside France. This profile draws on our on-site documentation and the separate interview.
Seven Glasses, One Vintage
Seven glasses of red Burgundy stood before each participant in Aoyama, Tokyo. All came from 1996, but none was initially identified. Hori had selected the bottles from wines he had kept in his private cellar.
The participants began with independent blind tasting, examining colour, aromas, structure and maturity. They then presented their observations and hypotheses to the group. Some described vegetal characteristics; others concentrated on the development of fruit. One bottle prompted questions about its condition. These were participants’ observations, rather than conclusions announced by Hori.
Only after this exchange were the wines revealed. The sixth glass held Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 1996; the seventh, Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Allots 1996. The unidentified Wine X was Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay-Santenots-du-Milieu 1996, from the Côte de Beaune.
The identities supplied new context, but they did not end the examination. Hori proceeded to discuss where the wines came from, using maps, historical records and explanations of vineyard and cellar practices. What began as an exercise in sensory recognition developed into a consideration of Burgundy’s land, history and production.
From Hokkaido to the Wine Industry
Kenichi Hori was born in 1963 in Furubira, a coastal town in Hokkaido. The nearby town of Yoichi is associated with Japanese whisky production, but Hori’s own interest in wine emerged while he was at university.
During our interview, he recalled working part-time in a restaurant, where he became increasingly interested in wine. He travelled to France and Italy during university holidays, gaining an early opportunity to encounter European wine culture firsthand.
After graduating, Hori joined Nikka Whisky. He explained that his decision was influenced in part by his connection to Hokkaido and by the company’s involvement with French wine. He remained with Nikka for approximately seven and a half years.
He later moved to the Wine Institute, an organisation representing the California wine industry, where he spent approximately 24 years engaged in promoting California wines in Japan. The Wine Institute is a trade organisation, not a wine school—a distinction that helps clarify the commercial and cultural context of Hori’s work.
Japan’s Changing Relationship with Wine
In the interview, Hori reflected on the changing Japanese market, including the red-wine boom around 1998. His long involvement in California wine promotion placed him within an industry working to introduce producers and regions to Japanese consumers.
One subject he raised was the importance of restaurants. Wine encountered through a restaurant list differs from a bottle selected in a shop: it is experienced alongside food, service, conversation and the occasion itself. Restaurants can therefore become an important point of introduction to unfamiliar producers and regions.
Hori’s account concerned the practical work of bringing wines into a developing market. It also showed how consumer knowledge and professional communication evolved alongside demand. His subsequent teaching draws on experience of wine not only as an agricultural product but also as something interpreted and introduced through institutions and people.
Burgundy and the Identity of a Vineyard
Burgundy occupied the centre of the October seminar. Hori discussed the prominence of individual vineyard names in the region. In Bordeaux, the château name often provides the principal point of recognition; in Burgundy, a named vineyard may be shared by several producers and retain a distinct identity of its own.
Clos de Vougeot, Bonnes-Mares and Richebourg are not merely words printed on labels. They designate particular areas of land with specific histories, exposures and growing conditions. Different producers working with the same grape variety, sometimes within the same vineyard, may make different decisions in the vineyard and cellar.
Using Clos Saint-Jacques in Gevrey-Chambertin as an example, Hori examined maps and historical information. He discussed topography, the movement of air and vineyard exposure as possible influences on grape development. The lecture also touched on vine health, soil management and the work required to cultivate the fruit.
In discussing Bonnes-Mares, he considered differences within the vineyard and aspects of Domaine Georges Roumier’s approach. He also raised the practical question of how producers respond when grapes or wines fall short of their intended standards. Decisions made in pursuit of quality can carry economic consequences. These considerations connected the wine in the glass with the people and decisions behind it.
Seven Burgundies from 1996
The selection comprised Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques; Hospices de Beaune Clos de la Roche Cuvée Cyrot-Chaudron, with élevage by Roux Père & Fils; Méo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot; Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay-Santenots-du-Milieu; Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares; Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux; and Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Allots. All were from the 1996 vintage.
The fourth wine, Comtes Lafon’s Volnay-Santenots-du-Milieu, had been presented as Wine X. Its revelation drew attention to the importance of withholding producer and vineyard names until after the initial sensory assessment.
During the blind tasting, several participants questioned whether the third bottle, Méo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot, showed a cork-related fault. Their remarks concerned the individual bottle served that afternoon; they were not a judgement on the producer or on the vintage as a whole.
The sixth and seventh wines prompted another comparison. Following the reveal of DRC Échézeaux and Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Allots, participants revisited differences they had noted. Some mentioned vegetal nuances in the DRC, while others drew attention to the more developed fruit character of the Leroy. The Leroy’s relatively pale colour also attracted comment.
In the lecture that followed, Hori discussed whole-cluster fermentation and destemming, including the possible influence of stems on colour. He also addressed maceration, oak use and choices made during winemaking. These explanations supplied context for the earlier observations without suggesting that any one sensory characteristic could establish a particular production method.
The discussion extended to opening and decanting mature bottles. Nearly three decades after the vintage, the condition of an individual wine remained part of the experience. The same vintage did not make the seven glasses interchangeable: differences in vineyard, producer, handling and bottle condition all required attention.
Wine as a Subject of Study
Hori has taught at Académie du Vin since 2007. His books include The Freedom of Wine and The Individuality of Wine (working English translations of the Japanese titles 『ワインの自由』 and 『ワインの個性』, rather than confirmed official English-edition titles). He has also served as an editorial supervisor for wine-themed manga.
His work as an educator draws on experience across the wine industry and on sustained attention to the wines themselves. The October seminar demonstrated a deliberate sequence: first the participants’ own observations, then discussion among them, followed by the revelation of the bottles and an examination of their backgrounds.
Beginning with the glass rather than the producer’s reputation allowed participants to form provisional judgements before encountering the names on the labels. The subsequent maps, historical material and technical explanations did not replace those impressions; they gave participants further grounds on which to reconsider them.
Towards the end of the session, Hori continued responding to questions about fermentation, ageing and differences in producer practice. The seven identities were already known, yet the discussion continued.
Recognising a label and understanding the wine behind it were treated as different exercises. The latter was the work of the afternoon.
Sources and editorial notes
Primary sources: Individual interview with Kenichi Hori, Tokyo, 17 October 2026; on-site observation and seminar documentation, Académie du Vin, Tokyo, 17 October 2026.
Official references: Académie du Vin seminar information — https://www.adv.gr.jp/curricula/detail/17348 ; Kenichi Hori instructor profile — https://www.adv.gr.jp/teachers/detail/67
About the Author
Olivia Matsumoto | International Editor & Cultural Documentarian
Founding Editor-in-Chief of GEN DE ART Le Magazine, with editorial experience spanning art, science, cultural heritage, and international affairs. She is also the Founder and Director of the Vosne-Romanée Culture & Arts Center in Burgundy, France, where she focuses on documenting and preserving the region’s living cultural heritage and fostering cultural exchange between Japan and Europe.
Vosne-Romanée Culture & Arts Center
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