Those of us in the west feel far from but intrigued by the state of wine in Japan. It was the first Asian market to open up to the charms of wine drinking. Tales of spectacular growth there have in their time fuelled not a few price hikes on the part of the French, but with so many other Asian countries now converted to the grape, and reports of economic meltdown in Japan, I thought it might be interesting to read an on-the-spot overview of current demand for wine there. The following comes from Oliver Matthew who works in Japan...