Château Mercian, founded in 1887, was the first privately-owned winery in Japan. It is now part of Kirin Holdings family, one of the biggest beverage companies in Japan. Yes, yes, yes, the natural inclination is to go for small, boutique businesses, but do yourself a huge favor and do NOT dismiss Mercian as some boring behemoth, because they've done fascinating work. They're actually a real game changer in Japan's wine industry—it's the big, hunkin' train that could.