Ernest Singer is young at heart, with six children from three different families, and an office with staff members mostly half his age. "It's the young that have the passion that Millesimes thrives upon," he explains, navigating a sea of desks and concentrated faces.
The name of his company — French for 'vintage' — gives the game away. Millesimes is known for importing wine and operating four schools nationwide, training Japanese as sommeliers and to understand the art of wine and winemaking.
Now, Millesimes is on the cusp of taking the wine world by storm with The Koshu Project and Japan's first homegrown vin extraordinaire. And while some find the concept laughable, the Japanese government is taking Singer's goal of helping to revive this country's agriculture very seriously indeed.