The sale of "Beaujolais Nouveau", a new French wine, has been lifted on the 17th.
The price has risen significantly from last year due to the increase in transportation costs due to the influence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
At a bar in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, a face-to-face countdown event that could not be held due to the corona crisis was held for the first time in three years.
Beaujolais Nouveau is a new wine made from grapes harvested that year in the Beaujolais region of France, and is released on the third Thursday of November every year.
According to Suntory, one of the importers, this year, due to the influence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the route of air transportation was detoured and transportation costs increased, and the yen's depreciation combined. It is expected to increase by 2.2 times.
Amid sluggish orders, the company has reduced the number of items it handles, and the import volume has remained at about 40% of last year.
Keiko Yoshio, President of Suntory's Wine Company, said that this summer was warm and had a good taste, and said, "I think it's worth enjoying something more expensive than usual."
On the other hand, a special corner for Beaujolais Nouveau was set up at a store in Chiba Prefecture of the major Super Aeon Retail, and customers were immediately buying it immediately after the ban was lifted at midnight.
This company has reduced the cost of air transportation as much as possible by switching from bottles to PET bottles for some of the products it procures on its own.
As the price of Beaujolais Nouveau rises, other supermarkets and liquor stores are responding by increasing the lineup of small size products and stocking new domestic wines to encourage consumption of wine.