On September 15th, the CUC100 Wine Project harvested grapes for the brewing of "CUC's second original wine."
The CUC100 Wine Project has been working since January 2019 with the aim of brewing "CUC original wine" produced in Kokufudai, Ichikawa City, in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the company's founding in 2028.
At 6:30 in the morning, 13 students gathered in the field on campus and started harvesting. This year, they were blessed with good weather, and the grapes grew large, and they harvested about 53 kg (179 bunches in total), 7 kg more than last year. The sugar content of the grapes was 14.8%.
From 7:30, the harvested grapes were transported by bus to Shirayuri Brewery Co., Ltd. in Yamanashi Prefecture, and from around 10:50, the harvested grapes were added to the 247 kg prepared by Shirayuri Brewery to make a total of 300 kg of wine. After the work, the students learned about grape varieties, how wine is made, and how the alcohol content is determined by the sugar content of the grapes.
In the afternoon, the group was guided by Okubo Chikao Executive Director of the Corporate Office and a graduate of our university, to visit the Yamanashi Wood Chip Cooperative, which manufactures wood biomass chips, and Furuya Lumber Co., Ltd., which generates biomass power.
The CUC100 Wine Project aims to introduce solar sharing to provide electricity for outdoor lighting, log houses, electric fences to protect against pests, etc., and also aims to think about the future of agriculture and energy resources. This time, we were also able to learn about the possibilities and practicality of environmentally friendly biomass power generation.
The second batch of CUC original wine is scheduled to be completed in early February 2024.
- I thought it was wonderful that we were able to harvest the grapes that my predecessors had worked so hard to grow.
- I had been going to the fields during summer vacation pruning and watering the crops, so I was happy to finally be able to harvest.
- It's exciting to think that the grapes that have been carefully grown, including those that have been controlled for pests, will be turned into wine.
- It tasted sweeter than last year's, and I was even more excited to see what kind of wine it would be.
- It was a valuable experience that gave me motivation for future activities and a sense of ownership.