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South African wine was Japan's eighth largest wine import in 2022, having retained the position since 2017. After Chile, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, the USA and Germany, and followed by Argentina and Portugal.
Maho Tamai, one of the first (if not THE first) Japanese wine agents living in Cape Town since 2017, comments that out of the top 10, only Argentina and South Africa do not have free trade agreements with Japan; thus, its place on the list, and his presence in Cape Town, representative of its international appeal. *Though a trade agreement wouldn't go amiss in strengthening its position.
Société Raffiné is a Japanese wine import company owned by Makoto Sakaguchi, a wine enthusiast and a man with a sixth sense, by all accounts. He started Société Raffiné in 2008 on the Burgundian premise of refined wines (raffiné French for refined), first focusing on bigger wine importers and predominantly French wines.
