The Your Story cuvée from Domaine Bless represents the estate’s second expression within its small Hokkaido range, produced from the same philosophy of natural winemaking and minimal intervention that governs the Musubi cuvée but reflecting a different varietal or blending choice from the estate’s Hokkaido vineyard sources. The name Your Story reflects Domaine Bless’s philosophy of wine as a personal experience, an invitation to the drinker to engage with the wine’s character on their own terms rather than through the conventional framework of critical scores and appellation hierarchies. This philosophy is consistent with the natural wine movement’s broader ethos of transparency, authenticity and individual expression over commercial standardisation.

Domaine Bless’s approach to its range of cuvées mirrors the philosophy of many small artisan producers in Hokkaido and other emerging Japanese wine regions: a commitment to using the best available local vineyard material in the most honest and transparent way possible, without the corrections, additions or interventions that characterise more commercially driven wine production. The Your Story cuvée’s specific character will depend on the varieties and vineyard sources chosen by the producer for the 2023 vintage and the specific winemaking approach applied, but within the Domaine Bless philosophy, it can be expected to reflect the fresh, mineral, cool-climate character of Hokkaido’s most authentically expressive terroir.

Alongside the Musubi cuvée offered in the same batch, the Your Story provides the opportunity for direct comparison of two expressions from this small and interesting Hokkaido producer in the same vintage, offering a useful introduction to the estate’s range and philosophy for those new to Domaine Bless’s work and to Japanese artisan wine production more broadly.

Pale straw with a delicate and fresh nose of citrus blossom, pear, mineral freshness and the clean, focused character of naturally fermented Hokkaido fruit from cool-climate volcanic soils. Light-bodied with precise natural acidity and a long, mineral, dry finish of individual expression and honest character. Drink now through 2028.