In time for Valentine’s Day, Japanese wine maker Mercian has released a new sparkling wine in its “Cafe de Paris” series, which a chocolate flavor complemented by a slight caramel nuance. The 200ml bottle is sold with a gift box.

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Mercian Official Site (Japanese

Asahi has released a new green tea chu-hai drink, made with gyokuro and matcha, two types of fine green tea, and containing 5% alcohol by volume.

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Asahi Official Site (Japanese)

Suntory has released Calorie Chu-Hai, a chu-hai flavored by mandarins from Ehime Prefecture, Japan, and with 50% less calories than the average of other Suntory fruit juice based chu-hai drinks.

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Suntory Official Site (Japanese)

A few of the numerous zero drinks released in 2008.

Mandatory health checks to combat metabolic syndrome for full-time employees were implemented in April of this year, leaving many people counting calories and carbs. As consumers make decisions based on heightened concerns over health, “zero” products, boasting “zero carbohydrates,” “zero calories,” “zero sugar,” were a hit in 2008.

Zero-sugar ham, bacon, and candies were released, but the busiest sector was the canned drink industry, with a number of “zero sugar” canned coffees and “zero carbohydrate” beers going on the market. Kirin started the trend in February, releasing Kirin Zero, a zero carbohydrate happoshu, and Suntory released Zero Nama (“Zero Draft”) in March. Summer saw the release of a number of zero sugar chu-hai drinks from Kirin and Suntory.

According to a recent Nikkei report, “zero” alcoholic beverages first appeared on the Japanese market in 2006, garnering sales of 1.8 billion yen ($18 million). Sales jumped in 2007 to 36.1 billion yen, boostered by Asahi’s Style Free carb free happoshu, the first hit product in the zero drink market, and sales more than doubled in 2008, to a projected 94.7 billion yen.

Kirin Lager packaging harkening back to the Meiji and Taisho eras.

Today Kirin releases to limited edition packages for its Kirin Lager brand, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary. The two new retro can designs recreates the look of the brand during the Meiji Era (1868 – 1911) and the Taisho Era (1911-1925). Kirin has timed the release of the nostalgic packaging to coincide with the holiday season, when more families are likely to drink beer at home.

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Kirin official homepage (Japanese)

The new Ginza Cocktail flavors will be marketed only in wnter.

Suntory will release two new limited edition canned cocktails on November 25 in their “Ginza Cocktail” line of canned sparkling cocktails. The winter cocktails will be available in two flavors: melon and cassis.

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Suntory official homepage (Japanese)
Ginza Cocktail product page (Japanese)

Fuyu-Douraku wil be on the market only in the winter season.

On November 11, Suntory released “Fuyu Douraku” (roughly “Winter Relaxation”), a happosei beverage to be on the market only during the winter months. The drink is advertised as being a perfect companion to nabe, a winter stew enjoyed both in Japanese homes and in restaurants. The drink also boasts 20% less sugar than average for happosei, appealing to those who want to watch their figures in winter months.

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Suntory official homepage (Japanese)
Fuyu Douraku product page (Japanese)

Yebisu Amber is brewed in limited quantities.

To coincide with the holiday season, on October 29th, Sapporo released a limited edition of its premium Yebisu brand, called Yebisu Amber. The beer has an amber tint, and is packaged in a dark red can.

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Yebisu official homepage (Japanese)
Yebisu Amber product page (Japanese)

The new Sparkling Hop Red will have 20% less sugar.

As Christmas approaches, Kirin will release on the 26 of November a low-sugar, low-calorie version of its Sparkling Hop, with 20% less sugar, a fruitier tast, and a distinctive red package. The version, named Sparkling Hop Red will keep the mini-diamond surface structure of the can.

To launch the new product, Kirin is holding a contest to give away 5,000 gifts sets of the new drink, paired with the original Sparkling Hop in the green can.

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Kirin official homepage (Japanese)
Sparkling Hope product page (Japanese)

Jinro has released a new brand targetting young women.

Jinro, founded in 1924, is the largest producer of soju, a Korean distilled alcohol similar to Japanese shochu and vodka.

This year the company is celebrating several milestones, with the 10th anniversary of the Chamisul, currently the highest selling variety of soju in Korea, and the launch of a new drink, named simply “J,” which targets young women.

Chamisul was launched on October 19th, 1998, when Korean was deeply mired in financial crises. Rather than rely on  traditional advertising, Jinro employed “human bomb marketing,” announcing the new drink by sending representatives directly to bars and hip nightlife spots. Until that time, it had been an unwritten rule that soju contained at least 25% alcohol by volume. Chamisul, targeting a younger demographic, broke this tradition by introducing a milder drink with 23%, which has been gradually reduced over the past decade to the current 19.5%. Since its launch, over 14 billion bottles, which laid end to end, would stretch from Seoul to the southern city of Busan, according to the Jinro website.

The new “J” variety of Jinro was launched September 26, also has a relatively low alcohol content of 19.5%, and is distilled with mineral water extracted from 1032 meters below sea level. The launch was announced through a series of print and TV ads featuring popular actress Song Hei Gyu, and using key words such as slim, trendy, and cool. This and other Jinro products are now prominently advertised as being free of genetically modified ingredients.

September also saw the launch of Aqua Blue, a new mineral water in Jinro’s Seoksu water line. Mijin An

Ten years of Chamisul. The alcohol content has been gradually reduced to 19.5%.

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Jinro official site (Korean)