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Interview with Jamie Paquin, owner of Japan’s only all-Canadian VQA wine shop

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Heavenly Vines Inc. is a wine import, wholesale and retail company based in Tokyo, Japan, and is devoted exclusively to selling premium Canadian VQA wines.

The boutique store in Ebisu has more than 140 different Canadian wines from most of the wine regions in Canada.

Jamie Paquin and Nozomi Mihara in the Heavenly Vines retail shop in Ebisu, TokyoOwners Jamie Paquin and wife Nozomi Mihara founded Heavenly Vines as an import and retail company focused exclusively on Canadian wines.

Their soul desire is to share Canadian wines with people in Japan and have worked hard to create close ties with top Canadian producers to bring the very best wines to Japan.

I asked Jamie Paquin about why he started the company and the response he gets to Canadian wines.

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Wines In Niagara: A bit of background on you, what took you to Asia, your roots in wine and how you set up your business.

Jamie: I came to Japan around 8 years ago with a Japanese scholarship as a research student while working on a PhD in sociology at York University. I decided to switch to my supporting university (Sophia University) here in Tokyo and do a PhD here instead, but a few years in, I caught the wine bug and couldn’t think of anything else.  My studies here are now on hold as a result.

Once I became interested in wine I began to read anything I could get my hands on, and to try as many wines as I could.  I also took a keener interest in what was being produced in Canada, and it became a pattern to fill my suitcase with Canadian wines to bring back to Japan to share with friends.  I also combed all the wine shops in Tokyo looking for Canadian wines — there were a few, but mainly icewines.  This led me to realize that there was a void and we could fill it.

About 6 months after the idea started to emerge, my wife, Nozomi Mihara, saw an advertisement for a service that helped people navigate the licensing and business registration process for alcohol import and retail. That turned an idea into a commitment, and within a few months we were working though the process while simultaneously talking with wineries.

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A typical route for many people in our situation would be to simply start importing small amounts of wine and seek distribution sales channels for them, but we didn’t go this route for a few reasons.

First of all, the reason we are dong this is because we are passionate about sharing distinctive Canadian wines with people here, so I don’t simply want to be dealing with units and numbers — I want to deal directly with potential customers in order to ensure they understand where these wines come from, who makes them and what makes them special.

Secondly, I don’t think Canadian wines can gain serious recognition here without a comprehensive approach. Seeing a Canadian wine on a shelf amidst hundreds of other wines from more recognized regions will not get us anywhere for a number of reasons, including the fact that federal and provincial tourism bodies present Canada as a cold country (few in Japan can thus imagine we can ripen grapes).
For that reason, we opened a store devoted exclusively — 100 percent — to Canadian wine.

We have more than 140 wines in our store and counting, from 25 or so producers. Our store provides us a setting within which we can have our customers’ undivided attention and seeing such a selection helps people realize that there are entire regions and numerous producers.

To make Canadian wines intelligible, we need that time and this sort of setting to communicate the stories and to make an impression.

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Wines In Niagara: 

When did you first notice that Canadian wines were something that would succeed with Asian wine lovers?

Jamie: As I became more serious about wine, I not only found Canadian wines to be extremely good, but I also saw that they do extremely well in international competitions and among renowned critics like Jancis Robinson.

I believed we could grow a niche for Canadian wines here in Japan based on the fact that Japanese people really appreciate quality and artisanal production. Japan is the second largest export market for Burgundian wines so I also thought there would be a natural appreciation for much of the Canadian production.

I also believed that because we can represent the wines effectively — I am Canadian, we have personal relationships with all the wineries we import, we visit them regularly etc. — that we have something unique to offer. Providing the story behind the wine is half of what makes wine so captivating.

Wines In Niagara: 

What are the wines that do well at Heavenly Vines? What is your client base looking for when they come shopping. Is it a hand sell or are certain styles (and/or labels) more attractive than others?

Jamie: I think it’s early to say exactly what does well since our volume is still modest and we direct customers in their purchases. Moreover, Tokyo is a very sophisticated wine market so people are often looking for wines suited to an occasion, season, meal, so they aren’t simply looking for a brand. We also find that since we are so careful to bring wines that are exceptional quality, we have many customers who simply try a new wine every time, but they are doing so based on having enjoyed what they tried before. 
First Tasting EventThat being said, I think sparkling is an important category here and icewine is no more popular here than in Canada. It’s a self-perpetuating myth in Canada that Japanese love icewine — it’s simply the fact that when they visit a major winery, they are guided toward icewine. We are proud of our icewines but our portfolio is only about 10 per cent icewine.

Burgundy lovers tend to respond very well to PEC and Niagara wines and those seeking fuller body wines tend to really enjoy some of our B.C. reds. Sommeliers have responded very well to everything we have introduced and we have wines from Norman Hardie, Closson Chase, Calamus, Tawse, 13th Street, Colaneri, Stratus, Laughing Stock, and Silkscarf being used by top Tokyo hotels and restaurants after only a year in business.

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Wines In Niagara: It must be a nightmare just getting Ontario wines to your shop. And Ontario wines of the quality you import are not cheap. Talk about the red tape getting wines to your store and why you feel it’s worth it.
Jamie: Export itself is quite easy — particularly for the wineries. The wines are exempt from provincial and federal taxes when exported, and we just need a certificate of analysis for each wine, an invoice and a declaration of authorization for export that the wineries submit. I think many wineries presume it will be a headache, but perhaps it’s simpler than working inter-provincially given that they don’t need to deal with another provincial liquor board.

For us however, we would like to see some industry/governmental support for export itself. If we can reduce the costs of shipping, we’ll do better in the market.  And if wineries see the long-term value of being in the world’s best culinary city and priced accordingly, we can do great things.

At the same time, premium Canadian wines, while expensive, are quite price competitive to more famous regions for similar quality, and I think many of our customers used to paying much more for French, Italian, Californian wines etc., are realizing that we offer good value at the higher end.
So for me it’s worth it because the wines are excellent.  Norman Hardie’s 2008 County Chardonnay being named a top-three world wine by Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator is an indication of why it makes perfect sense to introduce these wines in cities like Tokyo.



Pouring Tawse and Norman Hardie - not the Japanese translations

Wines In Niagara: What are you best sellers, key wines in the portfolio and how do see the growth of your business.

Jamie: On one hand, naturally those wines we can price the lowest have a greater volume. 13th Street and Colaneri wines like the Palette series and the ripasso method Cabernet (Corposo) are both great wines and good value. At the higher end, people have been amazed with everything really — Norman Hardie, Tawse, Foreign Affair.

B.C. wines from Foxtrot, Church & State and Painted Rock are also big hits but not every day purchases for most.

Our approach is exclusively quality-driven. I try to get wines that represent the best a winery produces and those wines that outperform at their price point and will still be great quality for the money after being shipped across the globe.


My goal is to connect people passionate about wine here with wines we are excited about from Canada. We are eager to have our wines in any hotel or restaurant that shares our passion and we plan to continue to build the retail side of our business as well.


Wines In Niagara: Are Asians becoming more wine savvy? Are we just seeing the front-end of a rising trend toward quality wine buying in Asia?

Jamie: Japan has the second or most certified sommeliers in the world, so Japan is a very wine savvy country, particularly Tokyo and other major centres. We are often asked very detailed questions at times about things like soils, oak programs etc., and the city of Tokyo has scores of wine bars, restaurants with serious wine programs and numerous wine schools.

In addition, French and Italian cuisines are extremely popular, and naturally, wine is part of the package. And considering that the greater Tokyo area is about 36 million people, I can’t imagine there being a better overall place to be in Asia than here.

Wine has been well established here for a few decades so the situation is very different than China from my understanding. We often spend a great deal of time distinguishing the two markets when we approach wineries in Canada as there is a tendency to conflate the two situations.

Markets don’t just exist: they’re made. We are creating a demand for Canadian wines here by being selective about the wines we bring and by representing them with passion and understanding. We believe strongly in their quality and value and we impart that to people we gain an audience with. One new convert at a time.

That being said, if we could get more support form the Canadian Embassy and various provincial trade and tourism offices, our efforts would be magnified and we’d progress much quickly.

The one exception is the Quebec delegation office here, which is very proactive about promoting its products and they have done a great deal to promote Carone wines that we bring from Quebec.
I hope the Canadian tourism office and its B.C. counterpart will start to get behind us too.

Sign - not the maple leaf!Wines In Niagara: 

How often do you come to Canada to taste and add to your portfolio of Canadian wines? How do you keep on top of what’s hot and what’s good in Canada?


Jamie: I visit Canada once or twice a year and we have samples sent to us too. In addition, I read all of the publications and many of the blogs in Canada to hone in on wines and wineries. In the age of the internet, you aren’t really far away!

We also plan to have winery owners/winemakers visit us.  Norman Hardie was here for an event at the Four Seasons last year and Cynthia and David Enns of Laughing Stock came for a winemaker’s dinner and we hope to have members of Church & State and Charles Baker from Stratus/Charles Baker come this year as well. We are also looking for ways to get top wine writers/critics/sommeliers to Canada to experience the regions and wines first-hand.


Wines In Niagara: Is your store the only one that you know of in your area that is selling Canadian wines or are there others?

Jamie: There are the odd Canadian wines to be found in stores here or there, but we are the world’s only All-Canadian wine store as far as I have been able to determine.  I feel confident in this too since the wineries we work with are often exporting for the first time with us.



Wines In Niagara: Do you see Canadian wine exports as a growing trend or a niche market right now?

Jamie: I see Canadian wines as a growing niche — we are not aiming to be in every supermarket and retail shop but we do aim to establish Canadian wine regions as world-class in the minds of serious wine lovers here and have them eager to take advantage of the small volumes we are able to make available in Japan.

We do best I believe by focusing on our top hand-crafted wines. All markets are full of reasonable wines from countries with far higher production, so we have little to add there. I would encourage all Canadian producers to focus on one thing only — quality. Make distinctive terroir-driven wines and we have something unique to offer the world!