Cepage is a wine importer founded in 2008.
We select wines with the aim of creating beautiful flavors that complement meals, and we actively value producers who express the true essence of the terroir of their land.
Our strength is that we carry a large selection of wines that are relatively unknown internationally but are listed on the menus of local restaurants and are highly regarded by professionals as star producers known only to those in the know.
Most producers use organic or biodynamic farming methods.
However, we do not sell wines simply because they are natural; rather, we pursue wines with clean and rich flavors, and the majority of our wines are of this type.
Initially, the company only sold French wines, specialising in southern France, particularly Rhone, Languedoc and Roussillon.
This is largely due to the fact that Yves Langley, the company's representative in Japan, is originally from the Southern Rhone region, and has been able to leverage his background to build a local procurement network that other companies cannot match.
Thanks to the sommeliers who appreciate such wines and have a keen eye for aesthetics who place more importance on quality than name value, we are proud to say that our wines have earned a certain level of recognition among wine professionals in Japan.
For this reason, the image of "varietal varietals are from the South of France" is often associated with the company, but we currently handle wines from all over France, as well as Spain, Italy, and even wines from the United States and New Zealand that have been derived from France.
We hope you will enjoy the taste, recognized by wine professionals, not only with fine food at restaurants, but also at home.
team
All members of the Cépage team work with a sense of professionalism in their respective fields. We taste every wine we import to ensure it meets our customers' needs. We consider not only excellent quality, but also price and marketability, striving to create wines that are truly acceptable to everyone. In addition to our specialized knowledge, we also have a deep love for food and drink, treating wine not simply as a business tool but as a lifelong companion, deepening our relationships with winemakers both in and outside of work. To deepen our own love for wine and to help our customers deepen theirs, we make it a point to visit winemakers every year, visiting their vineyards and cellars and engaging in discussions. We believe that this allows customers to learn not only about the wine itself, but also about the producers' wonderful personalities and winemaking philosophies, which ultimately leads to a true understanding of wine.
Yves RINGLER
Yves, a biochemical engineer, has dedicated his life to his own winery in the Southern Rhône and to the wine business in Japan. Thanks to the connections and cooperation of his wine-growing friends, he has established a very rich portfolio with a selection of excellent domaines. Until 2019, he also ran the wine bar "Le Terroir" in Mejiro, where he held monthly seminars to share his passion for wine with customers.
Yves's main focus is discovering excellent wines carefully produced by small producers, mainly in France and around the world.
partner
Representative Director Thomas Bourjeran (left)
Mathieu Bonneville (right)
Founded in 2000, Elan is a Bordeaux, France-based company specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. Currently, Elan distributes over 2.5 million bottles of wine, primarily to hotels and restaurants, through its subsidiaries. It has expanded not only within France but also to Russia and Kazakhstan, and has since expanded to China, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Following the Ukraine invasion, the company has shifted focus away from the Russian market and focused on the Asia-Pacific region, with Cépage joining the group in 2023. Elan's sourcing capabilities, which share its vision, allow Cépage to offer a more robust wine selection.