My decision to buy a Nintendo Wii for Christmas was more than a bit surprising; I do not much like computer games and I get more than a bit irritated at the endless volumes of intermittently-used technology left strewn around these days.

As a result, I am even more astonished to be confessing how much I enjoy it. Over the snowy December and January days I became tantalisingly close to becoming addicted; practising my ski jumping, fencing and yes — I confess — the hula hooping too. Wicked.

Still, work was beckoning and I enjoyed the none-too-subtle irony that the tasting invite that enticed me on to the train to London came from the Japanese winemakers from Yamanashi who were hosting their inaugural tasting to show their Koshu wines.

Yamanashi’s vineyards are planted in the foothills of Mount Fuji to the south west of Tokyo. Here, Japan’s indigenous grape variety, Koshu, has adapted to the comparatively difficult growing conditions.

Tasting a new grape variety is always great fun and this tasting was unique in so many ways. To start with, every wine producer bar one had a smiling translator to hand; some of the labels were delightfully incomprehensible and the canapés on offer were, without doubt, the most beautiful I have ever clapped eyes on.

What was the wine like? Well, in its purest, unoaked form it was noticeably pale with only the very occasional pinkish hue. In some instances, the Koshu aroma seemed to be very closely aligned to those of Sauvignon Blanc: gooseberry, lime and citrus. In others, there was a definite spiciness.

It is not unfair to say that the wines I tasted were uniformly light-weight in body. Nor is it a bad thing; it was lovely to leave a tasting of 30-odd wines, feeling refreshed and ready for the next job. The highest alcohol level given was 13 per cent with the majority sitting somewhere between 11 and 12 per cent. The flavours on the palate followed closely the nose and I very much enjoyed the clean zestiness of some of the wines.

Where the wines had been aged in oak, I had greater trouble falling in love with Koshu. It seemed that the variety did not quite have the structure or the body to take the amount of oak that was being lavished on some of the wines.

However, this was a tasting of primarily the 2008 and 2009 wines and the latter were often unfinished samples and 2008 was apparently a very tough vintage. The minuscule Diamond Winery (with 1ha of its own vineyards and a further 1ha under contract) had produced the most successful barrel-fermented wines. The wines have real charm and potential and their light, fragrant style definitely sits well with current consumer demands.

Colleagues at the tasting included many restaurateurs and I would not be surprised to see Koshu permeating wine lists at a Sushi restaurant near you.

Good news — especially for those of us who still prefer to communicate on a personal level with the world, rather than interactively. Although I would not say no to the winemaking Wii . . .

You can contact Sarah through her website www.wine-talk.co.uk