Regular wine making began in Japan with the adoption of Western culture during the Meiji restoration in the second half of the 19th century. The main regions for wine production are Hokkaidō and Yamanashi Prefecture. "Muscat Bailey-A" (マスカットべリーA^?) is a red wine grape that was developed in Japan by Zenbei Kawakami (川上善兵衛, Kawakami Zenbei^?).

Legend has it that grape-growing in Japan began in 718 CE, in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture. Wine may have been made from local grapes there, but the first documented case of wine consumption in Japan was in the 16th century, when the Jesuit missionaries arrived from Portugal. Saint Francis Xavier brought wines as gifts for the feudal lords of Kyūshū, and other missionaries continued the practice, resulting in locals acquiring taste for wine and importing it regularly. They called the Portuguese wine chintashu (珍陀酒^?), combining the Portuguese word tinto (chinta in Japanese) meaning red and shu (酒^?) meaning liquor. However, the enthusiastic adoption of Western culture during the Meiji restoration in the late 1860s had to take place before regular production of local wine started.¹ The first attempt to produce wine locally was undertaken in Yamanashi, in 1875. During the first period, cultivation of American grape varieties formed the core of Japanese wine grapes, however they experienced a setback with a Phylloxera epidemic. Afterwards the demand for domestic Japanese wine decreased, but in every region a few viniculturists remained. It was not until after World War II that the scale of winemaking began to grow. However, in comparison to imported juices and bulk wine, domestic Japanese wine is still developing.

Machel Montano (born 24 November 1974, Trinidad and Tobago) is a soca singer, record producer and songwriter based in Trinidad and Tobago.

He is the frontman of the popular soca band The HD Family, and is noted for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances. During his career, which spans over 30 years, he has recorded several songs alongside many of Caribbean music's most popular acts, such as Lerone Guy of St Anthonys College, Alison Hinds, Beenie Man, Calypso Rose, Burning Flames, Drupatee, Wyclef Jean, Canibus, Red Rat, Shaggy, Sparrow, Denise Belfon, Ken Marlon Charles (KMC), Destra, Walker Hornung, Vybz Kartel, Mohombi, G-Unit, Black Stalin, David Rudder, Buju Banton, Mr. Vegas, Doug E. Fresh, Pitbull and many others. In 1987 he was the youngest finalist to ever win the Caribbean Song Festival. He now stands as one of the most well-known soca acts in the world, using his leverage as an artist able to sell-out shows. Recently he has moved to the Los Angeles area and furthered his pursuit saying "I may not be the one to bring it forth, but in the meantime, I have a lot of work to do in order for something to happen". He is very well known in New York and has had sold out concerts in Madison Square Gardens many times over.