Plum Wine Day (Umeshu no Hi)

What Is Plum Wine Day?

June 11 (the date can vary slightly year to year) is "Plum Wine Day." It often coincides with "nyūbai," the traditional seasonal marker for the start of the rainy season, a time when freshly harvested plums hit the shelves and plum-wine-making season is in full swing. The day was established by Choya Umeshu Co., Ltd. to share the joy of "ume-shigoto" (traditional plum preparation), a beloved seasonal tradition in Japanese households, and to rediscover the appeal of plum wine — a drink that captures the bounty of the season.

The History of Japan's "Ume-Shigoto" Tradition

Plum wine has long been cherished in Japanese homes, valued not only as a drink but also as a kind of medicinal tonic.

• Records from the Edo period: The 1697 food encyclopedia "Honchō Shokkan" already describes how to make plum wine and its supposed health benefits. Even in an era when sugar was a luxury, people had developed the wisdom to steep plums in alcohol as an efficient way to extract and preserve their beneficial compounds.
• Becoming a household staple: A 1962 revision to Japan's liquor tax law permitted home plum-wine-making under certain conditions, cementing its status as an early-summer tradition. It became a kind of household health practice, passed down through generations.

The Science of Citric Acid and Recovering from Fatigue

There's a scientific basis behind the idea that plum wine "helps with fatigue."

• Activating the citric acid cycle: Plums contain several times more citric acid than lemons. Citric acid helps activate the body's citric acid cycle (TCA cycle), which generates energy and helps suppress the buildup of lactic acid, a substance associated with fatigue.
• Extraction through alcohol: When plums are steeped in alcohol, their cell walls break down, allowing beneficial compounds — including polyphenols and metabolites of amygdalin — that are otherwise hard to dissolve in water to be extracted. This allows the nutrients to be preserved stably over a long period.

Fun Facts About Plum Wine

• Why unripe green plums are said to be "toxic": Unripe green plums contain a compound called amygdalin. However, when steeped in alcohol or heated, this toxicity disappears, transforming into safe and useful compounds.
• How it stimulates appetite: The tartness and aroma of plum wine stimulate the brain's feeding center and promote the secretion of saliva and stomach acid. This helps improve the loss of appetite often felt during the summer heat, making it a logical choice as an aperitif before meals.
• The value of "aged" plum wine: Like wine, plum wine becomes smoother and rounder with long-term aging. During the aging process, sugars, acids, and alcohol combine in complex ways, producing a wide range of aromatic compounds and a deeper flavor.
• The "hidden treasure" inside the pit: The kernel inside the plum pit is known in traditional Chinese medicine as "ikuri-nin" and has long been prized. Because its extract dissolves into the liquid as well, leaving the pits in when making plum wine actually makes good scientific sense.
• "UMESHU" spreading worldwide: Japanese plum wine is now exported to dozens of countries. Its distinctive sweet-and-sour taste and fruity aroma have earned it high praise abroad as a leading style of liqueur.

Tips for Enjoying Plum Wine Day

• To mark June 11, try starting your own batch of homemade plum wine (ume-shigoto). Removing the stems from each plum one by one can be a meditative, mindful activity — a great way to reset from new-fiscal-year fatigue.
• Enjoy your favorite plum wine with soda or over ice. The organic acids in plums can help refresh the heavy, sluggish feeling that often comes with the rainy season — a nice way to unwind at the end of the day.
• Try a plum wine tasting. Compare the differences in flavor based on the base spirit (shochu, brandy, sake) and the type of sugar used. Sharpening your palate is a great way to give your brain new stimulation and refresh your curiosity.
• Use plum wine as a cooking ingredient. The sugars, acids, and alcohol it contains can help remove gaminess from meat and tenderize it. It's a fun way to bring a traditional drink into everyday cooking.

A Richly Aged Drop, Slowly Matured Over Time, Deeply Soothes Body and Mind and Nurtures the Quiet Strength to Face Tomorrow

June 11 is a day to bottle up nature's bounty as a gift for your future self. Just as plums release their fragrance after surviving a harsh winter, you too are being shaped into someone with real depth by how you spend each moment now. With the new fiscal year underway, have your busy days left you feeling rushed? Today, take a moment to enjoy the refreshing scent of green plums and feel the change of the seasons. Just as plum wine takes a year to mature into something wonderful, your efforts and experiences will, in time, crystallize into something beautiful as well. There's no need to rush. Let's welcome a calm and fragrant early summer.