My daughter said on Sunday.
"I have tennis class in the school gym, so please join me in practice."
"Sure," Iwasu replied calmly, but inside he was grinning.
I was happy to be able to go out with my daughter alone, something that had almost completely disappeared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I was also happy to see that my daughter still relied on me.
Dad, I'm glad you played tennis for six years in middle and high school! (But it was softball.)
Thank you, my daughter's gym teacher, for incorporating tennis into your classes!
As a result, I still have muscle pain all over my body.
I've been slacking off on my exercise recently, so I realized that this is what muscle pain feels like, and I should definitely exercise regularly, which was a good thing.
Because of this pandemic, my daughter's classes have been mostly online again, so I think when the time is right, I'll invite her to play tennis with me.
Well, this January, Bokumo Wine started selling "lucky bags" for the first time (although it's only been six months since the store opened, so it's only natural that this is the first time we've sold lucky bags).
Recently, products whose contents are known from the start seem to be popular, but in the case of Bokumo Wine, we only tell you the contents of one bottle and leave the rest to you to enjoy.
I think the best thing about lucky bags is the excitement of wondering what's inside. This time, I wanted to include my favorite "Greywacky" (although it's a bit pricey, so I think many people haven't tried it yet), and I decided to reveal just that one item.
As a result, we received many wonderful responses, such as "I wanted to try some wines that I wouldn't have chosen myself, so this is great," "I'm glad they included the wines I was interested in," and "I wonder when I'll open the Greywacky, I'm looking forward to it." Yay!
It's really nice to know that people are happy with the project that we created ourselves.
When I think that it's helping to enrich my time at home, even just a little, I feel motivated again.
In the end, this lucky bag project made me realize once again that it is the feeling of helping others that leads to motivation at work.
However, having said that, I also understand that there are people in the world for whom this is not the case.
There is a regular customer at Bokumo (a restaurant) who works as a construction consultant for infrastructure.
"It's an amazing job to create things that are essential to the daily lives of so many people. I think it's really admirable."
I have said,
But the person's face clouded over,
"I don't really feel that way. In reality, I'm working hard every day to win contracts for projects worth billions of yen. I don't have much time to think about the end user."
He said.
I see. I agree. It must be pretty hard to imagine the face of the end user when you have a really stressful job in front of you.
By chance, I sometimes get the feeling that I am "helping my customers." However, I think that this is perhaps something special.
When I think about it like that, I think it must be a very precious thing for a father to be able to accompany his daughter to tennis practice and feel like he's helping his daughter.
No, wait.
It's possible that the daughter is thinking, "I'm going to get my father, who isn't very active, out of it by using tennis, which I think he's good at, to get him to exercise."
Maybe she's grinning right now, thinking, "I'm so helpful to my father!"
Notice from Bokumo Wine
The Bokumo Wine website was redesigned yesterday.
Please take a look first!
▶ New Zealand wine specialty store Bokumo Wine
With the aim of creating a site that is "easier to choose" and "more tailored to the needs of our customers," we completely changed the content about six months after the site's launch.
We hope to continue to be of some help to you in enriching your wine life. We would appreciate it if you could let us know your opinions and requests regarding the new site.
To celebrate this renewal, we are offering a 15% off sale on all items until the end of February. If you'd like, please take this opportunity to replenish your wine stock at home.
By the way, we will continue to make the site easier to use and increase the number of items we carry. We will probably exceed 200 brands by around spring.
In the near future, from early February we plan to start selling New Zealand craft beer, which has been requested by many customers (although only a small amount as our main focus is wine).
We also sell wines from wineries I have personally visited and confirmed the high quality of , Mischa's Vineyards (Central Otago) and Seyfried Estate (Nelson).
Meesha's is particularly good at producing Pinots. Their aromatic white varieties are also appealing. Seyfried sources wines of varieties that are quite rare in NZ.
Stay tuned!
This week's pairing
Sunfish have appeared in Aichi Prefecture, and the wine bar "Bokumo" has decided to close for the time being. What a shame.
Since the beginning of the year, we have brought back our popular menu item , fried Oku-Mikawa chicken , and it has been well received, so this was a difficult decision to make.
Bokumo's fried chicken will be on hold for a while, but if you're planning on eating fried chicken at home, please feel free to use the pairings below as a reference.
For those who like to squeeze lemon on fried chicken
Squeezing lemon into fried chicken reduces the greasiness and gives it a refreshing taste. You can apply this same effect to fried chicken and wine. If it goes well, it will be a great pairing that makes both the fried chicken and the wine taste even better.
Mahi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Among Sauvignon Blancs, this has a complex and rich flavor, so it goes well with meat. It's like pairing fried chicken with citrus dressing.
For those who don't like to squeeze lemon on fried chicken
The image is of the juiciness of the chicken combined with the mellow flavor of the wine. Meat does not necessarily mean red, and I think that chicken goes better with a rich white wine.
Autu Marlborough Pinot Gris 2020
We recently received a new shipment of Pinot Gris . It has a mild pear-based flavor, so it is recommended for those who don't like sour flavors. Enjoy it as if you were dipping fried chicken in fruit sauce.
I hope that my own ideas for pairing fried chicken and wine will be helpful.
Let's find as much fun as possible during our time at home and get through this period together.
Please stay safe!
