Bokumo Wine started in July of last year. It will be a year soon.
A year before, before we opened, my co-representative Sato and I would often talk about how it would be great if our regular customers from all over the country who order New Zealand wines at Bokumo Wine started stopping by Bokumo while sightseeing in Nagoya.
But, when you think about it in reality, to be honest, Nagoya's tourism resources are a bit of a drawback.
I'm sure that many tourists will use Nagoya to stay overnight before going to Shirakawa-go or Takayama in Gifu, or Ise in Mie.
Well, I thought that if I continued steadily for about a year, eventually some curious person would appear among Bokumo Wine's regulars and say, "I happened to be staying in Nagoya, so I came to Bokumo."
but!
It arrived in less than a year!
Last week, a customer who came alone to the counter said this the moment he sat down:
"I love New Zealand wine, and when I was looking to buy it online, I found Bokumo Wine. I've always wanted to go to Bokumo in Nagoya.
Oh, I've kept all the wine cards that came with the wine I bought, in MUJI holders."
It's here!
No, Irritated Shutter!!!
I am so moved.
I'm glad I did it. And I'm glad I continued to make the wine cards steadily.
When this person went to New Zealand on a trip, he was impressed by the wine served on the Air New Zealand flight on the way there, and has since become a fan of New Zealand wine.
"I understand. I was also shocked when I tried it.
I was amazed that they could serve such delicious food in economy class.
What's more, it's amazing that you can choose from four different types."
"No, when I went there there were five kinds!"
"Eh?! Really? That's great!"
I'm so excited.
The restaurant was almost full that day and I was a bit flustered, but every time I returned to the counter I was able to talk with the person about New Zealand, wine, and many other things.
They enjoyed pairing each dish with a New Zealand wine, and ended up staying until just before closing time.
After I returned home, I thought back on it fondly.
"That thing I was talking about with Mr. Sato back then has now come true."
If I had only run a restaurant, I would never have had such wonderful encounters. If you only run an online shop, it's difficult to meet people in real life in the first place.
It is because we do both that we can say, "Thank you for your continued orders. In terms of varieties, do you like the Gewurztraminer that you always order?"
The convenience of the internet and the joy of meeting in person. It was a night where I really felt that mixing the two can be incredibly fun.
By the way, that person was in Nagoya to see the 2.5D musical "Touken Ranbu" held at the Nippon Gaishi Hall, one of the biggest live venues in Nagoya. He stopped by Bokumo on the way there.
I see!!
Nagoya is a city with many concert halls. Sorry for assuming that Nagoya has no tourist attractions.
I had completely forgotten because of COVID, but Japan has a wonderful culture of going on away games to watch games.
If concerts return, the flow of people will return. If people get active, the food and beverage industry will also become lively again.
When I think about it, both the entertainment industry and the food and beverage industry have been shedding tears since the coronavirus outbreak.
Let's finally make a comeback together from here. Sharing the same space is really good after all.
This week in New Zealand
Today I won't be suggesting pairings, but will introduce some delicious New Zealand food.
Zespri kiwifruit is neither green nor gold, it's "ruby red" .
It's a new variety that Zespri has developed over 20 years, and is a rare kiwi fruit that is only sold in Japan from late April to late May. I got mine at my local Aeon.
It's a little small, but it's delicious.
My daughter, who ate it with me, said, "It tastes very similar to the plums I had in New Zealand" (I went to NZ with my daughter seven years ago).
surely!
When she said that, I thought they looked just like the ripe plums I had eaten over there, and at the same time, I thought my daughter's memory was amazing (I'm a doting parent).
Also, if a New Zealand fruit reminds you of another New Zealand fruit, then I think there must be a very strong "New Zealand flavour" to it.
Come to think of it, those plums were bought from a regular supermarket (Fresh Choice in Christchurch) but they were incredibly delicious.
I can't really put it into words, but it felt like the fruits were a little different in flavor from those in Japan.
I'll have to go back and try this again to confirm.
It was a ruby red kiwi that made me want to go to New Zealand even more.
