I went to Tokyo for the first time in a while on Monday and Tuesday.
(Sorry for being away from the store for two days.)
The purpose is to participate in the "New Zealand Wine Master Class Seminar" and " New Zealand Wine Tasting and Business Negotiations."
This event was held once a year until 2019, and I attended every year. As a New Zealand wine lover, it was a very valuable source of information for me.
This is the only New Zealand wine fair in Japan, so I would collect a year's worth of water here, bring it back to Nagoya, water my fields little by little, and then go back to collect more when I ran out.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the farming was suspended for two years. As a result, the fields were constantly drying up. This year, the farming finally came back, and I was eager to get going, bringing along a big bucket.
The difference this time from three years ago is that I have started a wine shop .
Choosing wine based on what kind of wine you want to serve at a restaurant is a slightly different perspective than choosing wine based on what kind of lineup you want to display at a wine shop.
When I'm at a restaurant, the first thing I consider is whether the wine is suitable for serving by the glass.
At Bokumo, we always have about 8 to 10 types of beer available by the glass, so we need a variety of varieties. We want to mix classics with interesting ones, value for money and slightly more expensive ones, so we think about the balance.
It is also important to choose a wine that pairs well with the food you serve at your restaurant, such as a lamb chop steak, or a gorgonzola penne.
Furthermore, when considering ordering a bottle of wine, visuals become important.
In my case, when it comes to bottled wine, I bring several candidates to the table and let the customer decide, so the appearance, including the label, is very important. Whether the appearance of the wine makes the customer think "It looks delicious" is also one of the factors in deciding whether to introduce it.
Then, we check the specifications. What kind of producer is it? What kind of vineyard is it from? What is the brewing method? Is there a story behind it? We also check whether there is information that would make a wine expert think, "That's interesting."
So the most important thing to consider when choosing a wine is whether it is suitable for the glass (including how it will go with the food), then appearance, and then specifications.
But that's not the case in a wine shop.
The first is "balance of price, taste and appearance."
At Bokumo Wine, I personally tasted and listed wines that I thought were worth the price and taste. Price and taste are the most important factors, but they are not enough; visual elements also play a major role.
When it comes to online shops, the first thing that catches your eye is the price and the product photo. I'm sure that most people won't even bother to go to the product information page unless it meets two criteria: "Is it within the price range I want?" and "Does it look good?" It's very important that it's priced at a reasonable level and has visuals that make you want to click to buy.
I think that something that has a distinct personality is good, whether that be "pop," "heavy," "simple," or whatever, but to be honest, when it comes to New Zealand wines, I feel that they are still somehow behind other countries' (for example, neighboring Australia) in terms of visual appearance.
To put it simply, there isn't much playfulness to it. I always think it would be nice if they came out with more outlandish designs, but for now, I think it's OK as long as it meets the criteria of not being "ugly."
And secondly, the specs .
These are elements that can be conveyed through written information, such as, "This wine was made with a lot of time and effort," or, "This is the thought that went into it."
This is for those who want to take a closer look.
Also, at the shop we also make suggestions for pairings with food, so I try to keep that in mind as well.
However, since wine is a drink that always matches with certain foods, I tend to think later, such as "What food would go well with this wine?", after deciding on the wine to be served.
So, this time I bravely entered the venue, determined to tackle wine from both the perspective of a restaurant and a wine shop...
As a result, it was extremely difficult.
After the intense 90-minute master class seminar, I was surprised when I entered the venue.
There are too many people!
This is the first time the event has been held in three years, so I'm sure everyone is as excited as I am.
(Of course, we take temperatures, use alcohol disinfectant, and wear masks.)
In the preliminary simulation, I thought I would carefully taste each wine one by one, like, "First, I'll do it in restaurant mode, and see how it goes with the wine by the glass, and how it would go with the food. Then I'll switch to wine shop mode and focus on the visual aspect."
That's impossible.
It's impossible to sit at one importer's booth and listen to their explanation carefully, so you get poured a little, taste it, and then you get swept up in the wave of people and end up at the next booth.
Still, when I find a booth that seems to have a wine I'd like to introduce, I taste it, spit it out, and make a note of it on a tasting sheet I made myself.
I was in the middle of a crowd, holding a glass, a notepad, and a spit container in each hand, and it was chaos.
Halfway through, staff member Sato (who was participating in a tasting for the first time in his life!), unable to bear watching the situation, came over with a container to spit into and held it over my mouth immediately after I had finished tasting.
I think if you looked at it from the outside you would think, "Is this nursing care?"
In all, I was able to properly taste about 30 types.
Although we didn't get enough to fill the bucket, I think we did pretty well considering the circumstances. Thank you to Sato-san for taking care of us.
In the evening, we had dinner with an importer who has been helping us out. We exchanged information and enjoyed New Zealand wine and delicious lamb.
▶ Ultra Chop Plus (Azabu-Juban/Bar Bar)
The next day, we went to check out the venue where we would be holding a small tasting event.
Afterwards, I met my brother who lives in Tokyo and we were able to catch up on each other's lives.
By the way, the little shop where I went with my brother to drink New Zealand wine was really good. The peach soup and homemade sausages were delicious. If you live in the Kanto area, please go there.
