I'd like to stay in Hawke's Bay for a couple of days.
The name is "Taka" from SoftBank Hawks, and I thought it was an easy name to remember.
Perhaps there is a bay, steep cliffs, and a forest on top of the cliffs, where hawks live.
So I had assumed that Hawke's Bay was a bay where hawks fly leisurely in the sky.
But after a bit of research, I found that it was completely different.
It was named after Baron Edward Hawke, a British naval hero.
What's with that emotionless feeling?
The bay where the hawks fly really shows that this is a country rich in nature.
Putting this trivial misconception aside, Hawke's Bay is one of New Zealand's important wine producing regions, so you'll need to be enthusiastic about your trip to Sauzo.
First, the places you definitely want to go.
It's called "Gimlet Gravels."
This place is featured in the Sommelier Association's textbooks and is an essential place to visit when talking about New Zealand wine.
This place used to be a riverbed, but an earthquake caused the river to change course and bring it up to the surface.
For a long time, the land was thought to be barren, gravelly soil where no crop could grow, but in the 1980s, someone ventured to try planting grapes there, and it was a tremendous success.
What a wonderful spirit of challenge.
Today, a wine labelled "Gimlet Gravels" is a sign of a rich, high-quality red wine.
I would love to touch Gravelle and see what kind of grapes are planted there.
How big is it?... 800 hectares.
If we convert it to our local Vantelin Dome, it's the equivalent of 171! It's pretty spacious.
There is also a nearby area called Bridge Pa, so I would like to see that as well, and I also want to visit the wineries based in Gimlet Gravels.
The candidates are "Villa Maria" and "Trinity Hill", which are handled by Bokumo Wine. These two have cellar doors (tasting and direct sales stores) and are within walking distance.
In addition, if possible, I would like to visit wineries that do not yet have sales channels in Japan. I would like to have a discussion about exporting to Japan.
However, Gimlet Gravels is about 25km away from Napier city. If you want to visit some wineries, you will have to rent a car.
However, if you visit a winery by car, you won't be able to sample the wines.
That's right.
When touring wineries, the problem of "having no means of transportation other than a car and not being able to drink by yourself" always comes up.
This is something that bothers me every time.
Ah! That's right.
You could ask your cousin for help.
I could get my cousin, who lives in Christchurch on the South Island, to take a domestic flight to Hawke's Bay on the North Island and drive me there.
If we take turns, like my cousin drinks on the first day and me on the second day, my cousin can drink too.
...It's a pretty selfish plan. But it's okay, because it's Sozo.
Ok, now that we've got the driving issue out of the way, let's head to another must-see spot in Hawke's Bay.
The winery is called Osawa Wines , and is located about 15km from Gimlet Gravels.
As the name suggests, this winery was created by a Japanese man named Osawa, and a friend of mine from Aichi works there.
I've met him many times in Japan, but meeting him in person will probably feel completely different.
That night, I toasted with Hawke's Bay wine and seafood with my friend and cousin. Just having a drink was already a lot of fun.
You can already feel happy before you even start your trip. Sozo, that's great.
Next time : Sozo New Zealand #3
