wine#08

Takahata Winery Unsulfited 2019

Well…this wine is from Takahata winery, where places at Yamagata (山形).  Takahata(高畠 )is one of Japanese winery. We visited there and grabbed some wines. The first impression about their wine was that their wines’ taste were basically a little bit sweet. But we couldn’t taste all of them of course. So We can’t say sweet all of them.  Anyway…. honestly the first impression was not good. However, this wine is  WOW & OMG!  “ Unsulfited” means brewing method without sulfurous acid. So this wine does not contain sulfurous acid of course. The color of the wine was a transparent golden color, so my guess was like it was a little bit light taste. Actually ?? It has a mellow, juicy, dry, and rich flavor. It tasted and smelled like Muscat or green apple, but never sweet. To be honest, I didn’t expect this wine. But reality….. I was captivated by it….. a typical punch line. This Unsulfited 2019 is a true Japanese Chardonnay wine and we can feel the passion of the producer through it. If you prefer to grab a Chardonnay wine, taking this one is reccomended. Kanpai 乾杯!!

Takahata Winery Web Page⇩

🌐https://www.takahata-winery.jp

Michi 宙

wine#07

MILAN NESTAREC Forks and Knives 2016

At that night, I was super drunk…. like people lying down in this picture. That’s the cause of scars on this bottle. We visited Nagano 長野 (Japan)at that time for visiting our favorite restaurant “Fika“. They serve good meal and wine. There is a warehouse, where they save bunch of bottle of wines. The customers can get in there for purchase. And of course it’s okay that they can open it at the restaurant or just bring it back. We usually do both. You know… its good short walk to sober up.  What they are kind is that each bottle has a price tag so that we don’t need to worry about it.  This wine “Forks and Knives” from Czech is rose wine. When we were drinking this, we were wondering, “What can this taste of wine compare to?” It resembles the taste of plum, but not the taste of France or Italy. Yeah… I know there are tons of wine in this world and maybe there are wines which has the same taste. But right now I have never grabbed the same as this wine before. It’s not as sweet as like grape, but more like the faint sweetness. The flavor is neither too strong nor too light. So I guess it can be a good combo with this wine and meal . In fact, we could enjoy that combo. In my opinion, this rose wine has untouched natural taste. 

Na zdraví !! ナズドラビー！！

Milan Nestarec Web Page⇩

🌐http://nestarec.cz/en/

フィーカ Fika Web Page⇩

🌐 https://fikas.shop

Michi 宙

wine#06

BK WINES One Ball 2018

This is a chardonnay wine from Australia. Australia is one of our favorite production area by the way.  Of course me and my partner love all production areas. However, we feel that Australia wine is a little bit different from Europe wine. What’s the difference?? In my opinion, it’s a balance between wine taste and sourness. I feel that their wines have a slightly fermented and oxidized scent that mixes well with the flavor. Its sourness is not unpleasant and can be enjoyed as a taste. This wine One Ball is also the type of wine I mentioned.  How about the taste ?? That was no doubt ! Let me explain this awesome wine One Ball. When a bottle of this wine was opened, the aroma of this wine was not so strong, but I felt a slightly fermented aroma (not bad scent). It had a scent similar to yogurt. What ?! Yogurt?! Hey buddy,  expired. Yeah I felt in the same way. But when I poured it into a glass, I found that the scent was more complex. The scent was reminiscent of yogurt, nectar and citrus fruits. When I included it in my mouth, I was surprised at the complexity of the taste. It tasted similar to oranges and grapefruit, neither too rich nor too refreshing. When I swallowed it further, the scent suddenly became involved in the taste! No one can stop me anymore. Yes Lord! I couldn’t stop drinking this wine!! The taste and aroma were like holding hands and dancing elegantly.  This is a kind of wine that can be drunk forever, just like holding hands with a partner. 

BK WINES Web Page⇩

🌐  http://bkwines.com.au

Michi 宙

wine#04

Giramondo IGP Calabria Bianco 2017

When I opened this one, the scent was really strong and that was what bio wine’s smell is like. But I felt that it was so stronger than other wines I grabbed before that I guessed this wine was not good. That is, bio-wine can sometimes be over-fermented accidentally. Sometimes we get bio wine that it’s not drinkable. However, this wine was not what I thought. The taste of this wine was OMG. I have never tasted like this wine. Me and my partner looked at each other and said, “Oh my god !”. That taste was exactly like plum or apricot. The scent was gently overflowing in my mouth and I enjoyed the color, the taste and the scent for a while. At that moment it was definitely like landing in a new country. Take this wine, if you want to take an adventure. Allora facciamo un brindisis !!

L’acino Vini Web Page⇩

🌐  http://www.acinovini.it

Michi 宙

sake#02

Haruga-Sumi -春霞-

This sake “Haru-Gasumi” is from Akita.I’ve heard before this sake is really nice cold sake.But… Ive never  thought cold sake was good  to go with meal. Yeah..meal was everything for me. I thought that alcohol should be like a role as a supporting actor in movies. For example, Nick Nolte definetly needs Eddie Murphy in that movie,  right? This horrible and terrible idea is what I thought about alcohol before…..super embarrassed. Anyway…Let’s get back to the reviewing about this awesome Japanese sake. This  “Haru-Gasumi” from Akita is really good one for meal. I felt that it does not disturb the taste of the meal at all.  We took it at dinner time and that evening menu was my partner’s original tomato pasta. Yeah I can see what you all think right now. “Pasta with Japanese sake ?!”, “Hey Michi, that was a red wine you took”, or “You need a help”. What I want to say is that this sake can be grabbed like wine we drink with dinner. No walls amigos. The taste is not sweet too much, even thought the smell of rice is so rich. In my opinion, the stronger the taste of alcohol, the worse the flavor of the meal. What surprised me was that when I took this one. I could feel some bubble gently on my tongue, even though this sake is not bubble one. As an aside, it opened up like a champagne bottle. Yeah it’s amazing!! We felt that moment some special like a birthday party.  If you like not sweet one and want to take one with meal, I definitely suggest you this sake Haru-Gasumi. One more I want to say “No doubt”.  Saludos amigos 🥂

Kuribayashi Brewery Web Page⇩

🌐  https://harukasumi.com

Michi 宙

wine#03

Yukari 2018 – 縁 –

This wine Yukari (縁) is the same name as one of my friends. This wine reminded me of her. She was my coworker and my unforgettable friend. We used to hang out every night (of course for wines). I remember a pile of champagne stock on the balcony of her apartment. She was just awesome….. . Okay, let’s go back to the review. This wine made with 100% Delaware Muscat is from Hitomi Winery. They are famous for unfiltered wine by the way (Michi). At first, the wine was a little bubble, but after a little while, it became weak gradually. It smelled like the refreshing scent of grapefruit, lemon, and the scent of Delaware Muscat. I feel that the taste of Delaware Muscat is a little bit strong, however, it is never sweet, but rather dry. Due to the unfiltered wine, the taste is very strong and nothing else is needed, I guess. For me, this wine “Yukari” will be an important wine that brings back memories.

Tomo

Hitomi winery Web Page⇩

🌐http://www.nigoriwine.jp

Wine List ⇩

🌐http://www.nigoriwine.jp/HWHP/web/wine_list1.html

私には忘れられない人がいる。ワインを毎日のように一緒に飲み明かした職場の先輩だ。最高に賢くて、面白くて、可愛らしくて、セレブで。。。ベランダにシャンパンのストックが敷き詰められていたのを思い出す。そんな彼女とはもう2度と一緒に飲むことができない。2年半前に他界した。今も私がワインを飲むといつも彼女のことを想い出す。縁Yukariは彼女の名前。（漢字は違うのだけれども・・・）早速手に取った。しかも日本のワイナリー、ひとみワインだ。ボトルのエチケットも趣のある感じで素敵で、さらに、彼女の好きなシュワシュワ系。このつくりはペティアンなのだが、最初、開けたては少し力強いバブルを感じる。でもすぐに落ち着いてくるのが特徴的。デラウェア100％のマスカット系の匂いに、ちょっとレモンやグレープフルーツといった爽やかさも加わった香り。食欲もそそる。味は、マスカットの味が強い気がするが、甘ったるくない、きれいな仕上がり。しっかりとドライにフィニッシュする。無濾過なので、やはり味がしっかりしていてワインだけぐびぐびと飲める。もう2本も縁Yukariを飲んだ。私にとってこのワインは、縁を感じるいろんな思い出が蘇る大切なワインになりそうだ。

智子

BEER#02

Kyushu Craft  Hyuga-Natsu -日向夏-

This is one of my favorite fruit beer Hyuga-Natsu 日向夏.  When I poured it, the beautiful sweet aroma spread all over. That scent was definitely the same as  a real citrus fruit. I enjoyed the scents of it for a while. After that, I crossed the Heaven’s gate…..OMG !!! Yes Lord !!! This is it !!! This is how the craft beer should be. The taste of this beer is totally Japanese citrus fruit Hyuga-Natsu. It seemed like I was bitting a real citrus fruit or … how can I say ??? It sounds like I was drinking a freshly squeezed citrus fruit juice. The aftertaste was also super smooth that it didn’t leave any sweet one in my mouth. I highly recommend this one if you like not sweet one.

Kyu-Shu Craft web site ⇩

🌐 https://hideji-beer.jp/kyushu/

Michi 宙

wine#02

Carnaval 2018 rose

As it wad opened, suddenly  the scent was overflowing and it was like fresh strawberry or cherry’s one. This innocent red…..we just said “Wow” when we were pouring this one. This is  a rose wine, however, it was aged well so that it has really gentle fruit flavor. Despite the amazing quality, this wine is really reasonable. It makes us think we want to keep one on fridge. It is no doubt that French wine in 2018 is a vintage year!

La Fontude Web Page⇩

🌐 http://www.lafontude.fr/index.html

Tomo

ヴァン・ド・フランス・ロゼ・カルナヴァル2018

この初々しい赤色。キレイ♡ 赤に近いロゼであろうという推測の元、栓を抜いた瞬間にいちごやさくらんぼなど赤い果樹味が弾け飛ぶフレッシュな香り。うん、やっぱりロゼかな。ただ、口に含んだあとはほどよい果樹味を残して、すでに落ちついた味。ロゼらしく全体的に香りがジューシーなので止まらなくなる一本。コスト的にもデイリー使いにキープしたいなぁぁぁ。やはり2018のフランス産は当たり年ですね！

智子

wine#01

Christian Binner Saveurs 2018

It’s 2020….it sounds awesome ! Happy New Year! The first wine we got this year was Christian Binner Saveurs 2018. The color is gold and so shiny. That is what we love as an ideal white wine. In general, Binner is good to drink 3~4 years later. However,  it’s the best timing to drink this 2018 Binner in this year. This wine seems like bubbly a little bit and also its’ taste is strong. Even though the taste is solid, it goes well with nibbles. We recommend you  to take this wine at room temperature.Even after years of aging, different flavors are likely to come out.The price is  also reasonable.

Domaine Christian Dinner Web Page⇩

🌐 https://www.alsace-binner.com

Tomo

サヴール 2018 / クリスチャン・ビネール

なんだかめでたく感じる2020年、最初に購入したのは、定番、フランス・アルザス地方からクリスチャン・ビネールの新作、サヴール2018。グラスに注いだ瞬間から大好きな黄金色が輝いて、理想的なホワイト・ワイン。大抵は3～4年してから1番の見頃になるビネールワインなので、2018年は軽やかだろうと飲んでみたら、ほんのり微炭酸で、でも味がしっかりしていた感じ。さらに何品かを摘んだ後に味わうこのワインは味もしっかりでて、すっかり出来上がってました。ただ、常温がおすすめです！　何年寝かしてもまた、違った味わいがでてきそうですが、お値段的にも、今、買いたい一本です。

智子

BEER#01

Sleeping Forever – Imperial stout –

This Stout produced by the Veil Brewing is not like stout we grab at any kind of bar. What they use for making it is a whisky !! OMG!! Whisky(Yamazaki) is my favorite one!! I used to put a bottle of whisky in my pocket when I was a kid. My parents got so mad that I didn’t do that again. It was my bad…. . Anyway….when I drank this one, the taste of whisky was overflowing in my mouse. Furthermore, this stout is an imperial one which means hight alcohol content. That’s why it’s not going down easily like drinking a pilsner or IPA. So when we were drinking this one, it looked like drinking a whisky. I’ve never grabbed this kind of stout in my life!! I love stout and whisky so much! That’s why this veil’s stout is kind of my ideal one !! I hope I can have an occasion to grab this stout again.

The Veil Brewing web site ⇩

🌐 https://www.theveilbrewing.com/home

Michi 宙