May 2022 Wine Recommendations

Spring has a AT LAST come to Nagano -- even so it has been among the wettest and coldest on record. Our Nagano home sits 800 meters above sea level and there are still traces of snow in the shadows and much more on the tops of the 2500 meter plus mountains that surround us. Nonetheless, we recently hosted a small tasting of Nagano wines at our hilltop gazebo for our neighbors and have another one scheduled for early June.

January 2022 Recommendations

Viniqrobe was opened by a older couple named Yasuhiro and Hiroko Kurata, who left Tokyo jobs in banking and the pharmaceutical industry in 2016 to make wines on two hectares of land in Takayama Village, one of the prime areas for viticulture in the Chikumagawa District. Their goal is to produce an excellent Japanese Pinot Noir, but they are also planting Merlot.

December 2021 Recommedations

The snow is already falling in our corner of Nagano and we are busy with preparation for the winter season. Our home is just 30 minutes outside of Nagano city, but we are located on the slopes of Mount Kurohime and caught between Mount Myoko and highlands of the Tokagushi and Shiga Kogen that serve to funnel the cold snowy weather from the Sea of Japan, which is just 30 kilometers to the northwest. The result is over three meters of snowfall each year and some of the best skiing in Japan (and for that matter Asia). 

October 2021 Recommendations

We are on the verge of Fall and the harvest season in Nagano. Jim is looking forward to joining in the picking and sorting of the grapes at the nearby San Cousair winery later this month. The weather was quite wet and cloudy during September and the vineyard manager, Makoto Tsuchiya, is a bit anxious if the rains continue through October. We are keeping our fingers crossed.