The past two months have flown by as the Foster family converged on New York City to celebrate the birth of Mariko's first child, a little girl named Noa. We all had a great time including a picnic in Central Park and attending a piano concert at Carnegie Hall. Jim had ambitious plans to visit … Continue reading June 2023 Wine Reviews
Category: Japanese Varieties
January 2023 – The “Best of Nagano Wines” in 2022
When not skiing (or playing golf), we have been contributing monthly to the friendsofnaganowine.com blog for four years! Our first piece was uploaded on January 31, 2019. And over this period a lot has changed in Japan and the world. We won't go down the rabbit hole to document and evidence this point. But we will note that our first blog focused on a tasting and interview with the owner of one of Japan's major independent wineries, Shigeyuki Kusunoki of the Kusunoki Winery. And coincidence or not, we will be attending in February a tasting hosted by Mr. Kusunoki of his new wines in Tokyo.
October 2022 Wine Recommendations
We are opening with this dreary video (click the screen to play) of a rainy October 8 morning in Nagano so as to give a real time glimpse of the challenges to producing good wine in Nagano. This year, we had record snowfalls in Nagano, cool weather in June and August that only rarely felt like summer--and cold, rainy weather throughout September and now into October . This video was taken around 9AM from our front porch: it was raining (you can see the puddles on the gravel driveway) and 10 degrees Celsius.
September 2022 Wine Recommendations
There is an old saying in English that "it is an ill wind that blows no good". Clearly, the global pandemic, waxing climate change and the precipitous collapse of the post Cold War global order fit the description of an "ill wind". But is there a "silver lining" in all this?
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.
June 2020 Recommendations
ALPS markets a very nice Chardonnay for 2700 yen under its Musee du Vin Maestro brand. This wine has a nice gold color and a fruity, fresh taste. But for 300 yen more a bottle, you get an entirely different experience: The Dynastie Shiojiri brand exclusively uses grapes from fields that are managed directly by the company rather than from contract farmers.
October 2019 Recommendations
This month we are featuring wines from the Chikumagawa Wine District of Nagano. The area is named for the river running through it from the Japanese Alps over 350km to the Sea of Japan. The vineyards are principally situated around Saku, Komoro, Tomi, Ueda and Suzaka cities. Over the past 15 years, these local governments … Continue reading October 2019 Recommendations
Friends of Nagano Wine 