Event Report vol.1
Wine Tasting at Fukagawa Winery
We held a winery tour and wine tasting event at Fukagawa Winery in January. Let’s take a look at how it went!
Tour of the mill
The winery opened in one of Tokyo’s older neighborhoods in 2016. Let’s first take a look at the brewing station in the winery. It’s exciting to see so many cool machines that are rarely seen. This is a special space that’s usually hard to get permission to enter. 32,000 bottles of wine are produced here annually, and I can already imagine grapes turning into wine in this room. Now my expectations are raised for the wine tasting session later!
Listen to the stories
In the brewery, we had a storytelling session in the form of Kamishibai (a traditional Japanese street theater and storytelling format) on how wine was produced. Since it’s a small winery, we heard about how all the staff was involved in the process. If you are interested in the fall harvest tour, be sure to stay tuned on their website and social media account. Volunteers are always welcome here, to participate in work such as weeding the garden or preparing the grapes (crushing and destemming). If you are interested, please give it a try! The wine will taste differently if it’s made by yourself.
Taste and compare 6 types of wine
Finally, it’s time for the tasting. It begins with sparkling wine, followed by white wine and red wine, all of which can be enjoyed while listening to the explanation. Every type of wine has its own characteristics and I enjoyed all of them to the fullest. Enjoy the aroma and taste, and find your favorite. Yamagata Niagara has a refreshing and floral sweetness, while Koshu Grapes has a sake-like sweetness and would go well with fish dishes. Both the white wine and red wine taste very smooth and delicious because they were produced naturally with no additives.
Souvenirs and gifts are available for sale too
You can also purchase your favorite wine from the store. Take your time to carefully pick something that you’ll later enjoy at home. If you have a specific taste you like, or a dish you want to pair it with, you can consult the store staff for recommendations. You can pick gifts for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. If you don’t know what to get for someone who appreciates wine,why don’t you consider these as options. The unusual “Wine in Box” places wine bottles in a book-like box, for it to be easily carried around. Since the wine bottle fits in the letterpack, it can also be mailed out as gifts to friends and family afar.
To wrap up
We had a great time with residents at the winery, learning about wine and having conversation over wine tasting. Hmlet plans to organize more experiential events in the future. If you are interested, feel free to sign up! We look forward to seeing you at our next event!
