Japan Trip - Sagashio Kan

Sagashio Kan is more than 100 year old hotel which is located near Katsunuma Wine region, Yamanashi prefecture.
It takes 20 minutes by car from Kaiyamato station.

We enjoyed the autumn color view on the way, but when we arrived at the hotel, it was about 1200 m above the sea level and the scenery was more winter-like.

Surrounded by mountains. No buildings nearby.

The outside and the inside of the building had history and charm.

First, we took bath.

This is not technically Onsen, This is called Kosen.
The temperature is not high enough to be defined as Onsen or something like that.
However, it felt as good as Onsen. In fact, I sometimes find Onsen too hot, so this was perfect for me.
There are three bath rooms: one for women, one for men, and one for rent-out.
You can use the rent-out bath room privately for 45 minutes. No fee or reservation required. First come, first served.

Then, dinner time!
They serve carefully prepared local cuisine made with, of course, local ingredients.

Appetizer and Duck Nabe 

Baked Quail and Quail Egg cooked in wine

We chose Koshu wine for this dinner

Sashimi Konnyaku. Fresh and sweet!

River fish stuffed with local Mushroom

Fig soup, palate cleanser

Turnip with Ankake

Matsutake Rice! I was full but couldn't resist
the local Soba was unbelievably delicious! 

Dessert:Cheese Cake and Pumpkin Ice Cream

Dinner full of local ingredients and clever ideas.
I was deadly full after this great dinner, but didn't feel heavy.

I was struggling with jet lag and having trouble with falling asleep in Japan, 

but this day, I slept really deep.

View from the room next morning.

The breakfast was fresh and great, as expected.

Mountain Vegetables, Half Boiled Egg, Green Salad, Sweet and Salty Fish,
 and Chicken Meat Ball Nabe 

Coffee Jelly, not too sweet and had good bitterness
refreshing after the meal

It was a quiet hotel in the middle of nowhere.

My Japan trip is always hectic, so I wanted to just relax here, but time passed so quickly.

Time to leave...they drove us to the station.

It was a sunny day and on the way to the station...

Mt. Fuji!!!

Just 6 minute train ride, and we were in Katsunuma, Japanese Wine Country!

Japan Trip - Suntory Hakushu Distillery

Suntory Hakushu Distillery is in Yamanashi prefecture.
It takes 2 hours from Shinjuku, Tokyo, to Kobuchizawa station (closest station to Hakushu Distillery) by train.

We got Ekiben (Bento Box sold at station) and enjoyed them with the beautiful autumn color view from the window.

 I chose Chicken and Mushroom Bento, and JC chose Beef Bento.

Kobuchizawa is a small station but it's easy to find a taxi.
 After 10 minute ride, we found the Suntory Distillery in the forest.

Their tour takes about one and a half hour: it started from its history, then the guide explained the every single step of whisky production.

Mash Tun, where the grains are cooked

This is where fermentation occurs. They use natural yeast exclusively.

Two kinds of pot still

Then the whisky is aged in wooden barrels.
The whisky evaporates during the ageing. This is called Angel's Share.

The left side is aged for 4 years, the right barrel is aged for 12 years.
It seems like that angels took their shares.

The tour was concluded with tasting.

We learned how to make a good highball, too.

It's close enough to make a day trip from Tokyo, or it's fun to stay Onsen hotel nearby and visit Katsunuma wine region (just one hour train ride from Kobuchizawa) next day, which we did.
If you drive, you won't get to taste, not even a sip. They are really strict.

In Pursuit of Balance

I Pursuit of Balance is the movement to encourage and promote the well- balanced, well-made Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from California.
This movement ends this year, but I had a chance to attend the last tasting in San Francisco.

It was held at RN74 in downtown.

All the wines were, of course, balanced.
Not too jammy, not too alcoholic. Approachable.
Here's some of the wines which were memorable to me.

Mount Eden
Big Basin
Chanin Wine Company Great find. Their labels were beautiful, too.

Hirsch Vineyard

Matthiasson 

Tyler Winery Their Bien Nacido W Block Chardonnay 2014 was gorgeous.

Wenzlau Vineyard makes decent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and their sparkling wine was the best.

Presqu'ile Winery
Littorai Their wines were too delicious to spit out.

Carela 2012,2013,2014 Pinot Noir and 2014 Chardonnay.
They also served 05 Jensen and 01 Mills. Delicate and complex.

Although I love Pinot Noir and like balanced wine, if I keep drinking the same type of wines, it becomes to feel like monotonous. Then some winery brought Cabernet or Syrah, and they tasted so refreshing.
Balance is, really, important.

Northern Italian Wine: A Guided Tasting

There was Northern Italian Wine: A Guided Tasting at Solano Cellars this week.
This is the last of Italian wine tasting series.

We started off with Procecco. Zardetto Procecco Brut NV from Veneto.
Fruity and refreshing.

Suavia Soave Classico 2015 from Veneto.
Grape varietal is 100% Garganega.
Mineral than fruit. White flower like acacia. Pear-like soft acid.

Zenato Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2012 from Veneto.
In Ripasso, the left over grape skin from Amarone production is added for extra flavor and structure.
Very ripe fruit.

Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2015 from Alto Adige.
Crisp with grapefruit-like bitterness.
Approachable wine.

Castello di Neive Barbera Santo Stefano 2013 from Piemonte.
100% Barbera. The grape is grown inside Nebbiolo vineyard. There are two spots which are warmer than other area in the vineyard (snow melts earlier) and they pulled Nebbiolo from there and replanted with Barbera.
Dark cherry, sour cherry, herbs like licorice.
I felt more structure than Barbera I usually drink. I wonder if this has something to do with the fact that the grape is grown among the Nebbiolo...?

Ceretto Dolcetto Rosanna 2015 from Piemonte.
Ruby color with purple hue.
Dark cherry and mushroom.

Castello di Neive Barbaresco Santo Stefano 2010 from Piemonte.
100% Nebbiolo. Same vineyard where the Barbera is grown.
Tawny color. Cherry, very ripe strawberry, almost jam. Sweet spice.
There was sweetness of ripe fruit, but not just flat sweet. There was more depth to it. Well balanced.
The pairing with mushroom risotto was perfect.
This was my favorite of the day, but $50.00...

Ceretto Barolo 2011 from Piemonte
Ripe strawberry. Fruit cobbler. Licorice.
Tannin was high but integrated.
This would be good food wine.

The last wine was Ceretto Moscato d'Asti 2015 from Piemonte.
Sweet but refreshing.
This reminded me of the grape you just picked from the vine which is still covered with morning mist.

I really enjoyed all three Italian Wine tasting, South, Central, and this North.
I saw familiar faces at this tasting, so it wasn't just me who were looking forward to this events.
It's sad that this tasting series is over, but I requested Chloe to have more tasting like this!

Sagrantino Tasting & Seminar

There was Savoring Sagrantino: Discover Umbria's Indigenous Varieties in San Francisco.
Sagrantino is a red grape varietal which is mostly grown around the town of Montefalco, Umbria, Italy. The wine made from this grape has highest tannin I've ever had.
I don't like wines with high tannin so much but somehow I've been intrigued by this varietal, so I was looking forward to attending this event.

There was an introduction about this grape and the history of  Montefalco.
There were several theories about the grape's origin, but this varietal seems to be indigenous to the area.
The thick skin gives high tannin and protects the grape from disease.
Sagrantino had been meant for local consumption and is relatively new to the international market.

Then wine was served with full course lunch.

White wine was served with salad.
Terre de la Custodia Grechetto dei Colli Martani DOC 2014

Grechetto is the grape used in Orvieto, famous white wine from Umbria.
Grechetto in Orvieto is flowery, but this one had more mineral.
Peach and Pear. Soft acid and medium body.
This wine could be better served with food, not just salad.
Very good wine.

Second course was Folded Pasta filled with Braised Short Ribs, Black Truffle Butter/Red Wine Ristretto
We had this with Montefalco Rosso.

Tenuta del Cerro Colpetrone Montefalco Rosso DOC 2011
Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Rosso DOC 2012
Antonelli Montefalco Rosso DOC 2012
Tenuta Castelbuono Montefalco Rosso DOC 2010

Montefalco Rosso DOC is red wine which is made of 60~80% Sangiovese, 10~25% Sagrantino.
Aged for minimum 18 months.

All of them were good, but not impressive.
Probably because my mind was already occupied with Sagrantino.

Main course was a choice of Pork Meatballs or Flatiron Steak.
This was paired with Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG.
Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG uses only Sagrantino. Aged for minimum 37 months.

Viticoltori Broccatelli Galli Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2010
Perticaia Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2012
Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2010
Tabarrini Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2011

They were all great.
Ripe red fruit, cherry, potpourri, spice.
Tannin was high, but not aggressive. 

My favorite among those great wines was Scacciadiavoli. 
Their wine was complex: bold yet elegant.

I enjoyed Perticaia a lot, too. Their wine was charming. 

It was a great experience. My only complain is that two hours was too short.

Rib and Brisket

When JC goes out, he usually comes home with some kind of food.
Today, he brought back BBQ from the store we always wanted to try.
The restaurant is located inside car wash place and we found it funny, then somebody said that their food was actually quite good, so we wanted to try.

Rib and brisket.
Smells very smokey.
Flavor was on the other hand almost bland.
I don't know if it was because of the meat or how they cook, but the meat needed sauce and unfortunately the sauce was too spicy for me (JC said it was good sauce).

I chose dry Riesling from Alsace for this.
Meyer Fonne Vin d'Alsace Riesling Vignoble de Katzenthal 2012.
Decent wine with citrus and citrus flower.
Medium plus acid was soft that sharp.

The light flavor of BBQ actually worked well with the wine.
The food and wine didn't intervene each other.
If the meat was sweeter, the pairing could have been bad.