Many medium- to high-end New Zealand Pinots offer an astonishing balance of acid, fruit and alcohol, and this one is no exception. Light purple-ruby in color with notes of strawberry and plum in the nose, the Koru Pinot is silky smooth on the palate with a level of finesse hard to find in similar offerings from warmer Oregon and on par with a good Cote de Nuits. The length was quite long, and this wine will probably hit its peak in another 1-2 years.

Pinot Noir is the red grape variety best suited to New Zealand’s cool, wet climate, and along with Sauvignon Blanc helped finally put them on the map wine-wise. Drink a wine like this Koru to make you understand why.

Conclusion: Not one to miss, especially if you like the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir.
DWR: 93 Points

Nonetheless, we’re sold on the format and might even put it to use going forward. The roads were wide-open, and it took maybe an hour to get from our place to the beach, making the ocean seeming for perhaps the first time truly accessible. Better yet, the place we went to is off the beaten path, and offered FREE (!!!) beachside parking. Incredible! Our favorite beach in Zushi (一色海岸, isshiki kaigan) has 3500 yen parking 300 yards from the beach, creating are a far less attractive Pay and Schlep situation.

Waves were perhaps the only thing missing, but the calm waters meant the girls could get in there and play with no threat of being kocked over by the surf. We all had a great time and are looking forward to going back. We stuck around till around 12:30 then went to a local restaurant for lunch that specialized in local ocean fare. Should have taken pictures, and not sure why I didn’t, but it was all exceptional. Boiled crab, thickly-sliced sashimi, steamed fish in a light ginger sauce and all the Japanese trimmings you would expect: miso soup, hijiki and tea. Vry fresh, very tasty.

We were amazed to find ourselves back home at around 16:00, with the whole late afternoon and evening still in front of us. When the last time that happened? Normally we’d just be packing up now, looking forward to a long and crowded road home. Add another adherent to the Starting Early school of thought…

From Blog Photos

• Stock is everything. The finest ingredients and perfect cooking are not going to produce a good paella if your stock is bland or mediocre. Take the time to prepare a flavorful fish stock (for seafood paella) using a combination of fish bones (or a fish head, such as the amberjack (kanpachi) I used this time around), fresh herbs, onions and garlic.
• Mussels go in right at the end. They only need a few minutes in the pan to heat up. Too much heat and they’ll shrivel up to nothing and you’ll be left wanting. Also be sure to properly remove the beard so as not to kill the mussel before cooking.
• Coat your rice. Be sure to stir fry the rice for 1-2 minutes along with the onions and tomatoes already in the pan before adding the hot stock. This will coat the grains well in oil and give you fuller, more flavorful rice.

Got any tips of your own? Leave a comment and let me know!

From Blog Photos

The event kicked off briskly at nine AM, and there were lots of games and events, followed by a sort-od lunch in the kids cafeteria that found we adults–even the extra laarge ones like yours truly–squatting down on kids chairs eating matsuri-type food (meat on sticks, yakisoba, etc.) with throwaway chopsticks while watching our young ones.

There was only one other foreigner there that I could see, a large Moroccan fellow who clearly spends a lot of time in the gym. We chatted briefly after the obligatory “gaijin, meet fellow gaijin” introduction arranged by our wives. Seemed like a nice guy, and their 6 year-old daughter was dressed in traditional Moroccan gard for the event rather than traditional Japanese, which I tought was pretty cool.

Anyway, Summer fun was had by all, even with all of the sweating. Here are some shots of the girls.

Southern France offers incredible diversity in terroir and wine styles, and in my opinion wines from that region are as good or better than any of the low- to mid-priced wines coming out of Bordeaux, Burgundy or the Rhone Valley. If you’re a fan of Spanish wine then you’ll love the offerings from Northern Catalan near the Franco-Spanish border, which have the same rustic, spicy character.

For red grapes think Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre, and Carignan in addition to more familiar varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The majot white grape is Chardonnay, with Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Viognier figuring prominently as well.

The site is fully bi-lingual, of course, and we offer free shipping anywhere in Japan for orders over 15,000 yen. If you want to jump right in and see what’s happening wine-wise down South I recommend the Summer Tasting Set, six carefully selected wines that I’m sure you’ll love, including two of my absolute favorites, this Vacqueyras from the Rhone Valley and the always lovely Fitou Cuvee Privilege. Order yours now!

You’ll probably notice some of the English on the site is a bit dodgy. We’re still refining it, and much of what you see there comes straight from the translator with little or no polishing. One step at a time…

Anyway, have a look. We hope you like it! If you do, help us spread the word…

The Umi Hotaru is a great place to stop and take a break, offering great views to Tokyo Bay on all sides and a variety of restaurants and shops. We had kaiten sushi there while watching the sun set and thought it just great.

From Blog Photos

On this day I ordered medium-thick noodles and 角煮 (kakuni) marinated pork. The noodles were just the right firmness and the pork melt-in-your-mouth tender. Probably a bit on the high end calorie-wise but, hey, it ain’t every day, right? Co-worker J, a fan of massive portions and anything noodly, had chashuu instead and gave it a big thumbs up. I’m sure we’ll be headed back sometime soon…

大きな地図で見る

I noticed on a recent visit that they redid their counter-top menu, apparently going to great pains to make it accessible to the local foreign population as well. Too bad they did so without the involvement of a native English speaker. So, who’s hungry?

This time we tried Higomonz, a place that specializes in Kumamoto-style ramen (my favorite, natch) and walked away very full and very impressed. The excellent soup was tonkotsu style–a typical ramen broth made with pork bones and other odds-and-ends, most popular down South–and the noodles just the right firmness and weight. As an added bonus there were three morsels of kakuni (thick chunks of fat-lined pork) thrown in as well to give the thing a succulent, 贅沢な richness.

Don’t even want to think of the calories in that bowl, but we sure left feeling satisifed. Lunchtime brings big crowds and long lines, so be ready to wait unless you can skirt the busy times…