Sunday, November 8, 2009

Japan

The world of great restaurants and night life, the goal: make Valandraud the favorite wine in nightclubs.

Sunday evening, we had dinner at the friendly Hotel Ginza with the wine merchant who organized this trip to Tokyo, with Champagne Moet & Chandon Brut, an organic wine from Sicily (not very good) and a rather good wine from Tuscany Val d'Orcia. A meal that my sensitive stomach had a hard time to digest. Fortunately, drugs are effective.

Monday and Tuesday, meeting at the office of our client, then in his very posh club, a blend of nightclub, American bar, frequented by a rich and classy clientele here to flirt, talk and especially drink.

These kinds of places exist nowhere else, and furthermore, customers drink great champagne, cognac and other spirits, fine wines white and red, including Petrus, Romanee Conti and already Valandraud. This new niche, untouched by the crisis, is actually in good shape, especially in regard to status wines like Valandraud - fortunately!
More than a dozen sommeliers had the opportunity to see my show and afterwards, they had intelligent questions, much better than those asked elsewhere!
The interviews with gastronomic journalists, either to write editorials, or for a “regular” article were very professional, as always in Japan. Mr Tanaka from Wine Art was the one who knew best about it and Valandraud, its terroir, evolution, and my contradictions!

"Lifestyle" journalists, I must have done 6 interviews, were all interested in Valandraud and many already knew it. Their biggest interest was the pairing of Japanese dishes and my wines, white and red.
The meals were organized in 3 Michelin starred restaurants were nice and good practical work sessions ... What a life ... Considering we were working.

The most amazing meal took place in this 2 star restaurant, where the chef will certainly get 3 stars, with such a beautiful setting it would convince a blind man, a service was impeccable where even an elegant sommelier spoke to me in French. The dishes were all creative, barely processed, retaining their original flavor, difficult to speak pairing dish-wine we were so absorbed, amazed by the beauty of our plates and what they contained:
1, Two kinds of clams and Mashed soybeans
2, Steamed abalone , Fried potato
3, Two kinds of Crabs with Apple vinegar jelly
4, Clear soup with only skin grilled Snapper and Matsutake mushroom
5, RyuGin assorted Sashimi ( Red snapper, Tuna and Japanese lobster)
6, Japanese fish foiegras
7, Grilled Sea Perch
8, IWATE Beef , Shitakes and Figs
9. Eel grilling on the rice , Miso soup and RyuGin style pickles
10, Orange and fragrant olive sorbet
11, Airy cake with 2kinds of tastes ( Soy bean flour and coconut )
12, Baked chest nut cake with two kinds of cream ( chest nut and sweet potato with lemon)

Intimate room for 20 people, with a beautiful clientele, businessmen, 3 couples, lovers, including a tall Japanese woman with the elegance of a Kenzo model.

The parties in clubs to be introduced to those who matter, cannot be accessed without the keys. It is not enough to want, but also to be accepted and desired.

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