投稿の詳細: スマート博士　Dr. Richard Smart

おそらく世界中の（少なくとも
新世界では）ワイン葡萄栽培家と
ワインメーカーでその名を知らない人は
いないだろうと思われる
リチャード・スマート博士との仕事が
あって東京に行ってました。
博士のセミナーの通訳のお手伝いでした。

スマート博士はワイン葡萄栽培の
バイブルとも言える　Sunlight into Wine
の著者でもあり、いかにして高品質のワイン
葡萄を作るかの教育とコンサルタントをして
います。そういう意味では、テロワールだとか
雰囲気で、「一番のワインはフランス産ですよ」
という市場戦略の旧世界のワイン産地からは
目の敵にされているかも。

ワイン愛好家向けセミナーという話だったのが
蓋を開けてみれば錚々たる顔ぶれ
（日本中の大手を含むワインメーカーや栽培家、報道関係者
、ソムリエ初め勉強熱心なワイン愛好家）
が集まり、私よりはるかに語学の達者な方も何人も
いて、途中助け舟など出して頂いたりして
通訳のできはお恥ずかしい限りでした。

色々な意味で刺激的な経験でした。
セミナー内容も刺激に富んでいましたね。
午前10時から午後3時近くまでランチブレイク
なしのセミナーで、ワインテイスティングも
ありました。いずれも博士がコンサルタント
しているワイナリーのものでしたが、
あんなワインがなだれをうって入って来られた日には…。
…もっともっと頑張らなくっちゃね。

その後有志で場所を移して軽く食事を
とりながらインフォーマルに更に
話を伺いました。

あ～あ、とため息の多い週末でした。
でも博士初め多くの方々と知り合えたのは
大収穫でした。

I went to Tokyo over the weekend
from Friday afternoon. I was an
interpreter at a seminar of Dr. Richard
Smart on Saturday whose name is
widely renowned among the world viticulturists
and winemakers at least in the New World.
It is not an exaggeration that literally everybody
in both field knows his name.

He wrote a bible book 'Sunlight into Sun'
in which he showed how to make good quality
grapes for high quality wine. He now teaches
and conducts his consultant business how
to grow good quality grapes for high quality
wines by not sacrificing yield.
In that sense, he might be taken as a danger
person for Old World wine marketers who
have been using unscientific expressions
like 'terroir' to persuade consumers that
the best wine is only produced in France.

The seminar was supposed to be intended
for mainly wine lover but actually
there were many viticulturists, winemakers,
press and serious wine connoisseurs including
very influenctial writers and from Japanese
big wine producers. Some of them are very good
at English who helped me a few times during the
seminar. So as an interpreter, I have to apologize
for my poor ability. Je suis tres honteu!

So it was very much exciting experience
to me in many senses. What he talked about also
included many exciting issues in exciting expressions.
The seminar continued from 10am till almost 3pm without
lunch break. Some wines were tasted from the wineries
he has been consulting with. The wines from relatively
young vines were very good which made me feel a bit
blue. What would happen if such high quality
wines would flood into Japanese market.
I have to make more efforts to make much better
wines than those of today.

After the seminar, more discussion continued
with him over a light meal and drink for a while.

What a weekend, sigh!
But I was very much grateful to have known him
and many other people in wine industry.