今日遠来の客人があった。
超有名なワイナリーのワインメーカー。
日本ではめったに手に入らないワインを
造っている。　その姿勢は徹底していて、
気に入らないワインは瓶詰めをしない、
或いは廃棄してしまうというほど。

そこのチーフワインメーカーの方に
シャルドネ2008を飲んで頂いた。
「正直驚いた」という評価。
ピノ・ノワール2007も「とっても
自然でレベルが高い」と。

単純な私は素直に喜んで
しまいました。

ありがとうございました！

I have a guest coming from a distance
today. He is a winemaker at a very
famous winery of which wines are most
sought after and we rarely can get here.
Their standard is very high and they just
do not bottle the wines they don't like
and sometime they just abolish them
just because they do not like them even
though they themselves made them.

The chief winemaker tasted my Chardonnay
2008 which is to be released in July-August
and said they were surprised at the quality.
It seemed he recognized the potentiality
of Hitakihara fan here.
He also appreciated my Pinot Noir 2007
saying that it was made in a very natural
way.

I simply was very much delighted and
thankful with his comments.

Thank you very much.

今晩（30日）市内の老舗割烹
能登忠で行われたワイン会。
最近はワインを用意する方で
しか出番はなかったが、今日は
丸本酒店さんが当番なので
料理とワインとおしゃべりを
楽しむことができた。

ワインはシャンパーニュで始まり、
チリのトレス・パラシオスの
ソーヴィニオン・ブランとメルロー、
ブルガリアのエニーラ（メルロー
が主）に、Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots 1995
Domain Joseph Voillot,
卓尾はChateau Montroses 1995 Saint-Estephe。

チリ等のワインは最近安くて美味しいのが
出ていて、こういのが1,000円台で売られると
困るな～というのが第一印象。ただ、きれいに
問題なくできていても、物足りなさがあるし、
これを飲み続けられるかというと
そういうものでもない。やはり、土地の特徴
が反映されていたり、くせみたいなものというか、
自己主張が欲しい。また、
厚みや複雑さがイマサンくらいな感じだった。
そういう意味では少々安心ではあるのだな。

最後の2本は同じ1995年ヴィンテージで、
丸本さんが購入し保存していたものが
出てきた。まず普通には手に入らないでしょうね。
Pommard　は飲み頃の後半に来ている感じで、
Montroseは飲み頃になるのはもう少し先という
感じで、まだまだ若々しく香りも素晴らしく
花開くという感じでもない。
同じヴィンテージなんだけど、この違い。
この辺がワインの面白さでもあるのだけれど…。
随分前に飲んだ28年物のグランジがやはり
若々しくて驚いたことがある。
こんな飲物ってほかに無いよね。

I attended a wine tasting meeting
tonight held at the most prestigeous
restaurant in Suzaka. Because Marumoto
bottle shop arranged teh wine, I did not
need to take care of the guests and I was
one of the guests. I was able to enjoy
food, wines and the chatting.

With opening of a Champange, Chilean
Tres Palacios's Sauvignon Blanc
and Merlot were served followed by
Bulgarian Enira. The last two were
Pommar 1er Cru Les Epenots 1995 and
Chateau Montrose 1995.

The Chilean wines were fine and
they were really good wines for the
price of around 1,000 yen per bottle.
They were clean and fine with no problem
but they lack something and I may not be
able to finish a few glasses. I felt firmly that
wines need to relfect the locality and should
have something telling itself. The length and the
complexity were also weak therefore they are
different from my wines which made me felt a bit
relieved.

The last two wines were the same vintage of
1995 which Marumoto bottle shop bought
long time ago and kept them at the shop.
One cannot get these vintage any more.
Pommar seemed to come to the last part of
the highest portion of the quality curve.
On the other han, Montrose was vivid
and would need more years to reach
its highest quality point. The aroma
was not outstanding and would need
a few more years to go. How different
these wines were even though they were
same vintage! It is an interesting
point in wine tasting, I believe.
I rememberd a Grange that I tasted many
years ago. The wine was already 28 years
old and was still vivid and showed much
of fresh fruit aroma which was really
surprising to me. Is there any
beverage to enjoy like this ?

昨日（２８日）、塩尻の城戸ワイナリーを
訪ねた。お忙しい中、冷たい雨の
降る中をご丁寧に畑とワイナリーを
長時間ご案内頂き、感謝感謝です。

（城戸ワイナリー外観）

小規模、家族経営のワイナリーですが、
現在全てのワインが完売しているという
人気のワイナリーです。
葡萄は、垣根とスマートマイヨルガーに
よる棚栽培。また、醸造は高価な設備を
使わずに始めたという、とても参考に
なるワイナリーです。

（売店で、城戸さん）

誠実で着実なワイン作りと経営が
印象的です。きっと大変な思いも
経験されたはずですが、それを
感じさせない爽やかさと、ワインの]
高い品質が人気の秘密でしょうか。

ありがとうございました。

I visited Kido Winary in Shiojiri
yesterday. I was so grateful with
Mr.Kido's kind introduction of the
vineyards and the winery in the cold
rain while he was very busy.

It is a small sized and family run
winery but all of the wines are
sold out at the moment. Such a popular
winery in Nagano. They grow grapes by
VSP and some by overhead trellis system
called Smart-Miyorgar. They started the wine
making without costly equipments which is
a very good example for me.

Their honest and steady wine making
and the management is very impressive. They
should have gone through hard time, I believe,
but their attitude towards the wine quality
and the sincerity to the customers should be
the secret of their success.

Thank you very much again.

昨日からコンピューターが不調で
エクスプローラーが開けない、或いは
スムーズに開けない状態が続いて
いる。今日はどうかな。

今朝（27日）も冷え込み、空気が澄んでいた。
畑から西にくっきりとアルプスが見える。
その右側には北信五岳が北へ並んでいる。

（西側を望む）

（西北西を望む）

（西北を望む）

（北側を望む）

It was another cold morning and the
air was very clear. Facing to the west,
I can see clearly the Japan Alps and
the famous five moutains in north
Shinshu< Hoskushin Gogaku.

今日は気温が低い上に寒風が吹いて、
天気はいいのだが、なかなかはかどらない
一日だった。

こういう日に1時間でも2時間でも
畑にでるのがいいのか、それとも
別のことをしていた方がいいのか
悩むところだ。畑に出ないと何か
罪悪感を感じてしまうし、かといって
能率の悪いことをしているような
疑問も出てくるし。

冬の間に取れるまとまった時間を
有効に使えたらと思うのだが、畑に
でなかったら無為に過ごして
しまうのだろうな。それだったら
畑に出ていた方がいいような。
小心者の煩悩は尽きない。

It was cold today. Even though
it was a fine day, I was not able
to cheer up myself in the vineyard
due to the cold wind.

On such a day, I always wonder if
it is good to work outside even
for one hour or two, or if I should
do something eles. If I did not go
out to the vineyrds, I would feel
guilty while I feel I work very
inefficiently.

I wish to use such a lump of time
in winter efficiently but I would
waste the time if I did not go out
to work. If so, it would be better
to be out there. These are the
worries to a little thing.