The blue skies of Tokyo

Another airport, another bus, another hotel… but many amazing people! Welcome to the blue skies of Tokyo, after 10 days of haze arriving in Tokyo was a blessing. Kicking around with Christian & Eric (long time supporters of Man O’ War and brilliant brand ambassadors in Japan) we meet some of Japan’s hospitality elite. First up a cheeky little Italian dinner, complete with a bottle of vintage Man O' War Merlot stored lovingly at the Caraggio.

Thursday brought on the NZ Wine show. It was huge! 500 people came through for a trade tasting, many media and sommeliers. Thankfully the gods were looking after me and Yoshito Shichiji to help for the day. His palate was amazing and very quickly he understood what we were all about and helped to tell the Man O’ War story to everyone who came by.
With an hour break we had another 400 consumers come through hosted by Air NZ, they were thirsty for both knowledge & great NZ wine. Many expats (including a few lawyers) enjoyed a touch of home and some good old kiwi slang.

Ready for a beer, Mike from Prophets Rock, John from Vinoptima and I headed to Murase Wine & Cheese

www.wine-murase.com a Mecca for New Zealand wines. Kenichi Murase the owner has fallen in love with NZ and has an extraordinary wine list, many pictures and maps from NZ, including one of Man O’ War! So look out as soon as we have stock landed in Japan.

My remaining time in this amazing city was meeting and tasting with some of Christian & Eric’s friends and restaurant owner clients. Had an amazing tasting with the T.Y. Express group, almost Tokyo’s equivalent of the Nourish Group but much nicer. Shimpei Terada the President, Kazuaki Takanari the Wine Director, and David Chiddo Vice President slurped their way through our range and were particularly impressed with Ironclad, Valhalla & Dreadnought. So we are hoping to have a home on their amazing wine list soon.

We also attended the opening of Factory, a new bakery opened by Sei & Aki Matsuura

www.factory-kudan.com who also own some great restaurants in the heart of Tokyo. My last supper in Tokyo was surrounded by new friends at a brilliant Spanish tapas restaurant, Bikini (yes I did eat some traditional Japanese food) which is part of the Four Seeds group www.four-seeds.co.jp Talking through Man O’ War and planning the next trip (including a cup of tea with David). It is a beautiful city, with charming people and great hospitality!

One must go home, it’s been a great trip and we have met some wonderful people and made so many new friends for Man O’ War. I am looking forward to seeing the team back at HQ, my own bed, cheese on toast, and ‘vegging out’ in front of the TV, plus not having to lug around 7 pieces of luggage! But we will be back and we very much look forward to it.
Sara