A few weeks ago B. brought back this copy of News Digest magazine from the Japanese quarter near Opéra in Paris; you may know that there are a few streets near the Métro Pyramides and the rue Saint Anne where there's a high concentration of Japanese businesses, offices and venues, and in many of these places including the restaurants you can pick one of the several free Japanese magazines catering for the large expat community living in Paris.
I reported a couple years ago about 33 Vin, another free magazine that helps the Japanese expats discover wine with great pictures, in-depth reports and also this knowledgeable interest for natural wines. Here although I don't read or speak Japanese I was intrigued by a long wine subject where it seemed that outstanding Japanese chefs living in France were asked to pick a wine of their choice. This was another illustration of the high regard for fine wine among the Japanese, with an approach that goes beyond the prestigious labels and Chateaux.
The Japanese love precision and this part of the article is a proof : on the left you can see the easily-readable map with the region of the wines picked by the respective chefs and sommeliers. Remember that for anyone outside France, navigating through the different regions and appellations is tricky, and a map certainly helps.
On the right of the page there's a useful explanation of the label geography, the French labels being another hurdle to understand our wines and not only for the Japanese. These two diagrams are maybe details but I feel that's another proof that the Japanese are serious about learning wine.
Restaurant A.T.'s pick is "Bourgogne en Busigny" (not Musigny)
Posted by: W H Owen | December 12, 2015 at 05:07 PM