September 20th 2014, a Saturday, a beautiful sunny day. I got up a bit early and headed to Enzan via the train. About a two hour train ride from central Tokyo, L'orient Winery is a small family owned winery located in Yamanashi Prefecture, a well known grape harvesting area in Japan. There are many small, local wineries here that have been passing down their wine making knowledge for years. Mr. Uchida, the owner of L'orient Wine, is the 3rd generation. The winery holds a festival once a year celebrating good harvest and to show appreciation to their customers.
会場に到着するとワイングラスを一人一個1500円で購入する。これが飲み放題のパスポートとなる。会場はブドウの木の下。ブドウの木の根元に積み上げられたプラスチックケースを各々で椅子やテーブルにセットアップしてゆく。正面ステージがよく見えるベストスポットは既にお馴染みさんが早々と占領していたので、木洩れ陽の場所にダイニングスペースを作った。夏の日差しと爽やかな風が吹き抜ける畑の真ん中でグラスを傾けながら音楽を楽しむ。。。それだけでテンションが上がる。
A wine glass purchased for 1500 yen becomes your tasting/drinking passport. The festival was held under the grape yard. Plastic containers were piled up around the tree stems, for visitors to set up their own tables and chairs. The best spots were already taken by the locals. We picked out a few plastic cases and set up our own dining space. Sunny day with a cool breeze passing through the vineyard, this is going to be fun!
There were several catering services built around the vineyard. Pizza, cheese, grilled sausage, noodles and pot dishes. We bought a sausage plate at 2000yen. Bit expensive but good for two people. There were about 8 different wines for tasting and drinking. Koshu wine were pretty good. Music and danses were performed at the stage while we were enjoying wine and foods. There were several catering services built around the vineyard. Pizza, cheese, grilled sausage, noodles and pot dishes. We bought a sausage plate at 2000yen. Bit expensive, but good for two people. There were about eight different wines available for tasting and drinking. The Koshu wines were pretty good. Music and dances were performed on the stage while we were enjoying the wine and food. |
URL of Lorient Winery http://www.shirayuriwine.com |