The Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair, one of the largest liquor fairs in Asia, was held November 7-9, 2019. During the event, a seminar matching Japanese Wine and Cantonese Cuisine was held. “The great thing about red wine made from Muscat Bailey A, an original Japanese variety, is that it well matches many types of food. It goes perfectly well with fish as easily as with roasted pork fillet and many other dishes. It also goes fairly well with dim sum. A wide variety of spices are used in dim sum, but I was impressed with how well it matches Muscat Bailey A,” Master of Wine and Japanese wine ambassador Debra Meiburg remarked. When speaking about its attractiveness, she said, “I am surprised that despite the complex flavor of Muscat Bailey A, it is still wonderfully delicate.”

Debra Meiburg, MW 提出了值得留意的新建議。 “日本葡萄酒中一種叫 Debra Meiburg also made a noteworthy suggestion. “Niagara, a Japanese wine, has a gorgeous bouquet characteristic of the grapes, and is slightly sweet but with a low-alcohol content. It is very refreshing. I recommend eating Xiao Long Bao (Chinese steamed soup dumpling) along with this wine. The soup that flows out of the Xiao Long Bao goes fantastically well with Niagara in your mouth. Everyone should try it!” Cold Niagara with piping hot soup. Definitely worth trying!!

Mickey Chan, Japanese wine ambassador and perhaps the most influential wine expert talked about “Koshu,” one of the best white wines in Japan, saying “when Koshu is paired with sushi, you can feel the umami of the fish on your tongue and when you add the umami of the wine, the good taste seems to multiply exponentially.” One characteristic of Koshu wine is its low iron content which blocks out the fishy smell. When you enjoy sushi with this wine, it feels like they enhance the taste of each other. Koshu is an original Japanese variety of Japan with a history of more than 1,000 years. It has remained close to the history of Japan.

• 
• 
• 

At this time, Tadashi Agi, the writing duo of the best-selling manga, “The Drops of God,” visited Hong Kong as Japanese wine ambassadors and commented, “actually, ‘Marriage’ (a manga based on the marriage between wine and food) focuses on Chinese cuisine and wine. Wine and food play complementary roles and create a third taste in addition to the taste of wine and the taste of the food. Furthermore, the wine and the food have their own aroma, fragrance and flavor. So, the key is to balance the Japanese wine and Cantonese cuisine so they complement each other.”
At this seminar, one announcement especially drew attention to Japanese wine. The “Drops of Japan” selected by Tadashi Agi were announced. Twenty wines were selected from among Japanese wines made from Muscat Bailey A, an original variety of Japan, Koshu and Niagara grapes. “I think the Drops of Japan are the wines that should be enjoyed by people in Hong Kong which is an important export destination of Japanese wine,” Tadashi Agi remarked.
The selected wines are introduced on the following website. Come see them all!
https://japanese-wine-12apostles.jp/