Wine and Whiskey

This was another weekend full of activity for me, something that doesn't happen often, since I'm a couch potato during more weekends than not.

I saw that there was a bus tour going around wineries with a stop at a wine festival in Nagano, a place known for ski resorts and wineries. I got a 3-day train pass to cover most of the train fare and my buddy was going to join me for the winery bus tour.

On Friday, I went to work in style, taking the express train to and from work. It's great to just stretch out my legs in a seat that's much comfier than the bench seats on local trains and the express train was not super crowded, although there were quite a few people paying extra to ride a train where seats were guaranteed and the ride was shorter since there were much fewer stops on the way.

Saturday was the winery bus tour. I got up bright and early to catch the bullet train to the Nagano, where we were going to meet the bus. We were expecting one of those big tour buses, but it turns out that we got a small bus that was pretty packed to the brim with tour participants. While this particular tour was pricier than the bus tours I've been on, it took us to wineries that are not easily accessible by public transportation. Driving around to visit wineries kind of defeats the purpose if wine tasting was on the agenda. I figured I'd pay extra for the opportunity. Plus, we got to visit a brand new distillery where the whiskey was still in the process of maturing in casks and a newly opened cheese factory.

The first stop was a hilltop winery and cafe that boasts award-winning wines. We toured their very tiny winery, which was more like a warehouse with a few vats they make the wine in. During the tour, we were told that the ponds we saw in the area were mostly irrigation ponds drawing water from higher elevations since rain is scarcer in the region. The owner was not a gifted speaker and I got bored really quick so decided to roam around and take pics of the surrounding landscape until it was time to for wine tasting. We tried their Chardonnay and Merlot. The first impression wasn't that great, but the Chardonnay does grow on you. I've had better Merlot.

The next stop was the wine festival held in a town called Tomi. They hold this festival every year it seems, but instead of buying a glass and drink tickets, you pay at each stall. The stalls were charging 300-500/tasting, pouring 40-60ml each. It wasn't cheap at all. But we sampled a few wines, but none were so good that I brought home a bottle. I did, however, bring back a couple loaves of pain de campagne. There were food trucks there, too, with one offering local wagyu beef bowls and one grilling gamecock. I was given a sample of a piece of the grilled chicken and man, it was good! So, lunch was beef and chicken.

After having lunch at the festival, we headed for a brand new distillery. Their whiskey is still maturing in the casks so they don't have bottles readily available for sale. They only have enough available to offer for tastings and cocktails. We got a tour of the distillery and warehouse where they stored the casks. We were given a cocktail made with their whiskey topped with a local red wine. I wasn't a fan. We went out on the patio to sip the cocktail. We saw some white fluffy stuff flying around. No, it wasn't snow. It was dandelion seeds. Don't see much of that around my neck of the woods. It appears that many of the whiskies they're taking orders for are sold out, particularly the one matured in cherrywood casks.

The last stop was a tiny winery that supplied the red wine to the distillery that used the wine in cocktails. Their wine is mostly used to supply local accommodation facilities rather than selling individual bottles. We tried a red and white. They were both OK, but the tender grape leaf tempera was what got my attention. I never knew that grape leaves were edible. Apparently, the new leaves are tender and great for tempura. It was pretty good. Other tour participants were happily munching on the delicacy.

What I noticed as we were riding the bus was how bad the roads are. I know that snow country conditions can wreak havoc on the roads, but they were really bumpy. Maybe it's also because we were sitting at the back of the bus, but I was like "argh!" when we hit potholes. The roads leading to the wineries were the worst. I did enjoy the view of the wild wisteria along the road.

The last stop was a cheese factory. We didn't tour the factory but did some shopping at the cheese shop. My buddy got a bunch of cheese which will go great with the bread she bought at the wine festival. I had plenty of cheese in the fridge from my last Costco run. But I did get some fresh cheese ice cream. Gotta end the trip with ice cream, right?

This was a privately organized tour organized by employees of the wineries we visited, not by a tour company, so there was plenty of time in between visits. We didn't feel rushed at all. We were dropped off at the station on time. No delays. We hardly saw any traffic in the area or around the station. I totally passed out on the train since we were getting off at the last stop. LOL

It was a fun day 😁