Wine Education and Tips
A clear guide to how sparkling wine is made: bottle fermentation (metodo classico) versus the tank method (Martinotti / Charmat), the difference between Champagne and Prosecco, regional styles, and how to choose, from an Italian importer in Tokyo.
The dark sediment at the bottom of a bottle, the glass-like crystals on the cork. Both are harmless, not spoilage. A Tokyo-based Italian importer explains what sediment and tartrates are, how to tell them from a real fault, and how to decant.
A whiff of wet cardboard, cooked fruit, rotten eggs. Wine faults have names and signatures. A Tokyo-based Italian importer explains how to spot cork taint, oxidation, heat damage, brett and reduction, and how they differ from harmless sediment and crystals.
An Italian importer in Tokyo explains the difference between Old World and New World wine, taste, winemaking and how to choose, plus why the same grape changes across two worlds and which bottle fits each dish.
An Italian wine importer and sommelier in Tokyo explains what rosé really is: its color and taste, dry vs sweet, the three ways it is made, regional styles, how to enjoy it with Japanese food, and the rosés you can drink from Swirl.
A screwcap is not a mark of cheapness. An Italian wine importer explains the types and roles of wine closures (natural cork, screwcap, glass stopper and more), cork taint, and tips for opening and storing each.