By AYATERU HOSOZAWA/ Staff Writer
January 15, 2023 at 09:30 JST
East Japan Railway Co. has just the ticket for that special occasion.
On Dec. 12, it began offering a service called Anniversary Wine that allows drinkers to purchase bottles of a limited edition brand labeled Souvenir and leave them to mature in a “cellar” at the grand Tokyo Station Hotel in Chiyoda Ward.
The wine is produced exclusively by the Manns Wines Komoro Winery in Nagano Prefecture.
The company will store the wine, for a fee, until the owner decides the time has come to pop the cork for a celebratory meal at the hotel’s restaurant or elsewhere.
The wine is produced from vines in the same district as those for the deluxe Solaris brand of red served to Donald Trump when he was president, as well as to French President Emmanuel Macron, during state dinners in Japan.
The mix of ingredients was adjusted so the flavor improves with age, according to JR East officials.
The label features red bricks that symbolize Tokyo Station, which, like the hotel of the same name it houses, is designated by the central government as an important cultural property.
Currently, 522 bottles of the Souvenir brand are available although plans call for up to 1,000 bottles to be stored in the 16-square-meter chamber eventually. Temperature and humidity levels are kept around a constant 14 degrees and 70 percent, respectively.
The dedicated cellar was set up in what was previously a “business room” on the second floor of the Tokyo Station Hotel.
Red bricks from the time the station building opened in 1914 were reused for a section of the cellar’s interior.
A bottle of Souvenir carries a price tag of 22,000 yen ($164), including tax and storage fee for the first year. It can be kept in the cellar for up to five years with an additional storage fee of 2,000 yen per year.
JR East is hoping to cater to customers on a continual basis, relying exclusively on wine products made solely from Japanese grapes cultured primarily in Yamanashi, Nagano and Yamagata prefectures.
“Japanese wine is highly esteemed all over the world and garnering more attention every year,” said a JR East representative. “There are many vineyards and wineries in eastern Japan, and we will be helping to revitalize those local communities by promoting their wine.”
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Bottles of limited edition Souvenir wine produced by the Manns Wines Komoro Winery in Nagano Prefecture and aged in a dedicated cellar feature red bricks on the label in homage to Tokyo Station. (Ayateru Hosozawa)
