Last month I witnessed the opening of spanking new winery buildings at an estate in the Rheingau that attracted 600 guests from all over the world and included every luminary of German wine. But the most extraordinary aspect of the celebrations was that there was not a Japanese face in sight. German wine has long been relatively popular in Japan but that is not why I was surprised. Weingut Robert Weil has been owned by the Japanese whisky giant Suntory since 1988, yet you would never know it.
上個月我在萊茵高地區(Rheingau)參加了一個由羅伯特?威爾莊園(Weingut Robert Weil)舉辦的新酒廠開業典禮,這場規模宏大的活動吸引了600位來賓,尤其是德國葡萄酒界的杰出人物也悉數到場。不過奇怪的是,當天并沒有日本人的身影——德國葡萄酒在日本比較流行,日本人卻沒有來捧這次活動的場。這倒不是讓我奇怪的原因,真正的原因如果我不說,你可能這輩子都不知道:自1988年起,日本的威士忌(whisky)行業巨頭三得利(Suntory)集團已經掌管了羅伯特?威爾莊園。