Uncorking Good Times
With the Club set to host another Seasonal Wine Taste-Off this month, INTOUCH looks at how wine is bringing Members together.
Like the many fine bottles in its collection, the Club’s wine program is improving with age. What began as a niche offering for diners decades ago is now a professional service that encapsulates restaurant wine lists, winemaker dinners and tastings, sommelier guidance, online and in-store offers and wine education.
The program has earned the Club a well-deserved reputation as a wine hub in Tokyo, and it has even helped attract new, grape-loving Members.
In 2017, for the third consecutive year, internationally acclaimed magazine The World of Fine Wine awarded CHOP Steakhouse’s wine selection three stars—its highest rating—and a best medium-size wine list in Asia mention.
The wine list was evaluated on its range of producers, regions, styles and formats, as well as presentation and originality. Judges praised its design, diversity and descriptions, complimenting the “intelligent choices from Europe and the rest of the world.”
Meanwhile, American Bar & Grill scooped one star in the short wine list section. Both awards are significant achievements for the fact that only another five lists in Japan were recognized by the prestigious British publication, which will announce 2018’s winners this month.
“There is a phenomenal list here,” says Sera Goto, the Club’s wine program director, of the Club collection. “A casual dining list can be more difficult to construct than a premium list. Rather than load it with expensive or famous brand wines, price has to be taken into account. At that level, very subtle differences come into play. Curation of a wine list is almost like a science.”
With a master’s degree in winemaking and viticulture from the University of Bordeaux, coupled with know-how gleaned from time in the vineyards of Napa Valley, Goto embraces the challenge. Leading a team of five, she strives to improve the Club wine collection, an endeavor that was officially launched 15 years ago.
“Whenever we see a vintage that is popular with Members or a wine that could be worthy of the program, that’s the driving force [to consider it for selection]. We look for famous labels, as well as those that aren’t well-known but are recognized by our sommeliers for their high quality,” Goto explains.
In a country that is experiencing a blossoming wine culture (the market is expected to grow annually by 2.5 percent over the coming years), the Club offers access to many hard-to-find wines. According to Goto, some importers use the Club to test the wider market’s appetite for particular wines.
The result is a collection of some 7,500 wines (more than a third of which hail from California), stored in floor-to-ceiling, state-of-the-art cellars in CHOP Steakhouse and American Bar & Grill, with many available through The Cellar and the Club website.
It is the wine team’s pursuit of excellence that inspired Member Terry White to join the Wine Committee and, last year, take the helm as chair.
“The Club has an incredible wine program and the wine team needs support and feedback from the membership,” he says. “Wine is part of the fabric of the Club.”
White’s priority is to broaden the wine program’s appeal by attracting both casual imbibers and oenophiles to wine-oriented social events and evenings of fun and fellowship.
“Rather than being a group with a common interest, the Wine Committee wants to become a group that shares its passion with the broader membership. And I think we’ve done that [so far],” he says.
The Wine Committee’s first step was to give Members the opportunity to choose the Club’s seasonal red and white wines at a tasting of more than 20 wines last November. The third installment of this successful event takes place on September 25.
Another new event format that has proven popular is a casual tasting in CHOP that pairs wine with the likes of cheese and chocolate. Naturally, the Club has continued to host dinners with winemakers from some of the world’s best wine regions, offering Members the perfect environment in which to learn and mingle while enjoying an impressive array of wines.
For those Members looking to deepen their vinicultural knowledge, the Club is set to run a second Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) course for Members. This globally recognized wine education program is divided into different levels.
Though there is a lot of interest in the WSET certification among Members, Goto says most Members see wine as a way to unwind and socialize. And the wine program’s newest venture is designed to facilitate that.
Named after the first stage of winemaking, Crush is a temporary wine bar within American Bar & Grill on weekday evenings in September, October and November. Members will be able to enjoy unique wines by the glass and small bites, with a sommelier on hand to advise on pairings.
For White, it’s a welcome reminder of the laid-back evenings he and fellow Members enjoyed in Vineyards, the much-loved wine bar in the Club’s former Azabudai facility. He hopes that Crush, too, will be able to replicate that inviting atmosphere in which Members enjoyed wine while mingling and meeting new people.
“Part of our job is to break down barriers to enjoying wine,” says White of the Wine Committee’s role. “Wine shouldn’t be an intimidating thing. We’re all novices. No one should think that the barrier is too high. It’s so low that you couldn’t limbo under it.”
Over the coming months, White says Members can expect to see more Club tastings and themed wine events designed to satisfy varying levels of knowledge, enthusiasm, palate and budget.
Members Tom and Chika Nevins will, no doubt, attend some of those. As fans of the regular wine dinners, the monthly First Friday events and Rooftop Mondays, they say chatting and making new friends are as important as enjoying old favorites and new tipples.
“The best way to know [about wine],” says Chika, “is to taste it.”
Crush Wine Bar
Weekdays | 4–7pm
Words: Kathryn Wortley
