Join us for an intimate wine dinner with Coco Farm & Winery from Tochigi, Japan, and meet the winemaker!
For this special pairing collaboration, we will be pouring seven different wines from the winery alongside a 6-course tasting menu by Chef Akiyama and his team. The price of the ticket is inclusive of a special welcome wine from the winery, a 6-course dinner plus 6 wines and gratuity.
Be prepared for some fun, unique and delicious wines, all made in Japan, farm to bottle. Mr. Toyoichiro Shibata, current head winemaker of the winery, will also be joining us in our dining room. Our Head Sommelier, Shiho Tanaka, is also from Tochigi prefecture. This winery is near and dear to her heart, which makes this collaboration even more special for us at Tsukimi.
Located in the high mountains of Ashikaga City in Tochigi prefecture, Coco Farm & Winery started off as Cocoromi Gakuen, a school and live-in facility for people with intellectual disabilities. It all started on 3 hectares of steep slopes purchased by Mr. Noboru Kawata in 1958 who was a special needs educator at a local junior high school. Mr. Kawata and his students cultivated the land by hand as machinery was not suitable for the steep slopes of the mountains. Although at first the tasks proved to be challenging for the students, dramatic changes in their physical and mental abilities were evident by the end of the first year. Cocoromi Gakuen continued to flourish as a space where those with intellectual disabilities could thrive and contribute to the community.
In 1984, with the help of the students’ parents and supporters of the community, Coco Farm & Winery was officially established. They invited winemaker Bruce Gutlove, a native New Yorker, to help with their winemaking. Impressed by their dedication to minimal intervention farming and working with special needs students, Bruce decided to stay with Coco Farm much longer than the initially intended 6-month consulting contract and continues to oversee the winery as a board member today.
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Coco Farm & Winery x Tsukimi at Tsukimi is sold out.