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和美
和(kazu) meaning harmony and 美(mi) signifying beauty. This wine encapsulates the spirit of Kazumi and is meant to be enjoyed in the company of family, friends and a nice meal.
Michelle Kazumi Sakazaki with Boots
Kale Anderson, Winemaker (from 2016)
Kale Anderson grew up in Sonoma County, where he was exposed to the wine industry by a community that encouraged creativity, love for the outdoors, and stewardship of the land.
He attended the University of California, Davis intending to pursue medicine, like his father had, but instead found himself drawn to Davis’ Plant Biology program. As an undergraduate Kale researched DNA repair in plants. He spent winters in Tahoe, and tried his hand at commercial fishing in Alaska during the summertime.
Feeling scientifically inspired but creatively unfulfilled, Kale transitioned into an interdisciplinary major in Nature and Culture. While changing his major, he stumbled upon an introductory course in Viticulture and Enology. It immediately struck him to be the most fascinating blend of nature and culture that he had experienced to date. This discovery set him on a focused trajectory toward winemaking.
In 2001, Kale took his first harvest internship at J Winery, Russian River. After graduating BS Viticulture and Enology, he worked at Colgin Cellars, Terra Valentine Winery, Cliff Lede Vineyards in Stags Leap District and Pahlmeyer. After fifteen vintages, Kale began consulting in 2016.
For more on Kale, visit his website here.
Jane Aitona Jiang, Assistant Winemaker (From 2022)
Jane Aitong Jiang’s journey in winemaking began during her undergraduate years at UC Davis where she pursued a double major in viticulture and enology alongside economics. With a passion for crafting exceptional wines, she honed her skills at renowned wineries like Anaba, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Beringer Vineyards. Her global experience extends to wineries in Australia, including Kirrihill wines. In 2021, Jane embarked on the revitalization of Duncan Peak Vineyards in Mendocino, while also balancing a role at Brasswood Cellar. In 2022, she joined Kale Wine Consulting as the assistant winemaker.
和美
和は調和を意味し、美は美しさを意味します。
このワインは和美の精神を汲み、家族や友人達と、
食事を、共に楽しむために造られています。
ミッシェル・和美・坂崎
ミッシェルはアメリカ、カリフォルニアで生まれ、東京で育った。東京アメリカンスクールを卒業後カリフォルニア大学デイビス校に進みファッション・デザインを専攻する。卒業後デザインを追求するためイタリアのマランゴーニ学院でマスターを取得し、ミラノでミッソーニ、ニューヨークでアルマーニ・エクスチェンジのファッション・デザイナーとして働いていた。ワインへの愛は、イタリアでの5年間の生活において、ワインは毎日の生活に欠かせないというイタリアン・カルチャーに影響を受けたことによる。そこでワインそのものが、ファッション・デザインにはない、スタイルとデザインの多くの要素を持つことに気がついた。そして、アパレル以上に多くの表現手段があると思い始める。ワインにそれを見出したのである。世界のあらゆる所でワインと食が人々を引き付ける万能な要素であることに心を奪われた。そしてまるで運命のように、まさにその時、父親がナパ・ヴァレーで90 PLUS WINE CLUBをスタートさせ、そのビジネスを構築し管理するために彼女を誘う。そしてこの14年、90 PLUS WINE CLUBのジェネラル・マネージャーとしてナパ・ヴァレーで働いてきた。ワインの仕事に関わってミッシェルは何百ものワイナリーを訪れ、世界中の素晴らしいワインを数え切れないほど試飲してきた。そして自然の成り行きとして、自身のワインを造ることを夢見始めたのである。そのためにWSET(ワイン＆スピリッツ・エデュケーション・トラスト)の確定資格も取得した。2015年、家族ぐるみの付き合いをしているペレー家から、彼らのラザフォードのヴィンヤードで育った最高級のソーヴィニヨン・ブランの葡萄を提供してもらえる事となり、ミッシェルはこの大いなるチャンスを生かしKazumi Winesを造りあげた。
ワインメーカー ケール・アンダーソン
ケール・アンダーソンは、創造性、戸外への愛、土地の管理責務などを奨励するようなコミュニティによって人々をワイン産業に導く土地柄のソノマで育った。彼は父親と同様に、薬剤を学ぶためにカリフォルニア大学デイビス校に進んだが、デイビスの植物生物学に惹きつけられる。学部の学生として、植物のDNA修復を研究した。冬はタホ湖で過ごし、夏はアラスカで商業的漁業を試みる。結果、科学的には満たされたが、想像力は満たされることなく、ケールは文化生物学の学際的学問専攻に移行する。専門を移行しながら、葡萄栽培とエノール製造学の初級コースをも視野に入れた。そしてそれが、今まで彼が経験してきた文化生物学の最も魅力的な融合であることにすぐに気づく。この発見が彼をワイン造りの道へと導いたのである。2001年、ケールはロシアン・リヴァーのJ ワイナリーでインターシップとして最初の収穫を行う。葡萄栽培とエノール製造学を卒業後は、スタッグス・リープとパルメイヤーのコルギン・セラーズ、テラ・ヴァレンタイン・ワイナリー、クリフ・レイディ・ヴィンヤーズで働いた。そして15年後の2016年、コンサルティングを開始した。ケールに関する詳しい情報は彼のウェブサイトへ。
Find us
USA
National Distributor: T. Edward Wines & Spirits
California
Burlingame - Weimax Wines & Spirits
Los Angeles - Bread, Espresso &
Los Angeles - Eigikutei
Los Angeles - Monsieur Dior
Los Angeles - Spago, Beverly Hills
Los Angeles - Zoku
Malibu - Clark's Oyster Bar
Menlo Park - Clark's Oyster Bar
Napa - Michi Japanese Cuisine
Napa - The Q Restaurant & Bar
Napa - Trancas Steakhouse
San Francisco - An Japanese Restaurant
San Francisco - Hashiri San Francisco
San Francisco - Napa Valley Winery Exchange
San Francisco - Nisei
San Francisco - Pabu Izakaya
Temecula - Humble Somm
Conneticut
New England Wine & Spirits Purveyors
Illinois
Chicago - 57th Street Wines
Chicago - Atelier Restaurant
Chicago - Daebak Korean BBQ
Chicago - Ithaki Estiatorio
Chicago - Maple & Ash
Chicago - Miru (The St. Regis Chicago)
Chicago - Oliver's
Chicago - Range
Chicago - RPM Italian
Chicago - Sushi-san
Chicago - The Alston
New Jersey
New York
Wolfgang's Steakhouse - Broadway
Pennsylvania
Japan
Importer/Distributor: 90 Plus Wine Club
Kyoto
Hyotei 瓢亭
Mishimatei 三嶋亭
Takeshigero 竹茂楼
Osaka
イタリアンレストラン アルバ
Konoha - このは
Tokyo
Araikawa あらいかわ
Azabu Sushi Tanaami 麻布 鮨 田名網
Fureika 富麗華
Gintomi 銀登美
Ginza Bacchus 銀座BACCHUS
Ginza Jotaki - 銀座 上瀧
Ginza Sushi Matsuura 銀座すし松村
Hyakuyaku - 百薬
Ichita いち太
Igarashi - いがらし
IIroha Sushi - いろは鮨
Kohaku 虎白
Masa's Kitchen マサズキッチン恵比寿
Miyake Akira 三宅輝
Miyasaka 宮坂
Mukoujima Sensui 向島千穂
Ravre - ラブレ
Soba Kami そばがみ
Syun Sai Gyo 旬菜魚藍
Taiichi - 太いち
Tsubasa Sushi - つばさ寿司
私を恵比寿に連れてって
Yotsuya Minemura 四ッ谷 みね村
Yui 結
Tottori
Yamanashi
Singapore
Michelle Kazumi Sakazaki
Michelle is the Japanese-American founder of Kazumi Wines. With her background in both fashion design and the wine industry, Michelle crafts wines that are a seamless fusion of timeless elegance and artful innovation.
Michelle was born in California, raised in Tokyo, and worked as a fashion designer in Milan and New York before coming full-circle back to California. For the past 12 years she has worked in Napa as General Manager for 90 Plus Wine Club, building partnerships with Napa Valley wineries and promoting premium wines in Asia.
While living in Italy, Michelle developed a passion for wine. She discovered how a nice bottle enhances a meal and turns even ordinary moments with family and friends into cherished memories. In 2009, just as she was contemplating a leap from the fashion industry to culinary school or the wine industry, her father started 90 Plus Wine Club and recruited her to help build and manage the business. Since then, Michelle has earned the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma and an MBA, and has visited hundreds of wineries and tasted countless wines from around the world.
Living and working in Napa, Michelle found herself dreaming of making her own wine, as an outlet for the creative expression she once channeled through fashion design. In 2015, her good friends the Perrets offered her a half-ton of Sauvignon Blanc grapes from their Rutherford vineyard. Michelle jumped at the opportunity and created Kazumi Wines, named after her middle name and signifying harmony and beauty. She painted the watercolor label herself, inspired by a photograph she took while visiting her sister in Honolulu. In 2016, Michelle added a single-vineyard Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon to the Kazumi portfolio.
In 2021, Michelle made an innovative leap that expanded the Napa Valley wine landscape while honoring her heritage. Kazumi became the first brand in the United States to plant, harvest and bottle an ancient Japanese grape called Koshu. This project, in collaboration with her father, Jack Sakazaki, and winemaker Kale Anderson, began with a test plot after Jack’s hobby vineyard was destroyed by wildfire. The vines flourished, and Kazumi’s mouthwatering Napa Valley Koshu is now in its third vintage, embraced in both the US and Japan.
Michelle is thrilled to share her novel Napa Valley Koshu alongside her quintessential Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, all crafted to create unforgettable moments with family and friends.
KOSHU
Kazumi Wines embodies California’s spirit of innovation with its groundbreaking Napa Valley Koshu wine. Founder Michelle Sakazaki describes Napa Valley Koshu as “a bright and delicate white wine that goes well with all types of cuisines but is especially suited for Japanese dishes and seafood.”
The ancient Koshu grape first arrived in Japan over a thousand years ago via the Silk Road and is almost exclusively grown in the Koshu Valley in Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture. Very little Koshu wine is exported, which is why even wine connoisseurs may not be familiar with it.
Kazumi Wines is the first and only winery to grow and produce Koshu in the United States. A Japanese friend in the wine industry introduced Michelle and her father Jack Sakazaki to the Koshu varietal. They were inspired by the grape’s potential and partnered with Kazumi winemaker Kale Anderson to pursue the daring venture of growing and producing Koshu in the Napa Valley. They purchased Koshu canes from Foundation Plant Services at UC Davis and planted Koshu vines in several appellations across Napa Valley.
The vines are thriving in Napa Valley’s warm days and cool nights, maturing slowly to produce more concentrated grapes than those grown in Japan. Napa Valley Koshu is crafted from grapes grown at Bayview Vineyards in South Napa and the Karabian Vineyard in Oak Knoll, with Koshu blocks planted in 2019, 2020, and 2022. The Napa terroir is becoming more pronounced with each vintage, and the result is an ancient grape with modern California flair.
Kazumi’s Napa Valley Koshu has achieved success in Japan, California, and New York, earning placements in Michelin-rated restaurants.
Michelle invites wine lovers to discover Koshu. “Our Napa Valley Koshu is a must-try for those who appreciate delicate white wines like Pinot Gris or crisp whites with vibrant acidity. With a refined alcohol level of just 12%, it offers a refreshingly light and elegant experience.”
PRESS
FOOD & WINE
Japanese Winemakers Have a Long History in California Wine. Now, They’re Redefining Its Future.
Written by Shana Clarke
Read the article here.
The Press Democrat
How a rare pink wine grape found a home in Napa Valley
Written by Sarah Doyle
Read the article here.
San Francisco Chronicle
A Napa winery is America’s first to make this style of Japanese wine
Written by Esther Mobley
Read the article here.
FOX2 KTVU
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Kazumi LoyaList
We would like to invite you to join Kazumi LoyaList. By being a Kazumi LoyaList, you will automatically receive Kazumi Wines as they are released.
There are no minimums and you may pick the amount of bottles of each wine you would like allocated. Once we are ready to release the wine, you have the option to pick up the wine or have it shipped to you.
Kazumi LoyaList Perks:
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Guaranteed allocation of current wines
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First purchase options for new releases and limited quantity wines
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Discounts on wine allocation (10% off 6+ bottles)
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Complimentary entry to Kazumi Wines Release Party for one you plus one
The Loyalist programは、アメリカ国内在住者のみが対象となります。ご了承下さい。