Takafumi Abo, a sommelier at the French wine specialty store "La Vinee" in Ebisu, Tokyo, holds a wine party every year in Hirosaki city.

Abo is from Owani-machi and is now 42 years old. After graduating from a high school in the same town, he studied hospitality at a hotel vocational school outside the prefecture, and at 20 years old, got a job at the ANA Hotel Tokyo. I worked as a waiter at an teppanyaki restaurant in the hotel. It was around this time that I was fascinated by wine.

"At that time, right after the bubble burst, we were flooded with customers who opened up 200,000 or 300,000 wines while waiting for high-quality Japanese beef to be baked right in front of us," says Abo. "Many people come from young, fruity, sweet wines, but at the entrance they were such expensive wines. I came in from a slightly distorted way of remembering," he recalls.

Abo continues to work at the hotel and goes to a wine college to learn basic knowledge. In the fourth year, he acquired the sommelier qualification certified by the Japan Sommelier Association, and one year later he left the hotel. After retiring, he plans to follow the French wine source to the tomb of Saint Jacob in Spain, but since he was undeveloped in French, he decided to study French while working, so he decided to become a French wine specialty store. I entered the store. This is the second turning point in life.

The one that entered the store is the curb taille van Tokyo store, which is the predecessor of the current La Vine. A year later he was promoted to an employee and in the third year he went to France to buy wine. "I was happy that the wine I purchased made the Japanese customers interested and was able to drink it deliciously."

Abo started the wine party in Hirosaki about 10 years ago. At the initiative of Nobuyuki Shirato, the owner of the “Porto Blanc” friend, he offered about seven types of wine carefully selected by Mr. Abo along with the dishes of the restaurant. Mr. Abo says that he repeats this every year because he found his own hometown. It is relaxing to have people who are enthusiastic about taste your favorite wine in a private space.

Mr. Shirato said about the wine party held at his store, "At first it was a wine party started with only three people including Mr. Abo, but I think there are more people around to enjoy the wine that Mr. Abo brings. To the present, ”he said. Like Mr. Abo, it is a relaxing space for himself.

La Vine's wines are available at several French restaurants in Hirosaki City and Aomori Prefecture. "In order to enjoy wine, it's not just the taste and aroma, but the history behind it. It's their role to tell the story well," says Abo.