Special tasting event for California wine "RAEN" at Ferrari Cornes Lawn

Drinking with Robert Mondavi's grandson

This happened last week.

My husband and I were at the Cornes Shiba Ferrari showroom for the first time in a long while.

What's more, this time we were visiting the showroom on the 3rd floor (I think), not the 1st floor.

そうなのです、ここは首都高を走られる方であれば見たことがあるかもしれないあの「フェラーリが展示されているバルコニー」なのです。

I also went out onto the balcony where I could see the beautiful Tokyo Tower, and I was so impressed, "Oh, this is what you can see from the Shuto Expressway!!"

RAEN：Research in Agriculture and Enology Naturally

The reason I visited Cornes Shiba that day was because of a special tasting event for California wine "RAEN" that was held at short notice.

RAEN is an abbreviation for "Research in Agriculture and Enology Naturally," but it is also a play on the word "Rain," which sounds similar but is spelled differently.

Rain is a natural source, and it is absorbed and filtered by the soil. The grape vines then soak it up, and the grapes grow using the moisture. The grapes become sweeter thanks to the power of the sun (photosynthesis). Furthermore, there are approximately 50,000 natural yeasts attached to the grapes, and when birds peck at the grapes and make holes, the juice comes out and mixes with the yeast, making wine using only the power of nature, making this a wonderful source of wine.

The person who gave us this explanation was Carlo Mondavi, who was visiting Japan this time.

Some people may be confused by the name Mondavi, and that's right, he is the grandson of Robert Mondavi, who is also known for Opus One.

His grandfather, Robert Mondavi, and his father, Tim Mondavi, were both winemakers.

Carlo says that the most important thing he learned from his father was the importance of microorganisms that exist in nature, and that the wines he makes place the utmost importance on the "Agriculture" part of the name RAEN.

The wines available on this day were:

• 2023 Lady Marjorie Chardonnay Sonoma Coast (Only 120 bottles available in Japan)
• 2023 Charles Ranch Chardonnay Fort Ross -Seaview (Only 60 bottles available in Japan)
• 2023 Royal St.Robert Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
• 2016 Home Field Vineyard Pinot Noir Fort Ross -Seaview (Reference product)
• 2023 Bodega Pinot Noir Freestone Occidental Sonoma Coast (Only 60 bottles available in Japan)

A wine that conveys love and respect for grandmothers

The Chardonnay called Lady Marjorie is named after Carlo's grandmother.

Although his grandmother Rosa supported the Mondavi family by researching the compatibility of food and wine, this was still a time when men received most of the attention and women worked behind the scenes.

Although it did not receive the recognition it deserved from the public, it was actually a truly wonderful person, and Carlo named it after his grandmother, who was a very important figure in his life.

As I listened to her story, I could tell that she really loved her grandmother.

The wine and food pairings that Grandma held dear were also recreated on the day, with dishes prepared to go with each wine.

It was also written that "this dish goes particularly well with this wine," so I ate it while drinking those wines, and each dish really did go well with the other wines, and both were delicious.

RAEN's main product is the red wine Pinot Noir, but the white wine was originally made secretly for family and friends, and is now only produced in small quantities for sale.

It was a wonderful day as I was able to enjoy such a precious Chardonnay.

The aroma of RAEN's Pinot Noir is amazing

The Pinot Noir was extremely fragrant, and just from the scent it made me think, "Is this perfume?", but it had a very natural, wonderful scent without any weird, overly perfumey smell.

That's because Carlo was impressed by Romanee-Conti and became interested in its special aroma, and actually learned the technique used (I'm not sure if it's okay to write about it, so he did talk about the technique, but I'll keep it a secret for now ^^).

It was a truly wonderful fragrant wine.

My husband and I visited Robert Mondavi's winery (in Napa Valley) quite some time ago, and we had fun telling Carlo the story of how, at the time, we were poor students and couldn't afford the $25 fee for a tasting of Opus One (laughs).

Honestly, back then you could still buy Opus One for $150. I have such fond memories.

On this day, if you purchased the 2023 Bodega Pinot Noir Freestone Occidental Sonoma Coast, Carlo would hand-sign the bottle on the spot, so of course I had to buy it!

So I bought it.

Since they said they would write anything we wanted, we had them write "To: The names of our three children." The bottle was autographed in Carlo's own hand with the exact same signature as on the wine bottle label, which made us so happy!

Carlo was born as the grandson of Robert Mondavi, so there is no doubt that he is a very wealthy man, but he is not arrogant at all and is very easygoing and friendly.He is a wonderful person who made me think that he must have been raised well.

It was a very fun time as he told me that he owns a certain Porsche.

Carlo and I. It was so much fun!

I had visited Robert Mondavi's winery in the past and was simply impressed, but was only able to buy the cheapest wine there. So now I have the opportunity to drink wine with Robert Mondavi's grandson, which is truly miraculous for me and a very, very moving experience.

I am very grateful to Cornes for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Thank you so much for always giving me so many wonderful opportunities. I am grateful to have been able to purchase a car from Cornes.

And Carlo was also very friendly and talked to us about various things, and we were given lots of delicious wines. Thank you very much. We had a wonderful time.

I am also grateful for the connections I have made with the people I have met here.

It was an event that allowed us to feel deeply grateful for our lives from the past to the present. Carlo, Cornes, and the wine importer and retailerWINE TO STYLE,thank you very much!

RAEN was very delicious, so if you have the chance, please try it.