JAPAN: Japanese wine lovers celebrate the launch of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau in a large bath filled with water and red wine.

Record ID: 466723

  • Title: JAPAN: Japanese wine lovers celebrate the launch of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau in a large bath filled with water and red wine.
  • Date: 15th November 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 58-YEAR-OLD SOMMELIER FOR HOT SPRING RESORT, SHUNJI KANAYA, SAYING: "Wine's good for your health, so we made this bath to let it soak into your skin. We reckon it's brilliant for creating beautiful smooth skin." PEOPLE TOASTING WITH THEIR CUPS PEOPLE SIPPING WINE MORE OF PEOPLE IN WINE BATH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 31-YEAR-OLD HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE, SACHIKO SUYAMA, SAYING: "Yeah, drinking Beaujolais Nouveau outside in this red water, with this atmosphere, it's a really different way to do it." WOMEN GETTING INTO BATH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 73-YEAR-OLD WINE LOVER, NORIKO TAKESHITA, SAYING: I bought three bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau on by way back from a trip to France, so for me drinking this wine brings back memories of my time there." VARIOUS OF SOMMELIER POURING WINE PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH BATH BATHERS STANDING IN BATH WINE WATER POURING OUT FROM MOUTH OF REPLICA WINE BOTTLE
  • Embargoed: 30th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Business,Quirky,People,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVACY2931WW85RGEVNE12RNBEJGH
  • Story Text: Taking a dip in a hot spring may be a staple of Japanese culture, but this is a bath with a difference.
    On Thursday (November 15), bathers got into a tub infused with wine to celebrate the launch of the 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau season.
    The French wine traditionally hits the shelves at midnight ahead of the third Thursday in November, accompanied by a massive marketing fanfare to celebrate the new vintage.
    While some may be more interested in sampling its nose, here this was all about the body.
    "Wine's good for your health, so we made this bath to let it soak into your skin. We reckon it's brilliant for creating beautiful smooth skin," said Shunji Kanaya, a sommelier at a hot spring resort in the foothills of Mt Fuji, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Tokyo.
    Bathers also got to drink their health, surrounded by water infused with wine.
    "Yeah, drinking Beaujolais Nouveau outside in this red water, with this atmosphere, it's a really different way to do it," 31-year-old Sachiko Suyama said.
    "I bought three bottles of Boeaujolais Nouveau on by way back from a trip to France, so for me this wine is full of memories of my time there," a more elderly aficionado of the young wine added.
    In 2010, 35 million bottles of the wine were sent to market, of which 15.5 million were exported.
    But this year production has slumped after bad weather swept wine producing regions across France.
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