On a warm Thursday evening on June 13th, the Natural Wine Night was held at HOTEL THE KNOT TOKYO Shinjuku’s MORETHAN 1F Tapas Lounge. The natural wine lineup was curated by guest Shinichi Takahashi of “Human Nature.”

The menu ranged from sparkling to reds and from Spanish wines to Austrian, but all shared the funky interesting flavors offered by natural wines. Some highlights included:

・Red: L’Acino / Sputnik 1 (Calabria, Italy) 
This winery was founded by three young friends in 2008, with the dream of producing wine that was just as fascinating as those from other regions and countries. Sputnik 1 is a unique blend of two wines produced four years apart. The idea came when they discovered that a wine from 2011 had developed a very (too!) strong aroma from its barrel, and to calm it down they mixed it with a 2015 batch that had been stored in (less aroma producing) stainless steel barrels.

・White: Florian Beck-Hartweg / Granit 2017 (Alsace, France)
The current owner, Florian, is a 14th generation winemaker. Having always been a passionate believer in the power of nature, Florian traveled to biodynamic farms in India and Japan for research, prior to taking the helm at the family winery. He keeps the winery as untouched as possible, and as the soil of Alsace does not have much granite, their wines present a strong mineral flavor.

・Sparkling: Brand Bros / Pet Nat Weiss 2017 (Palatinate region, Germany)
Another family-run winery, this one from 1891, currently under the ownership of two fifth-generation (techno music-obsessed) brothers. Situated at the border with Belgium and France, the winery’s climate is cooler than anywhere else in Germany, allowing the grapes to ripen more slowly. This Pet Nat is light and modest yet remains complex.

Human Nature’s wine selection provided a great match to the sushi-inspired pinchos prepared by MORETHAN’s TAPAS Lounge. And if guests wanted to sit and fill their bellies some more, the seasonal dishes from MORETHAN’s 2F Dining were available as always, and are also crafted to match their own natural wine list.

There was a palpable buzz in the MORETHAN TAPAS Lounge as people mingled about, conversation fuelled by the sour, sweet, and savory flavors of the delicious natural wines.