Japanese Natural Wine Tasting w. Sea Priest Selections

We were beyond thrilled to get an email from Jake Drummond, founder of Sea Priest Selections, about his new company importing natural wines from Japan. Sea Priest's thoughtful portfolio features three dynamic producers: Tomorrow Wines, Fattoria AL FIORE, and Domaine Nakajima. Join us for a special night with Jake and Kaz (co-founder of Sea Priest) as they pour six different wines from these low-intervention wineries.

ABOUT THE WINEMAKERS:

Domaine Nakajima
Nagano Prefecture

Yutaka Nakajima, an engineer by trade, decided to attend classes at Le Cordon Bleu to learn more about cooking. With local education and apprenticeships abroad – he left to pursue training in the Loire, in Baden, before returning to Japan to work at Coco Farm in Tochigi – Nakajima decided to found his own estate up on the steep hills overlooking Tomi City and the deep Chikuma River Valley.

The winery proper is full of the remarkable inventions that Nakajima’s engineering career have taught him to create – the winery can operate as carbon neutral with its hand operated press, almost like a large scale pasta maker, the wooden electric car that Nakajima has built to carry pick bins in between the vines, and a homemade device for roasting coffee beans.

The wines themselves reflect the trademarks of Nakajima’s career – all native yeast fermentation, no chemical sprays in the vineyard, and a combination of delicacy and concentration that is impressive given the moisture levels inherent to Nagano’s growing season.

Fattoria AL FIORE
Miyagi Prefecture

Fattoria AL FIORE is a farm and winery established in 2015, located in the peaceful town of Kawasaki in Miyagi Prefecture, at the foot of the Zao Mountains. Surrounded by fields, rice paddies, mountains, lakes, and a warm, close-knit community, the town offers a tranquil setting that leaves a lasting impression on those who visit.

The story began in 2014, when Meguro began cultivating a field in the Adachi area of Kawasaki Town—an area facing abandonment and depopulation. He saw the potential to revitalize the land by planting grapevines and creating a place where people could gather once again.

Fattoria AL FIORE is guided by the belief that people with shared values can come together, work in harmony with nature, and create something meaningful. The winery aspires to be a space where joy, creativity, and connection flourish—just like a field of blooming flowers.

Tomorrow Wines
Nagano Prefecture

Minoru Tamura, founder and winemaker of Tomorrow Wines, owned and operated a yakiniku restaurant in Kyoto for years, specializing in Wagyu beef, as well as high quality organic produce, and served natural wine from France and Italy to pair alongside. But he wanted to produce his own wine locally that complimented the food he was serving. So he enrolled at the Chikuma River Wine Academy, a new wine school in the Chikuma River Valley in Nagano, and learned to make wine. And he wanted to grow grapes in Nagano, the area being relatively better suited for vinifera due to its low rainfall compared to the rest of Honshu.

While clicking through a database from the local government listing abandoned farmland, he found the perfect site in Onoyama, outside of Ueda City. The site is primarily clay, more removed from the volcanic soils further east in the river valley closer to Mount Asama. 

WHAT: Japanese Natural Wine Tasting w. Sea Priest Selections
Taste six natural wines from Japan, plus Okkon popup!

WHEN: Friday, September 5, 4-7pm

WHERE: Umami Mart Bar
4027 Broadway, Oakland CA 94611

ADMISSION: Open to the public! $45/ $40 members.
21+ only.