Nakajima's kyouhou grapes -- from a 30-year old tree
９月になりました。上山田では、ぶどうシーズンになったという意味です。昨日は去年に付き合い始まった中島農園に行きました。採れたてぶどうは三種類を農家で直接買って、そしてうちの板長が色合わせでデザートとしてお客様に提供しております。県外の方が特に喜びます。こんなに新鮮なぶどうは東京じゃ味えない。実は、今回、東京からの親子のお客様を連れて行きました。「ぶどう畑に入るのは初めて！」と喜んでくれました。
私も一年ぶりでぶどう畑に入れて、喜んだ。旅館若旦那の仕事は布団引きだけじゃない。信州の豊かな自然も楽しめるのが嬉しい所ですね。
It's September, and here in Kamiyamada, that means grape season. Last year Kamesei Ryokan started buying grapes directly from one of the local growers, Nakajima Orchard. Yesterday I went to buy some freshly picked grapes for our chef to serve the guests as their dessert. We buy 3 different varieties, so Chef Takei can make a colorful arrangement. Guests from out-of-prefecture really like being able to eat freshly picked grapes. You just can't get grapes this juicy and flavorful in Tokyo. Actually, I took a father-and-son party of guests with me to the orchard. It was their first time to actually be in a grape orchard. They were pretty excited.
Actually, I was excited to -- it was the first time for me to see the orchard in a year. Being able to enjoy the natural splendor of Nagano is one of the perks of being a ryokan proprieter here!
中島農園の新しいＨＰはこちらClick here for Nakajima Orchard's new website.
This year's crop lacks a bit of uniformity in size, but taste is perfect!
