SATO WINES and YOSHIAKI SATO
SATO WINES was established by Yoshiaki Sato (pictured, right), and his wife Kyoko Sato, as a small project in 2009. Starting with 190 cases of Pinot Noir from the excellent 2009 vintage, Sato Wines has since moved on to produce small quantities of Pinot Gris and Riesling. Having grown the capacity recently, the annual production of this super-artisanal operation remains a scant 550 cases (or 6,600 bottles) in total annually. Every bottle still is and will continue to be lovingly handcrafted.
Convinced and impassioned by true wines of terroir, Yoshiaki left his banking profession and cut his teeth at Huber (Baden, Germany), Domaine Matassa (Roussillon), Domaine Bizot (Vosne-Romanée, Burgundy) and Jean-Pierre Frick (Alsace) amongst others, while Kyoko worked with Philippe Pacalet (Beaune, Burgundy), Julien Guillot (Macon) and Cristian Binner (Alsace) before the couple moved to New Zealand and make their own wines. In New Zealand, Sato has worked in Felton Road and Mount Edwards wineries, both situated in Central Otago, to further his experience before eventually discovering his vineyards.
Having worked with such remarkable wine personalities, it is little wonder that Sato aspires to work only and fully in a "natural" way — essentially meaning organic/biodynamic viticulture and non-interventionist cellar practices — in order to preserve and fully express terroir nuances. "Our goal is to make wines which can heal people; soft, delicate, supple, smooth mouth filling wines rather than powerful, heavily structured, aggressively appealing wines," says Yoshiaki as he explains his philosophy.
Sato wines are particularly original in that it was decidedly individualistic. In a region where good and clean Pinot Noirs are norm, the delicate earthy pungency of Yoshi’s Central Otago wines is particularly refreshing. Fermented whole-bunch by way of indigenous yeasts, Sato Pinot Noirs are structured yet express the ampleness of dark fruit tones of the region. It is distinctively savoury, almost saline in fact, in its sneaky finish. This is something you can’t say for an overwhelming majority of Central Otago Pinot Noirs, not even from some of the "celebrity" addresses in the region. Terroir character is preserved across all of Sato's wines, the vineyards from which he picks with extreme care in order to establish the nobility of each varietal he works with.
Sato’s wines are bottled with extremely low levels of sulphur added, a risky cellar practice that mandates perfect organically ripened fruits and which proves very high winemaking standards. With Sato, one will encounter exacting artisanal natural wines par excellence redolent of soil expression, the kinds which rewrite Central Otago's potentials as a serious contender of top quality fine wines.
Sato wholly exports their wines to Japan, Australia and, for the past year and a half, Singapore. His winery's production is sold out before each vintage is officially released, underscoring how fanatical his customers are. His is the accidental "cult" wine which takes us back to the purest meaning of the term: extremely high in quality, distinctly original and with a dedicated following much larger than what the winery can produce, making it impossible to get easily.
BACCHANALIA RESTAURANT
The enthralling prospect of dining with these special wines has inspired us to work with a trendy new restaurant, whose delivery of high-quality, inventive yet sensitive gastronomy and genuinely passionate service energizes guests in a dynamic but convivial setting.
"Fantastic food" and "progressive atmosphere", to quote founder Raj Datwani, pretty much sum up the experience one can expect at BACCHANALIA, the remarkable setting of this special vintner event located in the historical and enigmatic Masonic Hall along Coleman Street, Singapore.
Executive Head Chef Ivan Brehm is dedicated and passionate towards his craft. The dishes at Bacchanalia are infused with influences from across the world as well as his dynamic personality. “It is food one can recognize without having necessarily seen it before. The direction is towards simplicity and transparency of flavours, and a need to remove the fanfare and overworked elements. I take pride in our raw materials, employ techniques that help showcase them, and try not to complicate their delivery. Flavour takes precedence over technique or artifice, and interesting flavour combinations dictate the direction of the menu,” quips Chef Ivan.
