Cheese and wine in Japan
Neither cheese nor wine are indigenous to Japan. But as the country internationalises, cheese and wine culture are penetrating the land of the rising sun.
One cheese and wine bar that I discovered is the “Shibuya cheese stand”. With the concept of “Fresh cheese for the neighborhood”, it proudly makes fresh cheese everyday. Customers can enjoy the delicious taste of hand-crafted and entirely additive-free cheese made to enjoy daily.
Although Japan doesn’t have a long history of dairy consumption, cheese was already known and mentioned during the Asuka period. Cheese brought from the kingdom of Baekje (current day Korea) was presented to the Emperor Kōtoku in 645, and a form of cheese called so (酥) was produced in Japan.
The exact recipe isn’t known anymore, but it is speculated that it was made by boiling cow milk and then letting it harden. Since it doesn’t seem to have been aged, it was probably closer to fresh cheese in taste and consistency.
As it was very rare and expensive to produce, it wasn’t available to commoners and was mostly used as an offering to the imperial court or in religious ceremonies. Modern day cheese consumption in Japan took off after World War 2.
One disappointing feature of the Shibuya cheese stand was that it only served Western wines, no Japanese wines.
Fortunately, I discovered the Grande Polaire Wine Bar in Ginza, Tokyo, which serves excellent Japanese wines, along with an excellent array of snacks.