Keisuke Kuroda, Japanese, after managing one of the most prestigious restaurant cellars in the world, today is the owner of a restaurant in Tokyo where Italian wine is at home.
Kuroda began his career in the field of catering in Italy, in a Japanese restaurant in Rome, to be precise. It is there that his interest in wine was born which, little by little, given the ever-growing passion, brings it to the highest levels of Italian catering, the Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. Just in Florence, Kuroda refineds his knowledge and became a sommelier in all respects. With Giorgio Pinchiorri, he planned to open Enoteca Pinchiorri in Tokyo.
Building on this experience, two years ago, Kuroda opens its restaurant in the exclusive Ginza district of Tokyo, the Kurodino.
We ask Kuroda what he thinks of Italian wine and what led him to build his wine list based on Italian products.
“In the beginning, with Enoteca Pinchiorri, the consumption of wines by the Japanese was limited because knowledge of this drink was limited. Gradually, the culture of wine has made its way, thanks to the great French names, but soon the consumer discovered the Italian white wines, closer to the oriental taste, and from there he moved on to the important red wines, which have found an increasing appreciation with the spread of Italian restaurants. In my restaurant I love to propose Italy, where I would return to satisfy my curiosity about new products. On paper you can find large companies but also producers less known to Japanese customers who, however, thanks to the correct combinations, begin to appreciate these new tastes. Italian wine was a winning choice for me, which today makes me think positively about opening a new restaurant. “