Celebrity File Japan by Lint


英文		重要語句
■ With the worldwide release of this year's stock of Beaujolais Nouveau, it is again the time of the year when Japanese are scurrying to their local stores to stock up on this popular wine. That Japanese love wine is not in doubt but do they appreciate it? Well, one man certainly does and he is Japan's number one wine connoisseur―Shinya Tasaki.		Beaujolais Nouveau　ボージョレ・ヌーボー scurry to ...　…に急いで行く stock up on ...　…を仕入れる connoisseur　鑑定家；目利き
■■ Tasaki was the first Japanese to take home the top honors at the World's Greatest Sommelier Concours (think the Olympics of wine tasting and knowledge). This was in 1995 and came five years after he finished runner-up at another of the top competitions, the International Sommelier Coucours. His success, though, was not something that came about overnight. Tasaki started on his journey to sommelier status with youthful exuberance at the age of 19 by moving to France in 1977.		sommelier　ソムリエ concour　《仏語》コンクール runner-up　次点；2位の入賞者 come about　実現する exuberance　豊富なこと
■■■ Three years in France turned him on to wine appreciation and by 1983 he had won Japan's National Sommelier Concours. This victory gave him the impetus to test his skills on the world stage six years later. This may seem a long time but sommelier competitions are grueling and even top competitors often skip tournaments for years to prepare for the most prestigious ones.		turn ... on to ～　…の関心を～に向けさせる impetus　刺激；勢い grueling　厳しい要求をする prestigious　一流の
■■■■ By the mid-'90s with his reputation sealed, Tasaki and a team of handpicked writers have been busy writing books on wine appreciation. One of his book Nihonshu o Aijiwau? Tasaki Shinya no Shigoto (Tasting Japanese Sake? The Work of Shinya Tasaki) reflects his interest not only in imported wines but the domestic ones also. So far he was written, or co-written, 18 books on the subject of wine.		seal　…を確立させる handpicked　厳選された co-write　…を共同で書く on the subject of ...　…について書かれた
■■■■■ His ability to turn words into gold doesn't end there. His new wine magazine Wine Life hit the newsstands with an initial circulation of 50,000 copies. (The most any other wine magazine published in Japan had previously sold per issue was 20,000 copies.) Adding to this, Tasaki runs four wine bars and a famous wine club for collectors and connoisseurs of the fermented grape. He also has a very high profile nationwide thanks to commercials he's done for wine products and also for some non-wine related goods like Rolex watches. Probably the wildest item associated with the Tasaki name is a Chateau Laguiole Waiter Corkscrew with its lever embossed with the kanji characters for Tasaki. Now, you know you've made it in life if they are branding your name on corkscrews.		hit the newsstands　（本が）売れる a circulation of ...　発行部数…の run　…を経営する fermented　発酵させた corkscrew　コルク抜き embossed　浮き彫りを施した
■■■■■■ Tasaki, though, takes all the honors and attention with a grain of salt. Some have claimed Japan's wine consumption of 1.4 liters per person in 1995 to a rise three years on to 3.3 liters per person is attributable to Tasaki's rising national profile. This humble and respectful man knows that he may have helped but he solely did not raise Japan's wine consumers' consumption levels by himself.		consumption　消費量 attributable to ...　…に起因する humble　謙虚な
■■■■■■■ Being a sommelier, Tasaki knows, is not something one can do by resting on one's laurels. He is therefore always trying to keep up to date with what is going on in the world of wine while also promoting wine appreciation across Japan. His own sommelier concours in Japan allows him to give back to the nation's up-and-coming sommeliers. From his own pocket, Tasaki funds all-expense-paid educational trips to a wine-producing country for the top three winners in the competition.		rest on one's laurels　いままでの実績に満足してあぐらをかいている keep up to date with ...　…に遅れずにいる up-and-coming　有望な all-expense-paid　全額スポンサー負担の

－written by Brian Maitland

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