It was our third day in Niigata.
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I had the wonderful breakfast at the hotel. The Koshihikari rice from Uonuma, Niigata, was so fantastic. Outside was snowing on and off again this morning.
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We drove to Cave d’Occi, which is a winery located outside of Niigata City. The snow storm turned harder as we drove further. We stopped by at a bird-watching place and saw some ducks and swans!
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The car drove through the snow-covered vineyard and finally arrived at the winery. At the winery, we did the tasting of their wines. It was my first time to taste wine from Niigata and I was so impressed. They grow international varieties, such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, etc.
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After the tasting, we had lunch at one of their restaurants in the property. At this restaurant, they brew beer and make authentic German-style sausages. The whole restaurant smelled so good with the smoked sausages. Their homemade bread is also wonderful.
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Tagliatelle with homemade bacon, and roasted local pork (Echigo Mochi Buta). Hazelnut panna cotta was very nice, too.
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After the trip, we drove back to the city. We left Niigata Station by Shinkansen (bullet train) to go back home in the late afternoon.