Zaradi njega si je japonski premier privoščil
slovensko vino #intervju
Because of this, the Japanese Prime Minister
has afforded the Slovenian wine #intervju
Avtor: Nina Vogrin

Foto: Matjaž VertušČesa se japonski poslovnež Jukio Mori najbolj spominja o svojem prvem
obisku Slovenije? Da je res dobro jedel in pil. Ne čudi torej, da je že od
devetdesetih let najpomembnejši promotor slovenskega vina na Japonskem,
kmalu pa namerava sonarodnjakom predstaviti tudi prekmursko šunko.
Jukio Mori je Slovenijo prvič obiskal kmalu po njeni osamosvojitvi in lahko bi rekli, da jebila to ljubezen na prvi pogled. Že konec devetdesetih let sta se z ženo Keiko odločila, dabosta Japonce navdušila za slovensko vino in začela slovenskim vinarjem utirati pot na ta
oddaljeni trg. Zdaj sodelujeta s kletmi Batič, Marof, Steyer, Ščurek in Erzetič, na Japonskouvažata tudi radgonske penine, vinom pa bo kmalu sledila še prekmurska šunka.
Nekdanji častni konzul Slovenije v Tokiu, ki svojih 80-in-nekaj let niti približno ne kaže, se v
Sloveniji mudi večkrat na leto in s seboj vedno pripelje tudi goste iz Japonske, da bi jim
pokazal, zakaj je tako navdušen nad našo državo in njeno kulinariko. Še posebej mu je pri
srcu Prekmurje, v Murski Soboti imata s Keiko že več kot 15 let svoje stanovanje in sta v temčasu nedvomno postala (tudi) Murskosobočana. Ko smo sedeli v bistroju Uno, "podružnici"

znane prekmurske gostilne Rajh, je zakonca Mori prisrčno pozdravil prav vsakdo, ki je prišel
mimo naše mize.
What Japanese businessman Jukio Mori most remembers about his first visit to
Slovenia? He really did eat and drink well. It is therefore not surprising that since the1990s, he is the most important promoter of Slovenian wine in Japan, and soon it plans
to present Prekmurje ham.
Jukio Mori visited Slovenia for the first time shortly after his independence, and we could saythat this was love at first glance. By the end of the nineties, Keiko decided to impress theJapanese on Slovenian wine and begin to pour Slovenian wine makers into this remotemarket. Now they are cooperating with cellars Batič, Marof, Steyer, Ščurek and Erzetič, andalso radon sparkling wine is imported into Japan, and soon after the wine will be imported
Prekmurje ham.
The former Honorary Consul of Slovenia in Tokyo, whose 80-year-old is not nearly evident,
has been arriving in Slovenia a number of times a year and always brings with them guests
from Japan to show them why he is so enthusiastic about our country and her culinary.
Especially for him in the heart of Prekmurje, in Murska Sobota, they have been with Keikofor more than 15 years their apartment and in that time undoubtedly became (also)
Murskosobočana. When we sat in the Uno Bistro, the "branch" of the renowned Prekmurje
Inn Rajh, Mori's spous were welcomed by everyone who came past our table.

Foto: Matjaž Vertuš Kdaj in kako ste prvič prišli v stik s Slovenijo?

Bilo je še v času Jugoslavije, dve leti pred osamosvojitvijo Slovenije. Bil sem predsednik
trgovskega podjetja v Tokiu in nekega dne nas je obiskal predstavnik Litostroja, ki je želel
njihove stroje prodajati na Japonsko. To je bil Miran Skender, poznejši veleposlanik Slovenije
na Japonskem, a takrat mu nihče v podjetju ni posvečal nobene pozornosti, ker Jugoslavija na
Japonskem pač ni imela neke veljave. Bil je tako razočaran, da je že hotel oditi, a se je
ustavil v toaletnih prostorih, kamor sem ravno takrat prišel tudi jaz – in tako sem ga spoznal
na stranišču (smeh, op. p.)!
Začela sva se pogovarjati, povedal mi je, zakaj in od kod je prišel in vzbudil je moje
zanimanje. Sčasoma smo se dogovorili za sodelovanje in začeli na Japonsko uvažati
Litostrojeve izdelke. Nato pa se je ob osamosvojitvi in vojni komunikacija pretrgala. Po enem
letu me je znova poklical, pojasnil, da se je medtem zgodila osamosvojitev in da si želi znova
poslovati z mano, sam pa sem bil nekoliko zaskrbljen, ker o Sloveniji nisem vedel popolnoma
nič. Zato sem se odločil, da jo obiščem.
It was still in Yugoslavia, two years before the independence of Slovenia. I was the presidentof a trading company in Tokyo, and one day, a representative of Litostro was visiting us, whowanted their machines to be sold to Japan. This was Miran Skender, later ambassador ofSlovenia to Japan, but then nobody in the company paid any attention to him, because
Yugoslavia did not have any influence in Japan. He was so disappointed that he wanted toleave, but he stopped in the toilet rooms, where I just came - and so I met him in the toilet(laugh, op. P.)!
We started talking, he told me why and where he came from and woke my interest. Over time,
we agreed to cooperate and began importing Litostro's products into Japan. Then, when
independence and military communication broke out, After a year, he called me again,
explained that in the meantime there has been an independence, and that he wants to dobusiness with me again, but I was somewhat concerned that I did not know anything about
Slovenia. So I decided to visit the country.
Kako je bil videti ta prvi obisk?
Pripeljali smo se z Dunaja in se najprej ustavili v Mariboru. Nikoli ne bom pozabil tiste prvevečerje – jedli smo kuhano šunko s hrenom. Fantastično! Prvi vtis, ki sem ga dobil o
Sloveniji, je bil res dober. Nato smo šli še v Ljubljano, obiskali Litostroj in podobno. V enem
tednu, ki sem ga preživel tu, sem spoznal več kot sto ljudi in bil tako prijetno presenečen, da
sem bil odločen, da moramo začeti poslovno sodelovati.
How did this first visit look?
We drove from Vienna and first stopped in Maribor. I'll never forget that first dinner - we ate
a cooked ham with a horseradish. Fantastic! The first impression I received about Slovenia
was really good. Then we went to Ljubljana, visited Litostroj and similar. In a week I spent
here, I met over a hundred people and was so pleasantly surprised that I was determined tostart business cooperation
Takrat to sodelovanje še ni bilo povezano z vinom?
Ne, primarno sem iz tehnološke panoge, pa tudi sicer se takrat na vino nisem prav spoznal.
Ko sem ga prvič pokusil, je bilo to neko resnično slabo japonsko vino, ki je bilo bolj podobno
kakšni kemikaliji. Pokusil sem tudi kakšen zelo sladek renski rizling, ki nam ga je za božič
pošiljal poslovni partner iz Nemčije, prav tako smo ob kakšni poslovni priložnosti pili
francoska in ameriška vina, ki me niso navdušila. Zaradi tega dolgo nisem bil ljubitelj vina,
raje sem imel viski.

At that time, was this cooperation not yet connected with wine?
No, I'm primarily from the technology industry, but I did not even get to know the wine atthat time. When I first tried it, it was a really bad Japanese wine that looked more like achemical. I also tried some kind of sweet Rhine Riesling, which was sent to us by a business
partner from Germany for Christmas, and we also drank French and American wines that did
not impress me at what business opportunity. For this reason, for a long time I was not a fanof wine, I preferred whiskey.

Foto: Matjaž Vertuš
Med prvim obiskom Slovenije pa kar nisem mogel verjeti, kako dobra vina smo pili povsod.
Oho, to je pa nekaj drugega, sem si mislil.
During my first visit to Slovenia, I could not believe how good we were drinking everywhere.
Oh, that's something else, I thought.
Kako je prišlo do odločitve, da boste začeli slovenska vina uvažati na Japonsko?
Kmalu po mojem prvem obisku se je Slovenija s svojimi vini prvič predstavljala na FoodExu,
velikem prehrambnem sejmu v Tokiu, pri čemer sva pomagala tudi midva, predvsem Keiko.
Toda Slovenije na Japonskem takrat ni poznal nihče in slovenski prostor na sejmu ni imel
obiskovalcev. V tem je bistvo: preden začneš govoriti o vinu, moraš govoriti o državi.
Zato je Keiko dejala: slovenska vina so odličen produkt, a nanje nihče ni pozoren, ker nihče
ne ve za Slovenijo. Zakaj jim ne bi midva pomagala? In to sva storila. Spet sva se vrnila v
Slovenijo, obiskala več kleti in nabavila za kontejner vina, kakšnih pet tisoč steklenic, ter ga
uvozila na Japonsko. Tako se je začelo.

How did you decide to start importing Slovenian wines into Japan?
Soon after my first visit, Slovenia for the first time presented itself at FoodEx with wines, alarge food fair in Tokyo, and we also helped, especially Keiko. But at that time Slovenia did
not know anyone in Japan and the Slovenian space did not have visitors at the fair. This is theessence: before you start talking about wine, you have to talk about the country.
That's why Keiko said: Slovenian wines are a great product, but nobody is paying attention tothem because nobody knows about Slovenia. Why should not we help them? And we did it.
Again, we returned to Slovenia, visited several wine cellars and procured a wine container,
about five thousand bottles, and imported it to Japan. That's how it started.

Foto: Matjaž VertušDejali ste že, da na Japonskem takrat nihče ni poznal Slovenije, kaj šele slovenskih vin.
Kako ste se lotili prodaje?
Vzorce sva nosila v pokušino posameznim restavracijam, barom in klubom. Seveda ni bilo
preprosto, ponekod so bili pripravljeni vzeti nekaj steklenic, nič več. Prirejala sva predstavitve
slovenskih vin, kjer sva 20, 30 ljudem poskušala ta vina približati, in počasi se je ta trud začel
tudi poznati. To je vsekakor misijonarsko delo (smeh, op. p.).
You already said that in Japan at that time nobody knew Slovenia, let alone Slovenian wines.
How did you deal with sales?
We carried samples in the tasting of individual restaurants, bar and clubs. Of course it was noteasy, in some places they were ready to take some bottles, nothing more. We organizedpresentations of Slovenian wines, where we tried to bring this wine to 20, 30 people, andslowly this effort began to be known. This is definitely missionary work (laughter, op. P.).
Pa je Japonce takrat, konec devetdesetih let, zanimalo vino – katerokoli vino?
V tistih časih je vino veljalo za posebnost. V restavracijah so ljudje začeli spoznavati
francoska vina, v nočnih klubih so postali priljubljeni dragi šampanjci, nekateri so poznali šeitalijanska in španska vina, to pa je bilo tudi vse. Nato so trg začela osvajati vina iz Novega
sveta, ki so bila uspešna predvsem zaradi nizkih cen. Ker so vina postala cenovno
dostopnejša, jih je začelo piti več ljudi, pa čeprav niso imeli pojma, ali je to dobro ali slabo
vino. Tudi na velikih političnih in gospodarskih dogodkih se je pilo ceneno vino.
Težava je bila v tem, da so ta cenena vina na Japonsko uvažala pivovarska podjetja, ki jim nibilo v interesu, da bi bila na japonskem trgu dostopna kakovostna vina, saj bi potem manj
ljudi pilo pivo.
Midva s slovenskimi vini nisva mogla konkurirati tem velikim igralcem, ne prestižnim
vinskim imenom ne velikim količinam cenenega vina. Edina možnost je bila, da sva
nagovorila vsakega kupca posebej, govorila z lastniki restavracij, sommelieri, kuharji in jih
enega po enega osvojila. To je edini način, kako kupcem v tujini pojasniti vrednost vaših vin,
od kod prihajajo in kako so pridelana. Slovenska vina so butična in takšni so tudi kupci.
Takšen način prodaje seveda terja veliko časa in truda, a druge poti ni.
Was the Japanese then, at the end of the nineties, interested in wine - any wine?
At that time, wine was considered a specialty. In restaurants, people began to get to know
French wines, nightclubs became popular dear champagnes, some also knew Italian andSpanish wines, and that was all. Then the market began to win wines from the New World,which were successful mainly due to low prices. As wines became more affordable, more
people began to drink, even though they had no idea whether this was a good or bad wine.
Even at the great political and economic events a cheap wine was served.
The problem was that these cheap wines were imported into Japan by brewery companies
who were not in the interest of having quality wines available in the Japanese market, sincethen fewer people would drink beer.
With Slovenian wines, we could not compete with these great players, not the prestigious
wine names, and not the large quantities of cheap wine. The only option was to talk eachcustomer individually, talk to the owners of restaurants, sommeliers, chefs and won them one
by one. This is the only way to explain to your customers overseas the value of your wines,
where they come from and how they are produced. Slovenian wines are boutique and such arealso buyers.
Of course this type of sales requires a lot of time and effort, but there is no other way.

Foto: Matjaž Vertuš
So slovenska vina primerna za spajanje z japonsko kuhinjo?
V nekaterih restavracijah to počnejo zelo uspešno. Ena najinih največjih zgodb o uspehu jesodelovanje z gojiščem ostrig v bližini mesta Ise. To gojišče ima tudi svojo restavracijo, kjer
je lastnik ob ostrigah ponujal francoski chablis, a s to kombinacijo ni bil nikoli povsem
zadovoljen. Nato pa sva mu prinesla Marofov chardonnay in ga tako navdušila, da je
nemudoma presedlal nanj.
Pred petimi leti smo tam priredili jesensko praznovanje, ker se tamkajšnja sezona ostrig intrgatve v Sloveniji začnejo ob približno istem času. Od takrat ga prirejamo vsako leto, uradno
ga je podprl celo guverner tamkajšnje prefekture
Are Slovenian wines suitable for joining Japanese cuisine?
In some restaurants this is very successful. One of our greatest success stories is cooperation
with the oyster farm near the city of Ise. This farm also has its own restaurant where theowner offered the French chablis on oysters, but this combination was never completely
satisfied with this combination. Then we brought Marof's chardonnay to him, so he was so
impressed that he immediately passed on to him.
Five years ago we organized an autumn celebration there, because the oysters and harvest
season in Slovenia started at about the same time. Since then, we have been organizing it
every year, officially supported even by the governor of the local prefectures
Slovenije ne promovirata le prek vin, ki jih uvažata na Japonsko, ampak na obisk v
Slovenijo pogosto pripeljeta tudi sonarodnjake.
Da, to so ljubitelji vina, gostinci, sommelieri … Lastnik omenjenega gojišča ostrig je v
Slovenijo z nama prvič prišel pred tremi leti, ker si je želel obiskati klet Marof, potem ko ga jetako navdušilo njihovo vino. No, letos je bil tukaj že tretjič, ker se je popolnoma zaljubil v te
kraje.

V Slovenijo sva pripeljala tudi mladega sommeliera, ki dela za naju in ki je nato šest mesecev
preživel pri vinarjih, ki jih zastopamo, da bi razumel, kako so ta vina pridelana. Sommelier
pač ni le natakar, ki toči vino, ampak mora vedeti, kje in kako je bilo vino pridelano. No, ta
sommelier zdaj na Japonskem predstavlja vina, ki jih uvažamo tja, in restavracije so dejansko
pripravljene plačati, da pride k njim, njihovim gostom priporoča slovenska vina in jim razlagao njih.
Slovenia is not only promoting wine through wines imported into Japan, but also by visiting
countries in Slovenia.
Yes, they are wine lovers, caterers, sommelieri ... The owner of this oyster media came to
Slovenia with us for the first time three years ago because he wanted to visit the cellar Marof,
after he was so impressed by his wine. Well, this is the third time this year, because he fell inlove with these places.
We also brought to Slovenia a young sommelier who works for us and who spent six months
with the winemakers we represent in order to understand how these wines are produced.
Sommelier is not just a waiter who runs wine, but he must know where and how the wine wasproduced. Well, this sommelier now in Japan presents wines that we import there, andrestaurants are actually willing to pay to come to them, recommend their Slovenian wines tothem and explain wine to them.

Japonski premier Šinzo Abe (desno) s sommelierem, ki mu je ponudil Ščurkovo vinoin ga z njim navdušil. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) with the sommelier,
who offered him the delicious wine and impressed him.Foto: osebni arhiv

Odličen primer, kako ta sommelier promovira slovenska vina, se je zgodil v eni
najprestižnejših restavracij v Tokiu, ko je tam lani obedoval japonski premier Šinzo Abe. S
sabo je prinesel steklenico romanee-contija (modri pinot iz burgundske kleti Romanee-Conti,
eno najbolj cenjenih in najdražjih vin na svetu, op. p.), da bi ga spili ob večerji. Ko pa sosteklenico odprli, so ugotovili, da ima vino napako, vonj po zamašku. Kaj zdaj? Premier jemojemu sommelieru dejal, naj sam predlaga kakšno vino, in ta je nemudoma prinesel Ščurkov
Up (zvrst merlota in cabernet sauvignona iz briške kleti Ščurek, op. p.). Premierju je bilo vinozelo všeč, celo tako zelo, da se je fotografiral s steklenico.
Letos bomo na enak način v posel vpeljali še enega sommeliera, ki smo mu že začeli "pratimožgane" in ga s francoskih preusmerjati na slovenska vina.
An excellent example of how this sommelier promotes Slovenian wines has taken place in
one of the most prestigious restaurants in Tokyo, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
was there last year. He brought a bottle of romanee-contia (blue pinot from the RomaneeConti, one of the most respected and most expensive wines in the world, op. P.) To bring him
to dinner. But when the bottle was opened, they found that the wine had a defect, a smell of a
stopper. Now what? The Prime Minister said to my sommelier himself to propose a wine, andhe immediately brought it to Ščurkov Up (the species merlot and cabernet sauvignon from the
Brčko basement Ščurek, op. P.). The prime minister liked the wine very much, even so much,that he took a picture of a bottle.
This year, in the same way, we will introduce another sommelier in the same business, which
we have already begun to "follow the brain" and direct it from the French to Slovenian wines.
Kako pa izbirate vinarje oziroma kleti, ki jih zastopate na Japonskem?
Vino je pomembno, toda še bolj pomembni so ljudje, ki ga pridelujejo. V poslu nista
pomembna le marketing in promocija, temveč tudi etika in zaupanje. V nekatere slovenske
vinarje sem iz različnih razlogov izgubil zaupanje in zato z njimi ne morem več sodelovati. Po
drugi strani pa smo s temi, s katerimi sodelujem, razvili resnično pristen odnos.
How do you choose winemakers or cellars that you represent in Japan?
Wine is important, but even more important are the people who are cultivating it. In business,marketing and promotion are not only important, but also ethics and trust. In some Slovene
winemakers, I lost confidence for various reasons and therefore I can no longer cooperatewith them. On the other hand, with those with whom I cooperate, I have developed a truly
genuine attitude.
Ob vinih ste pot na Japonsko utrli tudi slovenski hrani, po več kot sedmih letih jevendarle sklenjen dogovor o prodaji slovenskih suhomesnatih izdelkov prašičjega izvorana Japonsko. Zakaj je trajalo tako dolgo?
Uvoz mesnih izdelkov je v večini sveta strogo nadzorovan, razlogov je več: od skrbi za varno
hrano do ščitenja domačih proizvajalcev. Zato je potrebnega veliko dela, tudi diplomatskega.
In addition to the wines, you have also made the way to Slovenian food, and after more thanseven years an agreement was reached on the sale of Slovenian dried meat products to Japan.
Why did it take so long?
Imports of meat products are strictly controlled in most parts of the world; the reasons areseveral: from the concern for safe food to the protection of domestic producers. Therefore, a
lot of work is required, including diplomatic.

Foto: Matjaž Vertuš
Kateri mesni izdelek pa vas je prepričal, da ste se odločili razširiti posel tudi na to
področje?
Za vstop na trg potrebuješ nekaj drugačnega, edinstvenega in visoko kakovostnega. Če
ponudiš neki standarden, že znan in razširjen izdelek, se lahko bojuješ le z nizko ceno, tega pa
nismo hoteli.
Zame je nekaj drugačnega in edinstvenega prekmurska šunka, ta mora biti po mojem mnenju
zastavonoša pri prodoru slovenskih suhomesnatih izdelkov na japonski trg. Ko bomo odprli
vrata, pa se bo zagotovo pojavilo povpraševanje tudi po drugih in drugačnih mesnih izdelkih.
Enako je bilo z vini – z Batičem pa tudi z Movio smo utrli pot na vzhod, da so lahko sledili še
drugi.
Which meat product, however, has convinced you that you have decided to expand thebusiness to this area too?
To enter the market, you need something different, unique and of high quality. If you offer astandard, already known and expanded product, you can fight only at a low price, but we did
not want to.
For me, there is something different and unique Prekmurje ham, which, in my opinion, should
be a sticking point for the penetration of Slovenian cured meat products into the Japanesemarket. When we open the door, however, there will certainly be a demand for other anddifferent meat products.
The same was true with wines - with Batič and also with Movio, we paved the way to theeast, so that others could follow.

Foto: Matjaž Vertuš
V Sloveniji se tako dobro počutite, da ste si že pred leti tukaj kupili stanovanje – zakaj
ravno v Murski Soboti?
Razlogov je bilo več, denimo bližina dunajskega letališča. Presodilo pa je nekaj drugega. Sva
iz velemesta, Murska Sobota pa je majhna in to je tako zelo prijetno. Življenje je sproščeno,ljudje ne hitijo in v tem času – to stanovanje imava že kakšnih 15 let – sva tukaj spletla
ogromno prijateljstev.
In Slovenia you feel so well that you bought an apartment here years ago - why exactly in
Murska Sobota?
There were several reasons, such as the vicinity of Vienna Airport. But it judged somethingelse. We are from the city center, but Murska Sobota is small and it is so very pleasant. Life isrelaxed, people do not rush and in this time - we have this apartment for some 15 years - wehave built huge friendships here.
Ste se v tem času naučili tudi kaj slovenščine?
Malo, super malo (v slovenščini, op. p.). Nekaj malega razumem, toda Slovenci imate očitno
še posebej razvite možgane, ker ste razvili resnično zapleten jezik.

Did you learn some Slovene at this time?
Little, very little (in English, op. P.). I understand a little, but Slovenes have obviously
especially developed brains because you have developed a truly complex language.