High Life

82 品 他说：“我不想做一款简单的清 酒，而是要做出能与葡萄酒抗衡的酒 款。我的想法是，打造出一个介于白 葡萄酒和红葡萄酒之间的酒款，并且 是你所预想不到的。例如，你可能会 用它与多脂鱼甚至红肉相佐。这就是 为什么我总是喜欢以香槟开始一顿美 餐，接着白葡萄酒，我的清酒，再是 红葡萄酒。” 对中田来说，品质是无可妥协 的。 “我们使用最好的原料，而且正 与我合作的酿酒师非常出色，他很喜 欢我从葡萄酒行业带来的一些想法。 我们还设计了别致的酒瓶，让人过目 不忘。这是必须要做的，以提升辨识 度。事实上，人们在饮完瓶中清酒之 后，会想要收藏酒瓶。这也是其中一 个独到之处。” 中田在清酒界的尝试亦是其在足 球场上大胆追求的映射。1998 年他 在意大利加入佩鲁贾俱乐部首次亮相 之后，又效力罗马和佛罗伦萨展开漫 长的职业生涯。他是在欧洲足坛叱咤 风云的首批日本球员之一，为后辈国 人进军海外足坛搭建了一座桥梁。 中田称：“当时我太忙于踢球了， 从来没想到我可能会为其他球员来欧 洲踢球搭建桥梁。但我希望自己在这 方面起到了一些作用，因为今天有很 多日本球员来欧洲踢球。 “踢足球也让我加深了对这个世 界的认知。我相信可以将这种认知带 回日本贡献一己之力，尤其是帮助清 酒行业。也谈不上是回馈社会，但或 许我可以为他人创造一个梦想。” Distributing exclusively overseas, Nakata and Takagi joined forces again in2017 toproduce anelite “BlackLabel” saké under Takagi Shuzo brewery’s Juyondai brand, which High Life was fortunate enough to taste as part of a special dinner hosted by Nakata himself at Wynn Palace’s fine dining Japanese restaurant Mizumi. Perfectly matched with a five- course meal alongside a selection of quality wine, Nakata’s Juyondai offers an incredible aroma and depth of flavor unlike anything we could have expected. “When I make saké, I don’t want to make a simple saké,” he says. “I want to make something that can compete with wine. My idea is to create something between a white wine and a redwine. And it’s notwhat you would expect. You might, for example, drink it with a fatty fish or even a red meat. That’s why I always like to start a meal with Champagne, then white wine, then my saké and then red wine.” For Nakata, such quality is non- negotiable. “We use all the best ingredients and the brewer that I am working with is very good and he likes some of the ideas I have brought from the wine industry to put together,” he continues. “We have also made a special bottle so that people will remember it. We had to make one so we would be recognized by people.