It's official: Natural wines are entering mainstream consciousness in Japan. I know this not simply because sections devoted to organic, "bio" (biodynamic), or shizen-ha (natural) wines have become fixtures in many retail shops, or even because sales of natural wines have risen around the world. The realization struck when a friend who rarely touches alcohol brought a bottle of Gérard Schueller et Fils Rien que des Bulles, a sparking natural wine from Burgundy, to Christmas dinner.
"It's bio," she declared with aplomb.
My initial reaction was one of blinking bewilderment, the kind of confusion that might arise from hearing my parents suddenly use hip-hop slang as though it had always been a part of their vernacular.