NéMo’s Yuito Terashima: “my purpose is to make people happy”
Tokyo’s French-Japanese restaurant NéMo was awarded three Gold Stars at this week’s Star Wine List of the Year Japan competition. The head sommelier says his job is very simple: “to make people happy” through wine.
Yuito Terashima says that his wine selection is “borderless – from all over the world.” The manager and head sommelier of Michelin-starred NéMo in Tokyo’s smart Aoyama neighbourhood has a straightforward (and winning) philosophy behind his wine list, which he sees as a means of bringing joy to guests, whatever style of wine they may seek.
“I’m a sommelier, but also I’m a service person,” Yuito tells us. “So my purpose in the job is to make people happy. And the wine is a very good item to make people happy. My wine selection is [based around the fact] that I want to make them all happy, so I need to select every different wine fit for them – so the people who love to drink a natural wine, people who love the classical wines; I selected any different style of wine [necessary].”
At the second edition of Star Wine List of the Year Japan, held at ProWine Tokyo this week, Yuito was presented with not one, nor two, but three Gold Stars – for the Best Long List, Best By-the-Glass List and Best Sparkling Wine List in the country. Judge Toru Takamatsu MS praised NéMo’s “extremely diverse list, reflecting both the classics and recent trends,” adding that he found it “very exciting to read, with too many options to choose from!”
Inspired by the sea
NéMo is the brainchild of chef – and fisherman – Kenichi Nemoto and thus takes culinary inspiration from local seafood, to which he applies his impressive classical technique (his experience spans France and Tokyo, including the three-Michelin-starred Quintessence).
“Our restaurant is French cuisine,” explains Yuito, “so mostly people want to drink a sparkling or a white wine. Especially with the sparkling, [producers are] making very good quality all over the world. Even in Champagne, we can find new rising stars – very small quantities but very nice quality. And even the small producers are taking time, aging for a very long time to [ensure] good quality. And of course, the sparkling wine from [the] UK is a highlight.”
Born into hospitality
Born in Nagano Prefecture, Yuito was surrounded by wineries growing up – “when I was young I used to touch the wine, not drink” – and comes from a hospitality family, with parents who owned a hotel. “So I wanted to be the service person in a restaurant from when I was a child,” he says.
He trained in Tokyo, at French restaurants Sombreuil and BEIGE Alain Ducasse, plus the Palace Hotel and Four Seasons – the perfect preparation for NéMo.
“It’s so surprising,” he told us in reaction to his Star Wine List wins. “I always prepare the wine for every customer to make them happy. So I’m very glad with this, that it’s ours now.”
Triple Gold at Star Wine List of the Year Japan 2026
Judges’ comments: NéMo
“An extremely diverse list, reflecting both classics and recent trends. Very exciting to read, with too many options to choose from!”
– Toru Takamatsu (Best Long List)
“A great list of wines by the glass, displaying diversity and good prices. It is a big selection and right up until the end, you’ll find winey products such as Grappas from top producers and Marc de Bourgogne – among others. Very coherent. Mostly French, but what a selection!”
– Paz Levinson (Best By-the-Glass List)
“Impressively diverse, this wine list showcases a strong selection of Champagnes alongside a notable range of sparkling wines from beyond, presented with clear and informative detail throughout.”
– Mikk Parre (Best Sparkling Wine List)
Next up, Yuito intends to “just keep going to make people happy.” And, since NéMo has only been open for five years so far (“so not that old”), he still has goals for his wine list – his domestic selection, in particular. “We’re not good at Japanese wine now,” he says, “so this year I want to visit the Japanese producers too.”
We look forward to seeing what he’s found, next year! In the meantime, Yuito is invited to join us at the Star Wine List of the Year Global Final in southern Sweden this June. During a day of celebrations hosted by Terra Skåne, NéMo will compete against other winners in its three Gold-Star categories from around the world.
Congratulations to all our winners in Japan. Meet them here.
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