Wente Bros. has shipped its first wines...

Wente Bros. has shipped its first wines destined to ride Japan’s Bullet Trains. The delivery to Japan Railways of 29,000 barrel-shaped, mini-bottles of Wente’s proprietary Blanc de Blancs blend and generic chablis and White Zinfandel wines were imported by Toyota Motor Co. as part of a program to boost Japanese purchases of U.S. products, according to spokesman Robert Best.

If so, the purchase represents a modest step, since the tiny bottles amount to about 500 9-liter cases of wine--the standard unit--which one wine consultant valued at “about the price of two toyotas.”