The peaceful town of Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture might not be Japan's most international city, but Jean-Pascal Noirault, 30, and Mikiko Kurumada, 29, are determined to change that.

Founders of the Web site Wine-and-food.com, Noirault and Kurumada have recently returned from taking 15 people (10 from Koriyama) on a personalized tour of the vineyards of Bergerac and Bordeaux, where, as connoisseurs know, some of the world's finest wines are produced.

But why Koriyama? It's Kurumada's hometown, Noirault is her husband and selling French wine is their business -- rather, it has become their business.