I’m tempted to attend EuroWine @ Mandarin Oriental Manila this coming June 5, 2008 8PM Thursdays. But I’m still contemplating if the P3,000 nett price tag would be all worth it. I wanted to learn Food and Wine pairing and this is the perfect way to experience pairing European food with European wine — Eat all you can and Drink all you can.
BTW, thanks to all OAP friends who shared their advice on where to learn Food and Wine pairing. The Best Recommendation so far is Chef Gene Gonzalez’s Center for Asian Culinary Arts @ Cafe Ysabel. They have a basic course for 65,000k for 20 Saturdays (or Sundays). The tuition fee includes ingredients, a Chef’s kit with the chef’s knife, uniform, manual, wine pairing dinner class, and cocktails during graduation. Plus, they also add in a basic French class for better pronunciation and understanding of the French cooking terms, . Alternatively, I can just attend the three-day wine seminar of Chef Gene Gonzalez which is part of their diploma course. In the meantime, I plan to hang out in the first online Wines and Spirits Club in the Philippines founded by Gianina Gonzalez (daugther of Chef Gene).
Euro Wine featured dishes include Spain’s Paella, Portugal’s Bacalao and egg tarts, Germany’s Thuringer sausages, and roast pork knuckle saukerkraut, France’s Coque au vin and oysters, Austria’s Wiener Schnitzel and linzer torte, Switzerland’s Cervelat and Cheese Salad, and Italy’s antipasti and tiramisu. You can pair it with the Old World Wines from Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Germany.
I attended the tasting preview in Mandarin and we got to pair the heavy goulash soup with Terre di Chieti’s Sangriovese, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Each wine enhances a different flavor of the food — its sweetness, spiciness or its pepper taste. I personally like the combination of sweet desserts with Asti wine.
Accordionist Rudolf Kubis will perform on that night. He will be joined by Skaramouche, a jazz trio from Switzerland, Franz Langer, Austrian folk music singer , and Cynthia Saunders, Martini’s bar jazz singer to provide entertainment for the Euro Wine Night.
Euro Wine 2008
Wine and Spirit Festival
Ballroom, Mandarin Oriental Manila
June 5, Thursday 8pm
For tickets and inquiries, call 750-8888 ext 2401.
Or the Lobby Shop at Mandarin Oriental, Manila.
The only way to appreciate wine is to drink it everyday! haha 😉 For Php 3,000 I’ll just go to ralphs and wine depot and buy different sorts and pick the ones I like! 😉 But of course there are other wine stores for those premium wines. I recently found a good Cali wine, Pepperwood I think is the name. Like the Smoking Loon it’s also good. I didn’t like one of those Citra Wines that are in the pic.
i got the invite for this too! still thinking really hard if i should check it out 🙂
Hi AA, am glad you like the Pepperwood and Smoking Loon. The price is not so bad (Php550-Php600) for a decent wine. Our company is PREMIUM WINE EXCHANGE and our wine cellar is located in Pasong Tamo Extension. Please visit our shop and just look for me! 11-8, shop hours. You may also browse our website for wine offerings http://www.pwxchange.com.ph.
Citra??? ASTI?? Not good… I’m not a wine snob but those are not for wine enthusiasts. Christine is right, Premium Wine Exchange carries a lot of good wines! As an added bonus, Christine is drop dead gorgeous!
Wow! Very timely. I am in Switzerland right now for a three-week business trip. And just last Saturday, i was able to see the village where the vineyards are. And under their houses is where they process the wine. And after that, we went to Lausanne and had some Cheese Fondue and Chardonnay. Hmmm, yum yum!
Hi Anton! Nice to see that you’re getting into the whole “wine thing”. Looking forward to more wine-related posts from you:-)
I agree with, AA… It would actually be more fun to just buy different wines, pair it with tapas or cheese, gather your wine-loving friends and have a wine party! What my friends and I do is bring a bottle of wine each with a block of cheese that goes with it, and we have our own wine tasting. But of course its also fun to go to those wine and food events because you get to chat with wine experts and mingle. Most of the time, though, you don’t get your money’s worth at these big events since: either, 1) there are tons of people and sometimes not enough food or wine, or 2) they scrimp on the quality of their food and wine to make a bigger profit.
A good wine pairing event that’s coming up is Gourmand Night at Je Suis Gourmand on June 18. Seven-course dinner with wine pairing… pricey but oh so worth it.
Hello Anton. Since a best friend of mine (who, by the way, joined your trip to Batad) referred me to your blog site, I’ve been reading your blog posts everyday. I got amused and entertained at the thought of you for your efforts in trying to be a travel and leisure and food critic rolled into one. I admire your attempt for being one though you say that this is just a hobby for you. I feel you are doing it not out of your volition to express your views about something you like doing. But, for another reason and personal motive. If my intuition is right, I already caught by now your racket which is actually selling yourself and your image to the public in exchange for something. Whatever this is, I don’t know. With your name and personal appearance, you don’t look to be a known celebrity or socialite, or someone who belongs to the lifestyles of rich and famous of society, to be invited and be able to grace these places and affairs you have been to. On the other hand, are you an aspiring social climber instead? Nonetheless, due to the word of mouth publicity that you’ve generated in your blog site, your opinion apparently is getting you into far places and expensive restaurants where you’ve never been before. What an adventurous person you are. For an ordinary person like you to get invited to Mandarin Hotel’s wine preview tasting, its a wonderful treat and a privilege and since it was free, you definitely went. I don’t blame you for taking the opportunity for sampling free European food and wine because I don’t think you’ll spend P 3,000.00 to attend the actual Euro Wine affair last Thursday night. You don’t seem to be the type.
A word of unsolicited advice, just take care with your calorie intake because with all the dining out and eating of rich food that you’ve been doing, watch your health. It’ll surely bring in a lot of pounds to your weight. Well, its part of the good life. Thus, enjoy it while you can.
An Anton’s blog follower,
Bobby
….celebrity ‘lifestyle of the rich & famous’ socialite….why do people like others or ANTON need to HAVE a CERTAIN ‘LOOK’ to be invited o present in a wine tasting preview OR to want to go to any 5-7 star hotels-grand palaces….why ‘viewer above comment’…. have you seen any SIGNS anywhere that ‘state’ anton’s appearances qualifications future economic outlooks debit/credit cards cash money or check books ‘invalid’ or has been ‘ruled out improper-unacceptable’….if you know ‘how’ to read correctly your own mind-descriptions{based on your malicious wordings}’SPEND 3,000,00 TO ATTEND’….didnt that tell yourself….3,000,00 pesos{money}was the ‘only’ requirement….which if you’re HONEST enough you’ll publicly admit that this website blogger ‘can certainly afford’ that amount which is equivalent to ‘one of his’ local travel tax at the airport when flying for united states costing him alone not counting his wife/children{flights only}50,000,00 more or less lol!….or would you rather ‘prefer’ some of the wealthiest priviledge socialite ‘kinds’ around the world that came from the ‘bloods’ that violated ‘enslave’ humans or the blood kinds that has habits of ‘invading’ or even attacking lands to accumulate wealths illegally and by cruelty….or those 5-6 stars hotel patrons-jet setters meaning….the new ‘in’ kinds of ‘preference’ in high societies{accumulating ‘enormous’ incomes}like ‘some of those’ at one time hard working modern day ordinary street heroes but movie stars-beginners working as waiters waitresses baby sitters ‘SUNSET’ lounges entertainers male-female strippers some are extremes like those rowdy gang sex-bangers male-female-homo sexual prostitutes in and out prison inmates drug users streethustlers but gorgeous-talented BUT and NOW biggest-huge million dollar stars-assets in u.s. industry WHO can certainly afford 3,000,00 pesos wine pairing hotel requirements lol….ooohhh
but GOD! HAVE MERCY….NOT ANTON THE ‘ORDINARY’ WORKING CLASS blogger father husband….coz his millions stash in the bank is in pesos ONLY lol!…..plus he is not gorgeous just hard working lol! lol!….
Your pictures are gorgeous!
We should have shared a toast to blogging, ‘no? 🙂
“I am really tired of drinking wines from Chile, Argentina and Australia. After a little while, they are taste the same. Frankly I am a little bored, so much so that I am tempted to backslide to beer again! Luckily I stumbled on this place in Clark, a large wine shop with big letters Clark Wine Center. I found thousands of bottles inside, vintage stuff, 20, 30, 40 year-old bottles, from France, Italy, Spain, all over! I picked up a 83 red wine from St. Emilion for p2,900. That’s a steal for a 20-year-old vintage wine. Man, it tastes smooth, nothing like the young stuff I have been drinking. This is an experience for me and I tell you I am spoiled.”
“I found this web site recently and it has this super wine list containing real vintage wines. The site is http://www.YatsWineCellars.com. Do you know where they are?”
“I attended a birthday party of a friend of my wife’s. The party bored me to death but the wines they served blew me away. One wine in particular stood out – a 1983 Ch. La Fleur Milon, Cru Bourgeois, Pauillac. First time I had this wine but I like Bordeaux wines especially Pauillac, who doesn’t? Now I know why people prefer older wines. I asked them where they got it and they told it was from YATS. What and where is YATS?”
Ayala Land Sales is holding an open house to launch an upscale condominium project deep in the heart of the city, at Serendra, the most premium address in town. A special wine tasting featuring old vintage wines from YATS Wine Cellars is held at the same time along with a fabulous art exhibit of works by famed artists Marie Laya. Wine line-up include 1979/81 Ch la Lande Mausse, 1973 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a 1980 Cabernet from S Africa’s Fairview and many other vintage wines from Italy and Burgundy. To obtain an invitation call Amy Galang of Ayala Land Sales or contact Yats Wine Cellars at 633-1566. This is an exclusive event with a guest list of only 80, so please phone in early to secure your spot on the invitation list.