Last week, it was a great experience during the Wine Tasting event at Planet Grapes. There were so many varieties of wines available for wine enthusiasts plus the meal that is paired with their selection of wines. Like their tag line "Wine without the Drama", Yah, just enjoy the wine with your friends and colleagues and no problem to be included while sipping the delicious wine.
Love the ambiance, specially at their mezzanine area , it is so lovely when you are dating or when you are with your loved one.
Wine enthusiasts were whisked off to South Africa to savor some of the best known grape varieties during the “South African Wine Tasting” event at Planet Grapes- Shangri-La Mall branch.

Alex Dale, special guest-wine maker who founded The Winery of Good Hope, led the Planet Grapes wine and food pairing event. He is instrumental in the company’s ascent to the internationally recognized label it is today.
South African wines are making a positive global impression. The wines have not escaped the attention of discerning wine drinkers in Manila, who find that the wines pair well with local cuisines. The aromatic, fresh and innovative wines are highly suitable to the Filipino palate.

Planet Grapes’ wine tasting event served as confirmation that some of the most elegant and magnificent wines are produced in that part of the world.
Radford Dale is a winery that aims to produce natural and balanced wines that reflect the originality of their own terroirs. Radford Dale wines, are grown, matured and blended on the The Winery of Good Hope property, one of the bigger wine farms in Stellenbosch, and home to Land of Hope, Vinum Africa and The Winery of Good Hope labels. The Radford Dale takes pride in using traditional, natural viticulture and wine-making methods at their cellar on the Helderberg Mountain.
Guests during the wine-tasting occasion were able to sip: The Renaissance of Chenin Blanc 2012, a wine that combines freshness, minerality, and pear & apple fruit flavors; The Winery of Good Hope Unoaked Chardonnay 2013, an easy-to-drink yet classy wine with nice citrus zest and mineral tang; The Winery of Good Hope Bush Vine Pinotage 2012, with red cherries, violets and juicy palate, that finishes with balance, length, minerality and some funky spice; The Winery of Good Hope Mountainside Shiraz 2012, which has bold flavor, varietal spiciness, balance, individuality, and freshness; and Vinum Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, with deep and dark aromas, earthy tones and spicy notes.
The South African wines complemented the delicious Filipino foods served by Planet Grapes, including dimsum, tenderloin salpicao, squid balls, BBQ pork spare ribs with adobo rice. The sublime culinary concoctions are prepared in an open kitchen by Executive Chef Jonathan Bautista and his team.

Planet Grapes is a hip gathering place where wine enthusiasts as well as budding young drinkers gravitate to savor wine and great Pinoy comfort foods. Embark on an exciting journey to the world of wines, and try commendable South African options – at Planet Grapes.
This modern wine shop-cum-bar-and-restaurant offers wine without the drama. Customers can find wines they love, one grape at a time, with flexible options for different serving sizes of wine. The state-of-the-art Italian enomatic machines allow guests to sample sip, half or full glass of different wines from the major wine regions of the world.

Planet Grapes utilizes temperature-controlled containers and stores each bottle at the perfect temperature and angle in its cellars and shops to retain freshness of the wines.

This is my first time to visit Planet Grapes and so far I'm liking the place and the scent of wines. I will definitely date my husband here to experience the wine at the Planet Grapes and of course celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary next month. Planet Grapes is the place to have a moment with my hubby, this the best time for us to have our moment together.  
For more information, please email info@planetgrapes.com.ph and visit http://planetgrapes.com.ph. Planet Grapes is located at Tuscany at McKinley Hill (551-3713), the New Wing of Ayala Center Cebu (032-266-0526 or 032-262-0515), Shangri-La Mall (531-8207 or 532-2950) and River Park, Alabang (831-9438 or 831-9439).

 

Are you drinking wine occasionally, all the time or seldom? Do you want something new that gives a sweetness on your taste bud?

I was a wine drinker way back when I was still a Yuppy, an Office girl.  I used to work in an international company, so every time we have a visitor from our mother company in  Geneva, Switzerland we would toss a celebration, of course that's after work and  just before they went back abroad.

In every celebration that we have, wine is the leader. After the sumptuous dinner, chit chat is the next with a glass of wine at hand.  But all of these was way back then.  After few year, when I got pregnant and gave birth to our little ones the wine drinking was suspended and I haven't drunk any wine for the last 5 years.

Now, I told my self that I will return, hahaha.  The comeback, I want to drink wine again because I really miss it. I'm not a hard drinker so it does not worry me and husband that I'll be tipsy.  Mostly, I drink wine with small amount of alcohol content.  I do have allergies with alcoholic drink so I make sure to have it in moderation.  Just a bit of a sip.

So, this year I started wine tasting again, I tasted last month a sweet wine, too sweet ever, they told us that drinking sweet wine is best with sweet dessert.

So I am gladly to know that Carlo Rossi introduce Rossi Sweet Red, it's sweet, not that much sweetness but just the exact amount of sweetness.  I didn't know at first that you can add ice with it.  According to Von De Torres, Managing Director of Emperador Distillers "They're basically bottled with very low alcohol content and lots of sweeteners, which is far cry from authentic Rossi. Rossie Sweet Red was specifically created to be sweet and be consume cold. So what are you waiting for, try it, as my self I want to drink cold wine.

Emperador Distillers brings Rossi Sweet Red, a sweet red wine crafted from grapes grown in California''s sun drenched vineyards and bursting with flavor and aroma, for your cheers to good time. It has layers of vanilla, bright cherry and wild raspberry flavor creating a different kind of sweetness.

I'm not a type of person that drink alcohol or wine. As I remembered, I started drinking wine when I am already working. Since my job was dealing with our mother company at Geneva Switzerland most of the time they visited our company here in the Philippines, we treated them in a restaurant and some sort of wine drinking.

I stopped drinking wine when I got pregnant on my first baby, it's been 5 years ago. Now that I have a 2nd baby, I did not try to take a wine. Last December 2012, we celebrated the Christmas and new year (2012) we have a wine, so I decided to have just a little sip.  It was good!

I got even more interested in this wine tasting when I got an invite for the wine tasting at Cafe 1771. The ambiance is quite great and elegant with its dim light, it makes me feel sozy.   This time I tried to have another sip, just the right amount because I might trigger my allergies in alcohol again.  So, just a bit is enough to taste the flavor of the wine.



The bloggers event was hosted by Ms. Cecile Mauricio, who thoroughly explained all about wine. They told us that they are treating us from light to heavier food serving.  So for the appetizer, it was the Buffalo Chicken Wings which I love most and the Oyster Rockefeller with white one.  Ms. Mauricio taught us the proper way of drinking of wine, we should smell it and gently move the wine glass in circular motion before sipping it.



Next stop is the Holy Cow Pizza with rosewine the pasta and WineBar Burger with fries and bone marrow on the side with red wine. Isn't heavy now? Yes, it is.





Lastly the dessert, they served Bread Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream on the top and of course a wine that super sweet, well I like most, because I love sweets.

This is very exciting and new learning and new experiences on a different side of our life. You can treat your love ones here as a romantic one because of the ambiance.


 Café 1771 is located at 1771 El Pueblo, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. ,