In this post, I'm not going to pretend I'm a wine expert. I enjoy wine but have no idea how to pronounce most of their names or what food they go with. I let my tastebuds decide and I'm not sure if this is acceptable to wine elitists. So, I enjoy wine in places I'm comfortable in. Last year, I stayed in a club room with access to Sofitel's Club Millesime where they have wine appreciation and cocktails from 5pm onwards every night. From then on, I knew that Sofitel and wine appreciation in its rawest (and unpretentious) form are synonymous.
To enjoy this wine experience during the Spiral Champagne Brunch, here are my humble tips to get the most out of your P3,623+
1. Select your approach - do you want to focus on food with wine, or wine with food? I suggest try the unbeaten path of pairing wine with food.
2. Choose the atelier or cuisine you want to focus on - Asian, Western, and the Desserts. The order is up to you. You will discover the each cuisine will also go with a different wine group. This leads us to number 3.
3. Look for an in-house sommelier - a sommelier is simply put, a wine steward who will know best about the wines being offered in Spiral and what food they go best with. Do not hesitate to call/summon them to your table. They won't expect you to pronounce Gewürztraminer flawlessly or know what it is. This is why Spiral engages sommeliers to assist diners with pleasure.
You can also look for the French wine experts Tanguy (tang-gee) and Mathieu (matthew, photo above). The friendliest and most passionate about wine I've met in Sofitel. I knew I was in the right place when Mathieu said it's not the ability to pronounce wine and memorize their classifications, but the ability to enjoy the taste and discovering which wine you enjoy best.
4. If you know the kind of wine you like or a variation you want to try, you can also take the route of asking for its availability and for pairing recommendations.
Here's a wine appreciation cheat sheet for Spiral's Sunday Champagne Brunch:
Asian Ateliers
Brand: Craggy Range
Type: Sauvignon Blanc
Origin: New Zealand, 2012
Pairing: wanton soup, white fish, and seafood
Brand: AIX rosé
Type: Rosé
Origin; Coteaux d'Aix en Provence 2012
Pairing: garden vegetables. scallops, grilled meat
Brand: Madfish
Type: Shiraz
Origin: Australia, 2009
Pairing: Hokien Mee, grilled pork, any red meat
Western Ateliers
Brand: William Fevre
Type: Chablis
Origin: Burgundy, France, 2011
Pairing: seafood, pesto fusili, fishes, white meat, and foie gras
Brand: Bouchard Père & Fils
Type: Pinot Noir
Origin: France, 2011
Pairing: pizza, red meat, and light flavored cheeses
Brand: Dourthe No. 1
Type: Rouge
Origin: Bordeaux France, 2011
Pairing: any red meat, Spiral burger, full flavored cheeses, and cold cuts
Desert Ateliers
Brand: Hugel & Fils
Type: Gewürztraminer
Origin: France, 2011
Pairing: fruits based dessert, puto bumbong, bibingka
Brand: Henriot
Type: Champagne
Origin: France
Pairing: chocolate desserts
If you ask me, I like the wine that is typically liked by the ladies. These are mostly flat and white wines that don't have strong acidity or that "alcoholic" taste. My experience is that these wines relax and makes me happy the most :D
My Top 3 Picks from Spiral's Wine Selection
1. Champagne Henriot - perfect start to any meal, it is very refreshing and clean tasting.
2. Dragon Fruit wine - surprise! Spiral houses local wines too. If you are lucky, they have this variant (I heard they are thinking about making it a regular) but if not, ask for other local wines just for experience.
3. William Fevre, Chablis - I like to enjoy this after the champagne because it's a little more concentrated yet still light and fresh. Best also for my salmon sashimi and other sushi.
I hope this post offered you some insights that encourages you to comfortably experience wine appreciation at The Spiral in Sofitel Manila. I want to end this by emphasizing it's not about your knowledge of wine but discovering what taste you like and enjoy.
If you found this post helpful, please leave me a comment below or share it with your friends on Facebook or Twitter :)
merci beaucoup!
