Holiday cheers from the best wine and liquor selections
Favorite wines of 2021
Winery.ph, the country’s largest in-stock collection of wine online, reveals the winners to its 2nd Kavino Choice Awards. Named for the online wine marketplace’s term for its community, the Kavino Choice Awards are determined by each wine’s popularity among its customers. To celebrate, a selection of these best-selling wines will be on sale in bundles starting today Dec. 12, and will be available until Dec. 14, 2021.
Value wines under P1,000 include Dealto Crianza (Rioja, Spain), Matsu El Picaro (Toro, Spain), Amnesia Red (Alentejo, Portugal), Mayfly Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand), Printhie Mountain Range Sauvignon Blanc (Orange, Australia), and Montsable Chardonnay (Pays d’Oc, France). For premium reds between P1,000 and P2,500, Gonzalez Byass Beronia Reserva (Rioja, Spain) and Dealto Reserva (Rioja, Spain) topped the list while Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand) and Cloudy Bay Chardonnay (Marlborough, New Zealand) proved best among the whites.
“The Kavino Choice Awards are an important milestone for the Philippine wine market. It’s the only real data-backed picture of what Filipino wine drinkers actually enjoy, not what foreign wine critics and importers think we should enjoy and place on supermarket shelves,” says Chris Urbano, Winery.ph managing director and chief sommelier. “By making these favorites part of our 12.12 Sale, we wanted to give our customers the opportunity to not just stock up on wines they love, but to also discover ones they might have missed out on. Our mission is Vino for the Filipino, and this means helping to unearth the Philippines’ own unique wine palate and empower our customers with the confidence to drink and enjoy wine on their terms.”
Visit their website at www.winery.ph
Limited-edition festive coffrets
This holiday season, Rémy Martin celebrates the festivities with its VSOP, Club, and XO, housed in stunning and exclusive gift boxes that are beautifully illustrated with the odyssey of the brand’s centaur.
Just for the festive season, each coffret comes with a golden key in the form of a QR code that opens the doors to fascinating content on the cognac of choice including tasting tips, food pairings, and a dedicated cocktail tutorial designed to match each product.
Embodying the house’s signature style, Rémy Martin VSOP exudes dominant notes of vanilla, ripe apricot, and baked apple. One can enjoy the drink in any of the following ways: neat, on ice, or with ginger ale. Food pairing tip: It is best with vanilla macaroon and gravlax salmon.
Next, the Rémy Martin Club can be enjoyed in a shooter glass that is frozen to bring out a full palette of flavors including candied fruits (apricot and figs), spices (ginger and cinnamon), and nut aromas. Lastly, the Rémy Martin XO can be mixed in a glass with a lump of sugar and three dashes of bitters. Need a little sparkle? Garnish with a sprinkle of edible gold flakes.
Visit their website at www.remymartin.com.
Bespoke holiday cocktail
Combining traditional gin botanicals with the distinct flavors of delicate floral notes and fresh tropical citrus from ylang-ylang, alpinia, calamansi, and dalandan, Santa Ana Gin reveals an exotic flavor perfect for Filipino yuletide celebrations and festivities.
Looking for something special? Look no further as the Santa Ana 75 brings depth and flair to any holiday drink. Create a bespoke French 75 cocktail by making a base of Santa Ana Gin, lemon juice, and a simple syrup shaken on ice then double strained into a chilled flute, topped with champagne and zested with a lemon twist.
Visit their website at www.santaanagin.com.