Sorting out holiday wines with Australian ambassador Steven Robinson
Merry Christmas, everyone. As this column comes out, the worst of the holidays—a.k.a preparing for it—is behind us. All that’s left to do is to enjoy great food and look forward to the New Year festivities. After all, Noche Buena and Media Noche are the most important meals in every Filipino’s year. I had a bit of a Noche Buena dry run two weeks ago with Australian Ambassador Steven Robinson and had quite the education on Australian wine, something that Filipinos have a growing love for.
Ambassador Robinson has been in the Philippines for three years. At this point, he would have been starting to pack and get ready to move back to Canberra but luckily, he’s been extended.
The Deputy-Minister level diplomat has such a love for the Philippines that started when he traveled here with his family in the ‘80s, a trip that was the catalyst for a lifelong connection. As a student, he found the country and its people interesting and when he ended up in the foreign ministry, he was often assigned portfolios that brought him back here for work. Things went full circle when he was assigned here as ambassador.
He’s been active from the get-go and even through the pandemic’s challenges. “So I’ve now been to 45 provinces in the Philippines, which isn’t bad, given the last 22 months for COVID. And so I’ve seen a lot,” he said, sharing about their projects in Mindanao and other parts of the country that help keep the peace and provide livelihood and education.
A taste of Australia
As of September this year, the Philippines was ranked as Australia’s seventh emerging market for their wines. The ambassador shares that their government’s “Taste of Australia” campaign, running for years now, has been such a huge help in promoting high-quality products from their country. Consistency in branding and in how they showcase their exports contributes a lot to their success. “It talks about Australia’s food and its wine and why people should, you know, savor this, taste it, and check it out,” said Ambassador Robinson. “Because Australia has got a tremendous environment, which means that we make world-class, high-quality produce.”
The ambassador admits to having a huge love for wine. His own cellar back in Canberra, a testament to his preference for their very own. “So in Australia, wine is moderately priced,” he said. “Now, you can spend hundreds of dollars on a bottle of wine, but you don’t really have to. You can spend remarkably little and still have a very good wine that will be very tasty and enjoyable.”
Our conversation moved to the dining table where 15 bottles were waiting along with a grazing spread from Australian Chef Wade Watson’s restaurant Bondi & Bourke. It truly felt like early Noche Buena. It was a mix of Australian favorites and Filipino staples. Cheese (King Island Dairy’s Roaring Forties Blue Cheese was a standout), cold cuts, Tasmanian salmon, lumpia, a steak bigger than my face, lechon, and even adobo.
Breaking the rules
The ambassador isn’t a fan of the rigid rules we were all brought up to believe about wine. “It’s not about the price, it’s about what you like,” he said. He even disputed the age-old rule of red wines are for red meat and white wines are for seafood and chicken. “It doesn’t matter!” He chuckled. As long as they go well, the wine can be in any color. Corked wine also isn’t necessarily better than screw-topped bottles. In fact, the latter’s more secure. There’s no chance of corks drying up and letting air in.
Starting from the most affordable, we shared a sparkling wine followed by a few bottles of whites. Prices start at ₱320, proving his point about price.
A white Moscato labelled “Woomera” is produced by Filipino company San Miguel in Australia. Affordable, it goes well with lumpia. Among the reds, the Mitolo Seventh Son Grenache-Shiraz 2018 was recommended by the ambassador to go with most Filipino dishes. Yes, even chicken adobo. “A Filipino who tastes this and doesn’t like it, they should come and talk to me because this, to me, would be perfect with Filipino food!” commercial counselor Christopher Lim who was with us that day chimed in.
A Cabernet Sauvignon, the Vinaceous Raconteur 2017, also stood out and at ₱650 pesos, it really is a great bang-for-buck bottle.
‘Now, you can spend hundreds of dollars on a bottle of wine, but you don’t really have to. You can spend remarkably little and still have a very good wine that will be very tasty and enjoyable.’
Another favorite of the ambassador is Claymore’s The Dark Side of the Moon, an oaky red that went perfectly with the Bondi & Bourke steak. The most expensive wine on the table was a Penfolds Bin 389. At a little over ₱4,000, it’s pricey but not unattainable for the perfect occasion that calls for it. Smooth as silk with hints of dark fruits, it’s well worth the investment and a sweet way to end our wine-tasting journey.
“We’re the second largest provider of wine in the Philippines, number four for dairy, and number one for beef and lamb,” the ambassador said. I could definitely see why.
Find the menu, the 15 wines, and the tasting notes from that evening on AlmostDiplomatic.com