Wine isn’t produced in the Philippines. While we can grow table grapes, we simply don’t have the conditions to cultivate wine grapes. And this is likely why, while we love beer and spirits like familiar Friday night friends, our relationship with wine leans more polite than warm—more reserved, more deferential.
It’s why it’s often seen as an upper-class drink or as a drink for ultra-special occasions.
A wedding might have wine for ceremonial purposes: for toasting between the parents and closest relatives of the groom and bride. But when real festivities start, and the formalities drop, when the disco ball is lowered and the volume’s turned up, that’s when beer and spirits take over—flowing well into the morning’s wee hours.
But Benedict Tan, a WSET Level-III sommelier, hopes to do his part in changing that. He believes Filipinos need not be intimidated by wine, that it can be accessible, starting by pairing it with our favorite pica-pica and comfort food.
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Food and wine pairings within easy reach
Lifestyle Inquirer sat down with Tan as he selected some wines for us. The sommelier curates the collection for World Cellars in Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City. A personal project of Araneta Group chairman and CEO Jorge Araneta, the bar holds rows of wine from floor to ceiling, running at a constant temperature, and serves wine by the bottle and by the glass.
And given how it’s strategically situated within World Kitchens, which offers various chef-overseen cuisines in a food court-like layout, food pairings are not hard to come by.
Walking through Cubao, I noticed that World Cellars displays its tarpaulins—not just in the more upscale areas of the Gateway Mall area, but also in the minibus terminal, a place that’s more likely to see soda or fast food ads.
Tan shares that their stated goal is to offer high-quality wine at a fraction of the cost and make it less intimidating to Filipinos. For one thing, wines by the glass here start at below P300, yet these are no supermarket wines. Another way to meet this goal? To mix and match it with food that’s closer to home.
He offered us some blind items—three wines—to taste-test. My favorite was a Pinot Noir from Germany from a vintner called Gerald’s. I was asked to guess the bottle price. I recalled the wine in the sadly now-closed Sofitel Manila and hazarded P3.5K.
“It’s 980 pesos,” Tan smiles, “and I think it pairs well with pritong galunggong.”
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The key to mixing and matching flavors
Wine is often paired with cheese for surprisingly obvious reasons beyond optics and aesthetics: the contrast of flavor and texture. It just so happens that cheese, apricots, and almonds are what are easily available in countries with longstanding wine cultures. But Tan believes that Filipino-grown produce and Filipino-made food have flavor profiles that also dance well with wine.
What really matters is selecting food and drinks that don’t clash, whatever cuisine they hail from. He mentions a flavor index anyone can Google, and tells us to note the connecting lines and broken lines: spicy goes with sweet, but sour clashes with bitter.
“There’s a reason citrus fruits are challenging when mixed with coffee,” Tan points out.
“A good pairing elevates the wine or elevates the food,” the sommelier adds. “The best pairing elevates both the dish and the drink. You bring out flavors and notes that you don’t initially associate with the individual item.”
The many hands that shape gustatory pleasures
Ultimately, Tan gives credit to the many hands making our gustatory pleasures possible: “The food you have, the person cooking put a lot of hard work, effort into that. The same goes for it. Both grow through a long process starting with farmers.”
Now that you think about it, our fellow Asians already pair their food with wine. Think Hong Kong dim sum, bulgogi, or sushi. “Imagine,” Tan smiles, “you get takeout from your usual carinderia, and then you pair it with wine at home. I’ve done that!”
Who says a charcuterie board should confine itself to Western fruit, nuts, and meats? Perhaps at the next family reunion, I’ll prepare some kasuy, kesong puti, and Lucban longganisa (extra toasted) for the wines my titas will bring.
Or maybe the next time I’m at a place like Trellis, instead of ordering the usual San Miguel to go with my sisig, I might ask for their wine list instead.
Filipino food and wine pairings to try
- Kinilaw with Sauvignon blanc: This lemon-like white traditionally pairs with fresh seafood
- Sisig with bubbly red wine, dry white wine like Cabernet Blanc, or Pinot Noir: Bubbly red balances the meat’s richness; citrusy notes of a dry white balance oiliness; Pinot Noir is the classic pairing for meat, and its acidity cuts through the oiliness
- Pritong galunggong with Pinot gris, Pinot grigot, or wine from Verdejo, Spain: “You want the clean taste of the fish to stand out. You want a light white wine, a little bit more aromatic but still very, very clean that won’t overpower the fish.”
- Kaldereta, or any Hispanic-inspired, tomato-based dish with a heavier, bolder wine, like a Rhone Valley red or even a Rhone Valley Marsanne white wine: “The sauce is thicker, so you want a bolder wine. The spices from the Grenache grapes work well here. Marsanne grapes, too.”
- Crispy pata with Ribera del Duero red wines: “You want the power of these Spanish domain wines.” A dry wine gets rounded out by the deep-fried pork thigh’s juiciness
- Pork siomai with wines that have notes of spiciness: Think of a Rhone’s spice playing the same role, acting as the chili oil. Classic versions of this wine have pepper flavors. “It’s on the lighter side, and its acidity would act as your calamansi.”
- Kwek-kwek or tokneneng with Australian shiraz: “The acidity and body of this wine provide a lighter side to complement the heaviness of eggs.”
Here are some suggestions that Benedict Tan and I discussed:
