The Wine Museum Manila

Wine Museum Manila
28 July 2012
By Nicole


First off, thank you Breakfast Magazine, Mr. Jorge, and Chef John Joseph for a gratifying Wine Museum experience! It was such a treat!

Wine Museum is an establishment composed of a hotel, a restaurant, and a wine education centre. A visit here is definitely worth it because the food is good and NOT too expensive, the people are nice, and the wines are really affordable (the wines in the restaurant have the same price with the ones in their store, Ralph's Wines & Spirits. They don't charge corkage fee!). Plus, if you really want to learn a lot about wine, this is the place to be! I swear! :D By the way, the wine descriptions in this post came from the Wine 101 presentation by Mr. Jorge.

Wine Museum Restaurant

Wine Museum's restaurant offers "colonial" dishes which means a fusion of dishes - Spanish, American, and Filipino cuisine. (Now, that term is controversial. I remember all my classes back in college where you could get into serious discussions by just mentioning that word :D). Anyway,  for the complete menu with price, click here for their website.

For the appetizers, we were served with sliced Vigan longaniza, mushroom vinaigrette, and gambas al ajillo (shrimps with garlic). These appetizers were served with the Chardonnay.

Right wine glass:  Claro (Chilean) – Chardonnay

"This Chardonnay has a nice yellow color with some pleasant notes of grapefruit and tropical fruits on the nose. On the palate, it has volume and refreshing acidity to enjoy it with seafood and slightly spicy dishes."

Left wine glass: Claro (Chilean) – Merlot

"Very bright ruby–violet color. The wine has intense aromas typical of its variety with abundant notes of ripe red fruits, plum, pepper and menthol. Its tannins are sweet and velvety. It has a long and lingering finish."

After the appetizers and the Chardonnay, was the main course!

The Claro (Chilean) – Merlot  (picture above) was the wine for the first half of the main course. The Merlot was paired with the sopa de calabaza, pescado con ali oli (fish with garlic and oil vinaigrette), and the paella colonial.

This sopa de calabaza (squash soup) is absolutely one of the best tasting squash soup I've ever had.

Pescado con ali oli (fish with garlic and oil vinaigrette)

Paella Colonial

Their paella is better than what I had in Madrid! Primary reason: it has a distinctive Filipino touch - it's really tasty.  I liked that they used fresh olives because those olives enhanced the flavour of the dish. The rice in their paella is cooked with beer! And I quote, "the best beer in the world, San Miguel pale pilsen." That is really something! In a Spanish cookbook we have at home, the paella recipes there are cooked with white wine.

It's not easy to find a good paella in this country but now we know where to find one! By the way, I got an awesome tip from The Chef/ General Manager, John Joseph, Jr. Want your frozen fish to still taste fresh? Soak it with milk before cooking! Because milk, according to Chef Joseph, will remove that stinky fishy smell and taste ("lansa" in Filipino) of frozen fish. Ting! Light bulb moment! Will try it next time :D

Left wine glass: Claro (Chilean) – Cabernet Sauvignon

"This attractive violet wine expresses cassis and fresh cherry notes. It has a nice and long finish showing a well-balanced wine with round and ripe tannins. This wine is an excellent complement to spicy dishes and red meats."

The first two wines, the Chardonnay and the Merlot, were light while the Cabernet Sauvignon is "full-bodied and tannic." Of the three, I like the Cabernet Sauvignon best.

Mexican Chicken

Cabernet Sauvignon was paired with Mexican Chicken and their bestseller Crispy Toro.

Crispy Toro

I love the crispy toro - an absolutely unforgettable dish! I don't think you can eat something like it somewhere else. The meat is crispy and yet so tender.

For the dessert, we were served with this Hazelnut Crepes a la Mode.

Hazelnut Crepes a la Mode

Oh these hazelnut crepes are ethereally yummy!!!! Thumbs up that the sweetness is just right! You should not leave Wine Museum without eating this!

Dessert wine: Lambrusco Emilia

A lot of people will sure love this Lambrusco Emilia! It's light, fruity, and perfect for dessert! I had two glasses of it ha, ha!

Wine Museum

View from the second floor

Wine Museum is basically a restaurant museum with a hotel. They have wine magazines that you can read and the walls, especially of the second floor, are decorated with wine facts - history, process of making wine, etc. The second floor is where they conduct lectures. The Wine Museum is also a foundation that was created  to educate people about wines. They provide facilities, including hotel and resto for on-the-job training for students, managers, practitioners and educators.

Mr. Jorge Joseph, the Marketing Manager of The Wine Museum, demonstrating how to use this old wine press

It was really nice visiting this place! Again, thank you Breakfast Magazine, to Mr. Jorge, and Chef John Joseph! And oh before I forget, their annual Grand Wine Experience will be held this November! Watch out for it!


P.S.

Thea, wish you were with me! Our awesome batch should have a get together here. :D They have organic wines from La Rioja!!!


Address and Telephone number:

The Wine Museum Hotel & Resto
2253 Aurora Boulevard (formerly Tramo Road) Pasay City, Manila
+63 2 239 42 78