The Wine Story

Recent years have seen Bordeaux château owners or their representatives establishing a connection with wine lovers from around the world.  A recent Manila visitor was Thienot Asia General Manager Thomas Percillier, who has been shuttling between major Asian cities to promote the collection from France’s Champagne House, Cuvée Alain Thiénot. Thienot champagne and wines are exclusively available at Wine Story in the Philippines.

Thomas Percillier shared some engaging insights about things that were going on in Bordeaux and chatted with guests who were only too glad to update their knowledge about some excellent wines from Bordeaux.

Through a special event dubbed “Tour de Bordeaux: From Vine to Wine” held at Wine Story in Shangri-La Mall, Mandaluyong City, guests got off to a refreshing start as they enjoyed sips of the 2007 Cuvee Alain Thienot, an exceptional Champagne with a stunning blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Other splendid wines followed.

The other featured wines included the 2012 Belgrave, a wine with complex bouquet that reveals dark fruit aromas of blackberry and cassis, precious woods and mint, enhanced with a subtle mocha note; the 2012 Le Boscq, a wine with generous and rich palate and a silky, well-balanced tannic structure underpinned by impressive freshness on the finish; and the 2005 La Vigne Aux Gamins, a highly distinctive wine, with bouquet evolving with great finesse, a hint of mineral character, fruit and white flowers aromas, and the impressive length synonymous with great terroir.

The interactive event provided a fun hands-on experience for the Wine Story guests. They gamely took part in activities laid out in four booths, especially designed to showcase and educate them about Bordeaux.

During the festivity, participants were delighted to try their hand assembling a photo representing one stage of a grape’s life cycle. In the second booth, they made a dash searching for words that were key winemaking terms. The third booth presented a sensory test, whereby different objects with distinct aromas were placed in various wine glasses that participants had to match with certain wines with enchanting scents. The fourth and final booth was a labeling and classification test -- Bordeaux wine label information had to be hunted around the store (such as vintage, region, and more).

Two winners who completed the four vino missions were awarded two bottles of wine -- Thienot Brut NV, a mouthwatering, balanced, creamy Champagne offering flavors of baked pear and lemon curd, with rich hints of coffee liqueur and pastry cream; and Thienot Brut Rose NV, a creamy, well-balanced Champagne that features citrusy acidity backing open-knit flavors of crème de cassis, gumdrop, dried apricot, almond skin and pastry, with a mineral-tinged finish.

Experience history in a glass, one bottle at a time – at Wine Story. For more information, email info@winestory.com.ph or visit http://winestory.com.ph. Wine Story is located at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, EDSA 633-3556; Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City, 846-6310; and One Rockwell West, Makati City, 869-0932.