AT Tastin' France Manila 2024, the flagship event of CCI France Philippines for the year, a blend of wines and spirits as well as vintners or merchants and those with like-minded sensibilities poured in the Grand Ballroom of Raffles & Fairmont Makati in April to provide a tantalizing sampling of growth opportunities for bilateral and cultural exchanges, creating an ambience where stakeholders were all in good spirits.
Together with the Ambassade de France aux Philippines et en Micronésie (Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia) and with Business France, CCI France Philippines organized the event in partnership with Team France Export, CCI Bourgongne Franche-Comté and Food Pays de la Loire — an event that not only allowed the sharing of French culture and its wines and spirits, but also the telling of their unique and compelling histories.
Some might say that liquor doesn’t go down any smoother than this fine selection of perfectly aged spirits by Godet Freres Cognac from La Rochelle in France. PHOTOS BY JANINA LORELEI
Led by its Managing Director Kevin Charuel, who was ably assisted by PR & Marketing Manager Ruben Belmonte Jr., CCI France Philippines hosted a number of notable vintners or wine merchants and liquor companies such as Godet Freres Cognac from La Rochelle, Le Petits Clos from the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains, LGI Wines from the South of France in Languedoc, Same River Twice Wines from the Rhone Valley, Vignobles Vellas also from Languedoc and Wines Tree Editeur de Vins from Provence, to name a few.
Ambassador Marie Fontanel of the Ambassade de France aux Philippines et en Micronésie began her opening remarks with typical French humor, saying that other nations labored under the illusion that their wine was better. She went on to say seriously that the Philippines did have a great opportunity to promote its own quality products because Filipinos appreciated good food, good wine and a touch of French flair.
The Vignobles Vellas merchant from the Languedoc region in France has arguably the most maverick of wine labels on offer. PHOTO BY JANINA LORELEI
Meanwhile, Charuel expressed that it was an honor and pleasure to welcome vintners or wine merchants from France for the second consecutive and successful year in this dynamic and vibrant sector in the Philippines.
Also present at Tastin' France Manila 2024 was Laica Herrera, business development manager at Boca Juan Filipinas Inc., who raised everyone's spirits by pointing out the more maverick and risqué selections on offer.
Produced by the Wines Tree Editeur de Vins merchant from Provence, the Baron Maxime label for ‘ecelctic French wines’ carries the iconic crown that appears when the wine is of the proper temperature for drinking. PHOTO BY JANINA LORELEI
"Having it with duck meat you will see it will make the pairing quite obvious," Vignobles Vellas Export Manager Damien Bazin said about Suck My Duck, the provocatively labeled syrah wine.
"Vacqueyras is going to be very good with red meat, T-bone, a steak," Wines Tree Editeur de Vins Export Manager Yannick Reynaud said about the dark and rich wine with classic herbs and warm peppery spice.
"The label is named after that Heraclitus quote about how, 'No man ever steps in the same river twice for it's not the same river and he's not the same man,'" Same River Twice Wines Producer James Dunstan said while pouring his distinctively aromatic and flavorful orange wine.
"You do have some sauvignon viognier, but it's not the most common blend you'll find in the market," LGI Wines sales manager for Korea and Taiwan Antoine said about the popular white wine blend that went perfectly with seafood.
"We have a 1-year-old, an 18-year-old, a 22-year-old and a 50-year-old bottle...we write our vineyard, we write our age in the bottle," Godet Freres Cognac Asian Market Representative Nola Zhang said, underscoring what other producers in the Cognac region reportedly did not do.
"Then, they decided to create some very interesting cocktails such as rum and tea...and then you have Cognac and tonic," Les Petits Clos Asia Sales Manager Johanna Moiroux said about her company's innovative laboratory.
If one could bottle the essence of fun and good taste, perhaps it would be one of these unique Cognac mixers by the Le Petits Clos merchant from the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains. PHOTO BY JANINA LORELEI
A total of 13 vintners and vignerons or winemakers from Loire Valley, Bourgogne, Rhone Valley, Languedoc, Bordeaux and other French regions presented about 300 wines and spirits for tasting. Other labels included Loire Vins Domaine, Alain Corcia, Domain Gille, Les Vins de Roquebrun, Vignobles Nauve & Co. (Les Grands Châteaux), Wines Overland and ABK6 Cognac.
Apart from making the sharing of culture, history and commerce flow more smoothly and pleasantly, the Tastin' France Manila 2024 celebration elevated the experience to the world arena where global producers could connect with local importers, distributors and retailers while allowing lovers of wines and liquor to get into the universal spirit of savoring the moment.
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