I am not one to turn to wine and liquor when I am having a bad day, make that a bad week, no, practically a month of horrific technology nightmares. But I can completely understand those who do seek solace in a bottle of fine or not so fine wine. However, I do inevitably turn to wine or champagne to celebrate a major milestone, achievement or positive life event. Hence this is a totally appropriate post. This represents my first complete post using my MacBook Pro. And I even managed to salvage photos from my previous laptop. I haven’t found a Mac tutor yet so I have spent infuriating hours trying to figure out the simplest of tasks, such as re-sizing photos and prepping them for my posts, which are not on a Mac friendly platform, apparently. At any rate, I think this deserves a bottle of champagne, or maybe just a luscious glass of Pinot Noir at a small gem of a wine store on Pasong Tamo…
Set up by a group of friends with a passion for wine, Premium Wine Exchange has a small but very interesting selection of wines from Californian wineries and other select sources. Their website, here, can fill you in on all the basics, but the most attractive thing about the place is an underlying tone of passion and interest in their products. It is the first quality I search for in a top-notch purveyor of any food and wine. If the owners aren’t involved and don’t exhibit a real interest in their products, it clearly shows…
I was at the store early on a Saturday morning, and was given a quick tour by one of the owners, Jojo Madrid, who was altogether relaxed and informal, just like the wines on offer. He explained that the store was born from a common interest among friends for wine and it has done nicely in its first 2.5 years in operation. They focus mainly on Californian vineyards, though they have some French sources and I spotted some very good bottles of champagne as well. Prices are extremely attractive, ranging from say PHP500 to a few bottles in the PHP5,000+ range. A few select bottles of champagne would cost you a lot more. What is nice about the place is that it isn’t too crowded, the staff are knowledgeable and while choices are limited, they are good limited choices. This is a place to go for wine to be enjoyed, not wine to be stocked in one’s cellar as an investment vehicle. Looking for a nice bottle to take to a friend’s home when invited to dinner, check out Premium Wine Exchange.
While I was at the store (late one Saturday morning), Jojo opened a bottle of Shea Wine Cellars 2005 Pinot Noir, which was served to customers browsing at the time. It was quite good, “a Pommard clone”, as Jojo says (or at least what my chicken scratch notes say). I am not a wine afficionado, but I can tell a good one from a bad one. And this one was nice. Sorry, it was the last bottle in the store so you can’t buy it until new supplies arrive… I also spied wines from Smoking Loon, Q Vineyards, and champagnes from Krug, Veuve Cliquot and many others. Oh, and another nice thing about this store? You can “rent” the venue for the evening, bring in a caterer, and have a wonderful dinner for up to 20 folks in the chilly cellar like atmosphere…. hmmm, a perfect venue for an extravagant party. The photos say it all – the sparkle of crystal, the deep reds of fine wine, the bottles surrounding you at dinner… fantastic!
Premium Wine Exchange
Ground Floor, Smith Bell Building
2294 Pasong Tamo Extension
+63 2 812 3823
(P.S., they are apparently opening a store at Trinoma Mall in Quezon City, so you don’t have to drive to Makati to peruse their offerings…)
19 Responses
Let me be the first to welcome you to the world of Apple! You are in good company :D
Hi, MM. I usually re-size, enhance, etc my photos using Photoshop. Kinda pro stuff. But your mac should have an iPhoto software which can do all the basic stuff you need to edit your pics. It’s as user friendly as a point-and-shoot camera. Once you connect your camera (or memory card) to your computer, you get a prompt asking you if you want to import these pics onto iPhoto. Just click yes (or you can do this manually and individually, but that’s another post.) The program has basic menu/commands such as rotate, crop, color enhance, retouch, add effects, even remove red-eye. You can even make a photobook just using this program (I got a old post on that, if you want to check it out). Anyway, welcome to the Mac world. Someday, you too will wonder why you ever used PC at all, he-he. Steve Job rocks!
And, oh, thanks for the Premium Wine Exchange post. Will definitely check out their on-premise dining/wining facility.
Echoing Socky. Once you get the hang of it, you will wonder why you killed yourself with your PC. Welcome to Mac World, MM. :)
Socky, I did use to use Adobo(e) Photoshop but now I am confounded with iphoto. I just tried to load my original photoshop 5.0 but this newfangles computer got indigestion and refuses to eat it. At any rate, slowly but surely… I know it is just adjustment pains. Thanks, Franco and Myra for the encouragement. I wish my mother left me a competent and patient indentured full-time computer technician with a pleasant disposition on call 24 hours a day instead of pretty celadons excavated from dead people’s graves and rare specimen shells that are so politically incorrect in these environment conscious days…
At a SF Nitespot, a comedian holds up a bottle of wine and says, “This is Dago Red. A really fine wine that has a substantial body, long luscious legs, and a perfect crotch!”
Cracked me up!
Good wine is in order to cheer you up with your computer transition. Where are the tapas – cheese tray with fruits? Silly Lolo, you are funny Dago Red must be a real good full bodied red wine!
It’s nice to see a proper wine store like that in Manila. I absolutely love wine, and pinot noir is one of my top two favorite varietals of all. (Cabernet sauvignon is the other.)
MM, if they have pinot noirs from Oregon (specifically Willamette Valley), I recommend you try those. They are more delicate than California pinots, due to the cooler Oregon climate.
Your readers may be interested in a Filipino-owned winery in San Luis Obispo, about two hours south of San Francisco. Among others, they have recommended wine and Filipino food pairings.
https://www.edencanyon.com/
https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2005/01/29/BAGVLB2CCH1.DTL
Glad to hear the new laptop is working out. Gentle reminder: backup.
I had dinner at Premium Wine over two years ago, the chefs were the brothers who run Mezzaluna (Carlo and Miguel) when they had just returned from Australia. The kitchen was best described as intimate, but they definitely wowed us with a great match of wine and food. It’s a cosy space to hold dinners, with all those bottles.
i love PWE!! it doesnt feel like a warehouse like the other wine shops so you actually feel like exploring every nook and cranny of that place. Someone gave me a Pahlmeyer from their store before. So good!
The immediate benefit of having a wine store owned and run by wine-enthusiast proprietors and their trained employees is the superior knowledge a casual shopper can obtain from them. In a tropical country such as ours, they would also accord particular attention to the critical matter of wine storage which can spell the difference between a drinkable wine and an execrable one.
Because of Australia and New Zealand’s nearness to us and their production of easily accessible (to the pocket and palate) wines, one would expect a greater proportion of wine from these regions represented in their stock.
Jessie, fantastic link. What a great story. Will be in CA soon, must drop by…
i like wine depot. they have a wide selection at warehouse prices. they have stash of really good aussie and cape of good hope wines very very reasonably priced (not more than 220 bucks! an absolute steal!). it’s located on yakal st. near the buendia firestation and another branch is on reposo which has a makeshift cafe
filet minion, yes, I have been to wine depot too. But it feels like being in a warehouse, a bit intimidating to select something unless you know wine, which I do not. It is terrific for reasonably priced wines… And I believe have a good liquor section too…
fried-neurons,
Heard and read about the fine pinot from Oregon. But where can i find Oregon wines here in Manila?
Hi MarketMan,
One of the best MAC tutors in Manila is elbert cuenca, who runs elbert’s steak room in sagittarius building along hv de la costa (near PCIB), near the corner of paseo de roxas in makati. you can call him at 339-3363 at around noontime/lunchtime and ask for an appointment. trust me, he’s thorough, patient and very helpful with regards ALL things pertinent to MAC
i love wines!! that’s all!! gracias!!
+_^
Jingle:
PWX offers Chehalem, which is precisely what fried-neurons had in mind. Pinot Noir straight from Willamette Valley of Oregon.
fried-neurons:
If you like a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, I suggest the Staglin Family Vineyard from Napa. Available in PXW, as well.
Would you guys know who helped them set up their wine cellar? Do you need consultants for that? =p