HOSTS Chilean Ambassador Alvaro Domingo Jara Bucarey (right) and Francesco Montenegro with a bottle of Allan Banford —Margaux Salcedo
I will admit that Chilean wines are not top of mind for me. But maybe that mindset must change!
Last week, we got to try a bottle from the Signature Wine Series of a Chilean label called Allan Banford and it was easy to appreciate. This one was called Jupiter and while it may not fly you to the moon, it can certainly make you play among the stars!
So if you want to see what spring is like on Jupiter—as the lyric goes—try this Chilean wine! It is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with 10 percent Cabernet Franc and 5 percent Petit Verdot, resulting in a full-bodied wine, but somehow manages to still be pleasant and not too overbearing.
It’s the perfect wine to have in your hand while mingling with new faces. I remember my good friend Francis Jardeleza telling me that you can tell a good whiskey if you don’t have a hangover the next day. I assume it’s the same for wines and with this one, I vividly remember every second at the residence of His Excellency Alvaro Domingo Jara Bucarey, Ambassador of the Republic of Chile for the Philippine launch of this wine.
From Monaco consul Fortune Ledesma beaming with beauty by the door, to artist Marivic Rufino sharing that her works are now on exhibit at the Conrad, to Helen Hall of the Asian Development Bank giving her congratulations on the Philippines’ compliance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), to Msgr. Alessio Deriu of the Apostolic Nunciature just being his charming blessed self, to Ambassador Bucarey giving a quick history lesson on how Chile became an exporter of wines, to wine connoisseur Francesco Montenegro explaining why this wine needed a touch of Petit Verdot, to wine distributor Jojo Vega sharing that The Bevvy on Pasong Tamo Ext. now has a full kitchen and accepts bookings for private dining … this Jupiter wine must have ginseng because I remember everything!
Exclusive wine collection named after British multidisciplinary artist Allan Banford — Contributed photo
What was not discussed was why this wine is named Allan Banford. I had to find out that out for myself. Curious about who this fellow is, I discovered upon Googling that he is not even Chilean!
Apparently, he is a British multidisciplinary artist. This wine series is his “liquid art collection” and was actually launched several years ago. Banford explained that the goal is to bring “a unique combination of wines from each corner of the world featuring the concept of constant creative evolution, transformed into liquid art.” Banford’s artwork—an abstract painting entitled Jupiter Flat—is on the label of the bottle.
So Banford is the inspiration for the wine but production is thanks to winemaker Sergio Correa Undurraga and Chilean wine connoisseur Francisco Montenegro, who was personally at the Philippine launch. Mr. Montenegro explained that the grapes for this wine had been harvested by hand, with each berry carefully selected for uniformity, then aged in American and French barrels. There are only 1,000 bottles of this wine produced, so we are lucky that some of these bottles made it to the Philippines!
This wine was produced in the wine-growing region called the Colchagua Valley, considered the Napa Valley of Chile. It is two hours south of the capital city of Santiago and has an amazing climate and soil for growing grapes because it is nestled between Chile’s cool Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. If you are a wine lover, add Chile to your bucket list and plan a trip soon! Until I get to Colchagua, I will just appreciate these bottles that are thankfully available at The Bevvy!
Here’s to liquid art! Chilean wine cheers!
The Bevvy. UPRC III Building, 2289 Chino Roces Extension, Makati City. Contact 85563312. Visit donrevy.com.