Wine Dinners: Best deal in town
At this period of financial crises and uncertainties, getting a great deal is vital to us to keep up with the good life we long for. This may come in great discounts on a new tablet device or a recently outdated smart phone, free chicken wings for a family sized pizza, 50 percent off on second polo shirt of the same design purchased, and so much more creative or straight forward promo offers in the ultra competitive consumer market buoyed by challenging times! In the local wine industry, this great deal comes in the most surprising form – a Wine Dinner.
Wine Dinner as a concept
Wine Dinners thrive on food and wine pairing. The concept is premised on wines being best enjoyed with food. In most cases, a wine producer uses the Wine Dinner to pair different tiers of their wines with different courses, showcasing their most serious wine with the main course. To add credence to the dinner, a winemaker or winery representative would normally be present during the Wine Dinner to do a small talk or sales pitch on their wines. In the early days of Wine Dinners, over 12 years ago, when I was still living abroad within the Asian region, I recalled that Wine Dinners were quite rare and normally done in luxury hotels only - very much like a novelty. Back then, a winery representative would definitely be present, and be very involved on the menu creation. And during the Wine Dinner itself, the chef of the hotel, and co-conspirator of the menu would also be present, to give talk and discuss rationality behind the menu selection for food and wine pairing. It was really considered a gastronomic fare, and tickets and reservations to the Wine Dinners were being promoted very early, even months ahead. Price of attendance was also somehow higher. Now Wine Dinners are a byword in the hotel industry, and Metro Manila is no different! The difference however is that more Wine Dinners of smaller scale, like 30 to 50 people are happening, as against previous ones of larger customer base of 80 to 100 people. And hotels now already calendar these Wine Dinners into their annual banquet budget.
Wine sponsorship is the key
Everyone in the F&B side will flat out tell you that Wine Dinners are not a money-making source. Unless we are talking of Wine Dinners that involve intrinsic high valued French Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux wines, or Romanee Conti wines. Other than those chosen few, even with such famed Napa wines like Robert Mondavi and Stags Leap, wines are still 100 percent sponsored by the wineries when Wine Dinners of their wines are staged in the country, and probably in the region. The reason is obvious - it is about viability. For example, a Wine Dinner at a luxury hotel featuring four courses, with a wagu beef or rack of imported lamb as the main course could easily fetch P2,500 to P3,000 per head on food cost alone. This is food cost charged by the hotel – which is close parity to what people would normally spend for fine dining. Main entrée is already easily P1,500++. So if we are to add wine cost, with very respectable wines at P1,000/bottle and above range, easily P1,000/head can be added to the menu cost. And at P4,000++, the Wine Dinners become prohibitive! Hotels are actually the strategic and practical conduit for wine importers only because there is more commercial volume in hotels than any single restaurant, and hotels are extremely important to any wineries for their bragging rights.
Pairing may not be the Best
As of late, with several Wine Dinners I attended both here and abroad, I can truly say that food and wine pairings are not as good as before. I blame it more on preparation time, rather than chef’s negligence. Note that Wine Dinners are meant to feature the wines, not necessary the food or the brilliance of the chef. Most of the time nowadays, chefs pull off menus without much consideration on the featured wines, and thus in effect ends up trivializing both the wine as well as the food. In reality, tweaking a menu, whether changing the type of tomato from the tartier profile to a sweeter one, or adding more white pepper over black pepper, or simply taking the aesthetic sauce ornaments off the dish - all can make a huge taste difference. There should be actual food and wine trial tasting before menu finalization. As my valuable CIA (Culinary Institute of America) food and wine pairing seminar over a decade ago inculcated to me, every small condiment can affect taste on both food and wine from the very subtle to more pronounced outcomes.
The marketing sense of Wine Dinner
To the importers, it is an excuse to showcase their wines to the right clientele, and please (as well as create goodwill with) the hotel that is hosting the event. Though, importers do run the risk of buying all the unsold seats to the dinner. To the wineries, it is almost an impossible proposal to reject. Importers will argue that the free goods or sponsored wines, will get them (the wineries) the crucial opportunity to get into the hotel’s winelist. And to the hotels, which should be partially subsidizing the menu, it is a wonderful forum to promote their chef, get new clientele to come visit their restaurant outlets and of course get extra revenues. Several marketing arguments can be established on the benefits weighed against cost, but ultimately without a doubt, it is to the end consumers, that this Wine Dinner is a `sure win’ proposition.
Still best deal for gourmands
Whether the food and wine pairing turns out perfect or is not very good, Wine Dinners at the very least can assure that both the menu and the wines on its own are quite decent, and the dining experience is over and above the money spent on it! Many wine drinkers are unaware of these events as I unfortunately only see the same people attending Wine Dinners when in fact many wine lovers are out there just waiting for the chance to be involved with events like this. So my advice to all wine lovers and foodies, when you receive a call, email or text on a Wine Dinner next time, Go! The food will surely be good – hotel guaranteed quality, and the wines should be taste worthy and free. Plus you get to learn about wines and sit in company of fellow wine and food lovers alike. There is no better deal in town! So call your favorite wine importers and ask of upcoming Wine Dinners and sign up!
A case in point is the upcoming Marques de Murrieta Wine Dinner at the Old Manila in the Peninsula this Thursday, October 27, 2011. For P3,000 net, inclusive of a four-course meal, this amount will feature Spain’s renowned Murrieta’s top end wines, including the iconic Castillo Ygay, and ultra premium Dalmau. As a bonus, Murrieta will also serve a heritage release series wine, the 20-year old Castillo Ygay 1991 magnum. And Ketil Groenli, export director of Marques de Murrieta will fly in just to mingle with the diners! The wines alone are worth more than the Wine Dinner price. This may go down as one of biggest bargains of all time – seriously! Hurry and find out if slots are still available. Contact Philippine Wine Merchants at telephone numbers (02)831-7951 and (02)853-1698 or text Miles at 0916-643-9937.