Vom Fass: Vinegars, wines and spirits, and oil things nice and healthy

It’s here! Opening just late last year, Vom Fass is a charming, heartwarming one-stop store for premium artisanal oils, vinegars, wines and spirits, and even fruit preserves. A German franchise, it sources its products from Germany and other European countries (except perhaps for the calamansi and mango vinegar that are sourced locally).

Walk into the Vom Fass store at the lower ground level of Shangri-La Plaza’s new east wing and you’re at once handed a small spoon for you to try any (or all) of the products as you sift the shelves. That means all 25 kinds of oil, 25 kinds of vinegar, and an intoxicating selection of whiskys, liqueurs, and wines, even pastas and crostinis (where you can use the oils/vinegars for).

“Everything in the store is free to taste,” says Marie Sambar, 24, who owns and runs Vom Fass with equally hardworking siblings Mark, 32; Anderson, 30, and Alex, 25.

Fast fact about the Vom Fass Philippine franchise: “My father (Venancio Sambar) was traveling in Singapore when he saw this store and he tried the whisky first  and then stayed on to try the other products.”

It must have been love at first sip for Venancio Sambar that he decided to bring the store to the Philippines.

Oil right

At Vom Fass, you’re instantly drawn to the many different nut and seed oils on the shelves. There are the oils for cooking/baking, and for adding flavor to food.

I once had french fries drizzled with truffle oil at the Cake Club by Diamond Hotel on Bonifacio High Street and they were oil-so-good!

“You can use maletti balsamic vinegar for cooking adobo,” Marie shares a delicious tip. “My sister-in-law likes to use fig chili cream for her lechon kawali (to cut the grease of the lechon).

“We have the most flavorful vinegars/oils,” asserts Andy Sambar. “Like the pomegranate and the maletti, the real deal in balsamic vinegar from Italy, which you’ve probably seen on the market and in the restaurants. You can see the thickness, color, consistency — something of this kind is not readily available. This vinegar matches well with everything.”

As you gingerly comb the shelves, you’ll be delighted to discover the store’s wide range of offerings:

• The balsamic vinegars produced from fruits like raspberry, quince, apple, pomegranate, mango, calamansi.

• The balsamic stars or the fine balsamic vinegars taken to the next sensuous level.

• Aceto Balsamico di Modena, which has been produced for over 900 years according to secret recipes in the region surrounding Northern Italy.

• Premium olive oils from various regions.

• Nut oils for nutrition, body care, and healing, including the very popular argan oil from the Moroccan argan tree, which is said to be good not only for food but also for the hair and skin.

• Seed oils that are infused with the healthy vital powers of nature (such as pumpkin, sunflower, grape, sesame, thistle). Take a teaspoon of seed oil a day, pure or added to food, for good health.

• Wellness oils such as flax oil that acts like a laxative and the W-Omega 3-6-9 Power Mix, an exclusive Vom Fass recipe and a powerhouse of eight different pure vegetable oils (hemp seed oil, hazelnut oil, linseed oil, borage oil, cedar nut oil, grape seed oil, rapeseed oil, and wheat germ oil).

• Herb and spice oils from freshly harvested herbs, fruits, roots, and mushroom (such as basil oil, lemon oil, chili oil, garlic oil, and white truffle oil).

A-OK: Wines from OAK Casks

You catch a whiff of smoky oak as you linger amid the small barrels carrying the store’s many different wines, of which one of the bestsellers is the single malt whisky from Scotland, which is made at a single distillery as opposed to blended whisky. And of course, there’s Reisling, Germany’s greatest white grape wine, which only costs from P600 plus to P800 plus at Vom Fass. Then there are Italy’s superb grappas — smooth, mild, and incredibly fruity, they’re a perfect digestif  to cap a festive meal.

Vom Fass also carries the finest liqueur specialties from its manufactory or selected suppliers as well as quality spirits from all over the world.

No-fuss vom fass experience

Vom fass are German words that mean “from the cask”.  You can sample any (or all) of the store’s wine offerings poured fresh from these casks. Being able to sample these exquisite wines straight from the cask was the vision of Vom Fass founder Johannes Kiderlen who conceptualized the brand and launched it in 1994 in Regensburg, Germany. Johannes recognized the need for a more personalized approach to selling artisanal products — which is the exact same signature experience you will get at any Vom Fass store today. Today, Johannes, also known as the wine guy, is the biggest wine manufacturer in Germany.

Incidentally, Johannes, a certified health buff, is coming over in April to share nuggets of nutrition wisdom about the products he sells.

Should you have any questions about any of the products at Vom Fass, the staff is highly trained to help you out. Once you’ve made your choice (or choices), you can go ahead and choose the kind and size of bottle you want, and they will fill it up for you. Like if you can only afford a 40ml truffle oil, they will fill it up to that much.  And how much is that? “We do the calculating and that will cost you P152,” Marie mentally computes. “Our 100ml pomegranate balsamic vinegar is only around P200, which drastically reduces the price by around P90.  We get all these products in bulk so we can sell them at not-so-expensive prices.”

Andy Sambar points out that Vom Fass is all about enjoying life through the store experience and fantastic products.  He believes that Filipinos are a prime example of people who live life to the full and are open to trying out new ingredients and expanding their palates.

I’m sure it won’t be hard for Vom Fass to become a fast favorite among Pinoys.

* * *

Vom Fass is at the lower ground level of Shangri-La Plaza’s east wing, with telephone number 470-5541 or log on to www.vomfass.com for more information.