Cheers, Nederburg!

Success is best celebrated with food and wine.

Nederburg, after bagging the Winery of the Year award in the Platter South African Wine Guide, continues to be South Africa’s most awarded winery. The company, which was founded in 1791, takes pride as five of its wines across the multi-tiered range earned five-star ratings in the 2011 edition.

To celebrate its success, Nederburg hosted an intimate wine dinner at the Red restaurant of the Makati Shangri-La Manila. Guests indulged on canapes of foie gras in vanilla jelly, sea urchin and crab royale and prosciutto roll with Spinosi pesto, which were complemented by Nederburg Winemaster Sauvignon Blanc (vintage 2011). Cured ocean trout, goat cheese crumbs and green and white asparagus were paired with Manor House Sauvignon Blanc (vintage 2011). Butter -poached lobster, celery puree, soy bean and bottarga di muggine were served with Ingenuity White (vintage 2009). Roasted venison loin, parsnip mash, braised red cabbage, wild berries and cherry jus were highlighted by Winemaster Pinotage (vintage 2010). Grilled sirloin “tagliata,” fricassee of sweetbread and onion and zucchini tart were paired with Ingenuity Red (vintage 2007). Papaya flan, cashew nut sable britton and yoghurt quenelle completed the meal with Nederburg Noble Late Harvest (vintage 2010).

Nederburg winemaker Wim Truter shared vital wine information and tasting notes. Makati Shangri-La head sommelier and director of beverage Daniel Blais explained to the guests the mechanics for the wine and food pairing.

A hub for wellness

It was a moment devoted to “nutrition for optimal wellness.”

Watsons recently launched Buy Generics and Save program as part of its massive health campaign. At a media event held at the Stock Market at Bonifacio Global City’s High Street, the brand also unveiled an extensive range of health supplements from NOW (Nutrition for Optimal Wellness) Foods, the leading health supplements brand in the US.

Part of this generics campaign is to make it easier for customers to look for the generic counterpart of their branded medicines. Recently, Watsons brought all its generic offers in a special, highly visible Buy Generics counter inside the pharmacy. The new health section will carry the Watsons Compliance Packs (for chronic and acute diseases), Health Packs (for common ailments like headache, stomach pains, allergy, etc.) and a wide range of generic products only from trusted manufacturers like Unilab, Ritemed, United Home and Pharex.

NOW Foods, which was founded in 1968 by Elwood Richard, provides quality natural products that are especially formulated to promote optimum health. For the past 40 years, its mission has been to offer health food and nutritional supplements of high quality. As part of its mission to help people achieve holistic well-being, NOW Foods created the NOW Ambassador Program. One of the featured ambassadors in the country is vegetarian model Isabel Roces, whose passion for fitness is emulated by those who live a healthy lifestyle. Other ambassadors are Melanie Siy Tan, a full-time mother and yoga instructor; Erwan Heussaff, a foodie and health buff; and DJ and TV host Sam YG.

(To know more about Buy Generics and NOW Foods, visit Watsons stores or log on to www.watsons.com.ph.)

A touch of Spain in every space

The 700-square-meter showroom of Spain’s Porcelanosa Grupo at the Infinity Tower at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City is resplendent with state-of-the-art design products. The design house now has 400 showrooms in over 100 countries worldwide.

Porcelanosa Grupo chairman Silvestre Segarra led the opening of the showroom. He excitedly said: “At last, we have opened in Manila! This new showroom is a product of everyone’s hard work and sacrifices and it truly represents technology, quality and design.”

Casa Europa Inc. president Jay Ong said, “We are very glad to have been chosen as the Philippine partner of Porcelanosa. We truly believe that our market is ready for its products.” 

A toast was given together with Spanish Ambassador Jorge Domecq and his wife Rosa, and Porcelanosa Grupo’s partners in the Philippines -— VG Martinez, philSTAR.com president and CEO Kevin Belmonte, Rally Martinez, Menardo Jimenez, Joseph Tan and Joel Jimenez.

Guests viewed displays, which included especially selected fixtures that can definitely spruce up a space, as they enjoyed wine selections from Barcino, jamon serrano and cheeses from Terry’s and an assortment of Spanish dishes by Kai.