Fury of love

Scents and sensibilities highlighted the night when Nine West recently honored the “Nine Most Stylish Women” at Seventh High at The Fort in Taguig City. The event coincided with the grand launch of Love Fury, the first fragrance of Nine West, a known shoe and accessories brand.

Love Fury has floral, fruity notes with a hint of wood and amber. Its bottle has a heel-inspired cap.

The host of the night, Ferdi Salvador, introduced the nine awardees: TV host Karen Pamintuan, model Vanessa Matsunaga, TV host Bianca Valerio, model and TV host Phoemela Baranda, CEO of Belo Essentials Cristalle Henares, Lifestyle Asia social editor Cristina Gomez, president of Ejercito Inc. Jerika Ejercito, Seventh High’s The APEX Lounge OIC Kiks Yao and bossa nova singer Sitti Navarro.

Pink cocktail drinks were passed around in The Club, while DJ Abby Barata, DJ Leo Puertollano, DJ Nampu Kawamoto and Fresh Manila’s MC Tiu made sure the crowd was happy with their music.

(For inquiries and reservations, contact Seventh High at 0917-585 2164/856-1786 or e-mail [email protected].)

A special dinner at Wine Story

Count Stephan von Neipperg is a passionate vintner who successfully revived the soil in the backwater of Bordeaux, an age-old wine land in France. He descended from a long line of generals, noblemen and wine growers whose first foray in winemaking dates back to the 12th century. He is the owner of the Bordeaux wine estates Château Canon La Gaffelière, La Mondotte, Clos De L’Oratoire, Chateau Peyreau, Clos Marsalette and Château d’Aiguilhe.

His ancestors have been making wine for 800 years at the Württemberg Valley in Germany. His father, Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg, a descendant of Franconian nobility, bought the first property in Saint-Émilion in France, the Château Canon La Gaffelière, in 1971.

Recently, Wine Story’s Romy Sia and Christian Tan welcomed Count Stephan and other important guests to an intimate wine pairing dinner attended by a very select group of oenophiles and enthusiasts at their luxury wine store branch at Serendra in Taguig City.

Count Stephan raised a toast to the splendid wines and shared a few insights over dinner about his wine estates. The  exquisite dinner was  prepared by French chef Cyrille Soenen. Guests enjoyed the special dinner with vintage wines selected by the Count himself. The wines served from appetizer to dessert included Clos Marsalette Blanc 2010 and Clos Marsalette Rouge 2009; Chateau Soleil 2009 and Cle Rival De Chateau Soleil 2009; Chateau D’aguilhe 2002 and Clos De L’oratoire 1997; Canon La Gaffeliere 2000; La Mondotte 2001 and Chateau Guiraud 1998.

Count Stephan can be credited for the transformation of the St.Emilion estates after taking control of it in the 1980s. To fully understand the terroir, he studied how the owners before him made wine in the area and studied agronomy. He also discovered methods through the books lying around in the chateau. He has also been the vice president of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux since 1998 and the Jurat de Saint-Emilion since 1987.

Such interesting stories were told over dinner and guests had a truly memorable night.

(Wine Story branches are located at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Shaw Boulevard; Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City; and One Rockwell West, Makati City.)

Family matters

It is important to celebrate the family every day.

Committed to promote positive Filipino values and social responsibility, Jollibee Foods Corp. launched the 2nd Jollibee Family Values Awards (JFVA). The annual program aims to recognize model Filipino families whose strong ties and admirable qualities serve as an inspiration to their communities.

To formally launch this year’s search for the five exemplary families, Jollibee hosted a roundtable discussion at the Eastwood Richmonde Hotel with the topic “The Filipino Family in the Digital Age.” Family welfare advocates who will also be joining the 2012 board of judges sat as panelists: lawyer Adel Tamano, entrepreneur and proud mom Audrey Tan-Zubiri, marriage and family counselor Maribel Sison-Dionisio and Jollibee VP for marketing Albert Cuadrante. They discussed the role of social media, instant messaging, mobile phones, and the Internet in shaping the values of the family and shared insights on how these tools can be used to strengthen family ties.

Technology expert Jerry Liao of Infochat said, “Times are changing, and as parents, we should be open to change. We, too, should adapt our parenting to these changes. We should set guidelines instead of imposing rules, replace control with supervision, and be constantly updated.” Liao advised parents to monitor instead of prevent kids from accessing the Internet because dependence on technology is inevitable and necessary. According to Liao, Filipinos upload the most number of videos on Youtube and share the most photos on social networking sites like Facebook.

For Audrey Tan-Zubiri, the use of technology, especially for communication, is necessary but should be used in moderation. She noted, “Human interaction is still more important. My husband and I use cellphones and Skype for urgent matters but we try to reserve our more personal thoughts for actual interactions.”

Marriage counselor Maribel Sison-Dionisio encouraged parents to spend more time with their kids to prevent them from getting too hooked on gadgets and the Internet. She said, “Technology provides instant gratification, which eventually affects our children’s attention span. For kids three years old and below, it is advisable not to expose them to videos and too much technology. Instead, encourage them to interact with real playmates, give them books, toys, and music. Know their interest so that they won’t easily turn to technology for a quick fix.”

Completing this year’s board of judges are Grace Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Foundation president, who will sit as the chairman of the board of judges, Father Allan Abuan of the Center for Family Ministries, DSWD Undersecretary Alicia Bala, academician and columnist Dr. Queena Lee-Chua and Jollibee VP for human resources Theresa Jotie.

Jollibee vice president Albert Cuadrante said, “Through the Jollibee Family Values Awards, we aspire to further strengthen the foundations of the family by recognizing those who serve as inspiration to others through their joy, unity, optimism and generosity. More than being inspired by these notable families, we hope more people will be motivated to transform this inspiration into positive behaviors that will compel them to also be models in the community.”

This year, the five winning families will each receive a cash prize of P100,000, a trophy designed by brass sculptor Michael Cacnio, roundtrip airfare tickets to any local destination from Airphil Express, whole-day passes to Manila Ocean Park and P10,000 worth of Jollibee gift certificates.