A grand wine-pairing dinner at Nobu

Domaines Baron de Rothschild, Nobu and Artisan Cellars and Fine Foods presented a wine-pairing dinner at the newly opened Nobu Restaurant at the City of Dreams in Parañaque City. The dinner gathered chefs and foodies from all over the country for a seven-course dinner in the famed Japanese restaurant.

After indulging on a few glasses of wine and some pass-around food, over a hundred guests were led to the main dining room to partake of a mixed seafood ceviche paired with Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc 2013. It was immediately followed by salmon tartare with Aussières Blanc Chardonnay 2012.

Sashimi salad paired with Legende Pauillac 2011 came before the fourth course: Chilean seabass with balsamic teriyaki served with Los Vascos Grande Reserve 2011. The Grande Reserve is a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and the product of traditional winemaking methods. This wine is characterized by persistent and complex bouquet: black cherry and black currant (from the Cabernet), strawberry (Malbec), raspberry (Syrah) and plum, with notes of laurel leaves and black pepper (Carmenère).

I was getting quite full at this point but I wasn’t quite sure if it was because of the food or the generous pouring of the excellent wines. I still gave in to a serving of short ribs with eringi (a kind of mushroom) salad paired with BlasonD’Aussières Corbieres 2011 and Château d’Aussières 2010. Though looking very delicious, I had to skip the sixth course of lamb with Anticucho Miso (a Nobu Matushisa original miso, which I love) accompanied by the Château d’Aussières 2010.  Dessert was a Honey Panna Cotta with Yuzu Pound Cake.

It certainly was a very heavy dinner but enjoying this with great wine amongst the company of chefs and fellow foodies made the night a very memorable one.

Château d’Aussières has been making wine since the Roman era. In the year 92, the edict of the Domitius Emperor put a halt to this by requiring the massive uprooting of vineyards in order to protect Roman production. The prosperity of the Languedoc’s wine-growing activity disappeared with the collapse of the Roman Empire and the ensuing battles among Visigoths, Franks and Arabs over the territory.  In 1790, when all the holdings of the Church were confiscated, Aussières was bought at auction by Count Daru, minister and administrator of the Private Estates of Napoleon Bonaparte. Winemaking was re-established with the planting of 80 hectares of vines.

Acquired in 1999 by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), the 550-hectare estate has undergone a vast rehabilitation program. Some 167 hectares of vines have been replanted with carefully selected traditional Languedoc grape varieties: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan, complemented by Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay. The estate buildings were restored at the same time and a new winery installed in the old cellars, in the heart of the vineyard. State-of-the-art equipment and technology are seamlessly married to time-tested methods in the production of the wine.

Photos by Pepper Teehankee on a Canon PowerShot S120 Suspended States

Manifesto Gallerie, owned by architect and artist Carlo Calma, is the newest art gallery in Bonifacio Global City. The gallery also features a lot of Calma’s original works and art of many local and international artists like Leeroy New and Jay Yao.

The gallery opened its new exhibit entitled Suspended States that features works from Portland-based artist Ryan LaBar and French multimedia artist Henri Lamy.

LaBar featured 18 unique installation works, highlighting a lot of intricate abstract pieces made of clay and ceramics. Lamy made the exhibit more interesting and energetic by doing a live art. He did a capoeira painting cage performance. He also showcased his paintings inspired by the people and culture of the Philippines.

(Suspended States runs until March 28. Manifesto Gallerie is located at 12/F Clipp Center, 39th Street cor. 11th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.)

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)