By Elin McCoy, Bloomberg

YOU’RE standing in a wine shop, facing long shelves displaying hundreds of wines and trying to decide what to buy. Do you grab the bottle whose hip, clever label grabs you? If you’re like just about everyone, the answer is yes.

Face it: You know that’s not necessarily the way to get the best wine.

A wild label may be way more entertaining than the actual wine inside — overcompensating for it, even. And the liquid lurking behind an ugly label may be a fabulous red or white.

Of course, my idea of a terrible label may not coincide with yours. I assume those featuring cute animals, colorful trucks, little black dresses, or cheesy photographs of women’s legs are fronting for unsophisticated, easy drinking, generic plonk. Mostly, they are.

High octane Zinfandels are especially prone to shudder-inducing labels. Take Zombie Zin, which sports an image of a dark skull topped with spikes of red hair that would be perfect to kick-start a Hell’s Angels party. Or consider cheapie Plungerhead Old Vine zin with a Monty Python-esque label that must seem weirdly humorous to some.

A surprising number of great wines have stodgy, traditional labels. No one would give a design award to pricey Ch‰teau Lafite Rothschild’s low-key packaging, which features a dull 19^th century engraving of the ch‰teau.

Still, for decades, wine labels everywhere aped European models: Bordeaux’s stately drawings of ch‰teaux, Burgundy’s simple lines of text, Italy’s crests and shields, Germany’s overstuffed landscapes.

Now there’s an effort to get arty, as if a work by a well-known artist is a tip-off to a pricey, serious-quality wine. Ch‰teau Mouton Rothschild was the first to commission a different artist each year to dash off something for the label, but the artist’s fame doesn‘t necessarily match vintage quality. A Picasso graces 1973, a notoriously bad year.

The latest idea is the whole-bottle design approach of the VIK winery in Chile for its recently released plush red, La Piu Belle. The bottle is encased in a sleeve of art created to interpret the wine’s name.

The underlying aesthetic of label images is not just “notice me”; it also is supposed to be a cue to the style, quality level, and yes, the cost of the wine inside.

At the Vinexpo wine and spirits trade fair in Bordeaux last month, I encountered some surprising labels, from a bottle of Provence rosé designed by a tattoo artist to an expensive champagne in a shiny, black, carbon-fiber bottle that took six days to create and looks luxurious in an ice bucket. In both cases, the package is better than the wine.

Here are six delicious wines that come in bottles with awful labels. No problem: Just serve them in decanters.

¥ 2012 Melka Wines CJ ($75): Philippe Melka is one of Napa’s top wine making consultants (Dana Estates, Gandona, Seavey, and 20 additional wineries). This deep, sumptuous cab blend is one he makes at his own estate, and it’s bursting with generous, dark fruit. But the wine maker’s eyes creepily staring out from the label seem to say, “Who are you to judge my wine?”

¥ 2014 Prisoner Wine Company Blindfold ($32): Last year giant wine company Constellation Brands bought Prisoner’s five labels for a reported $285 million. This one is a satiny white blend, mostly chardonnay and viognier, with honeysuckle aromas and fruit salad flavors. The lush taste is the complete opposite of the pain-and-suffering label, with a Goya-esque image of a blindfolded prisoner tied to a stake. How one can think positive thoughts about the contents after looking at it, I have no idea.

¥ 2014 Component Cabernet Franc ($145): Former super-somm Michael Hill Kennedy II, who managed wine programs for the Ritz Carlton restaurants in the Cayman Islands, founded this company in Napa in 2016. Most top reds in Napa are blends; Kennedy is a boutique negociant sourcing individual components of posh, cult brands and bottling them as 100% varietals. This one is smooth, scented, and seamless. But you’d never know it from the single smudge-dot label, which looks like a color test pattern for a malfunctioning computer printer.

¥ 2014 Ken Wright Cellars Savoya Vineyard Pinot Noir ($62.50): Wright is an Oregon pinot master, and this single vineyard bottling is one of his best: floral, spicy, with notes of cranberry, pomegranate, and leather. The woeful, depressing scene on the label shows winter pruning on the dark days of winter, but it makes me think of starving farmers during the Irish potato famine. Sad.

¥ 2015 Gut Oggau Timotheus ($60): This winery in Austria’s Burgenland, near the Hungarian border, makes elegant, lively, natural wines from biodynamically grown grapes. Try not to be turned off by the portrait on this white blend of grŸner veltliner and chardonnay, which to me resembles an aging portly sales manager. The Oggau estate has invented a fictitious family to express the taste personalities of its wines, assigning each wine a face, name, and story. Doesn’t work for me.

¥ 2015 Some Young Punks “Monsters Monsters Attack!” Riesling ($25): The contrast between this round, fragrant, spicy Australian riesling from the renowned Clare Valley and the kitschy, “scary” label is a total disconnect for me. The wine is far-higher quality than I would have guessed from the image, even if it has a zany hipster appeal. Don’t serve it by candlelight on a first date.

Book
What Kids Should Know
About Filipino Food
By Felice Prudente Sta. Maria
Illustrated by Mika Bacani
Adarna House, 63 pages

FOR MANY A harassed parent, it is so much easier to just rely on fastfood and prepackaged imported snacks when confronted with a picky eater. This convenience makes it a lot easier for the layers and nuances of traditional Filipino cuisine to be forgotten in kitchens that are frequently left unused as more families turn to takeout.

Luckily, The Mama Sita Foundation, an arm of Mama Sita’s Holding Company, Inc., commissioned a book last year called What Kids Should Know About Filipino Food, released in a new edition earlier this year.

The book hits two birds with one stone: the easy language used by food historian Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, along with interesting and accessible illustrations by Mika Bacani makes the rich, sometimes complicated web of Philippine food culture more palatable to children (and adults who might be approaching Filipino food later in life), thus making for an entertaining and mentally nourishing reading experience, as well as whetting the appetite.

The book begins as most Filipino meals do: with rice, where the parts of the omnipresent grain and methods for its cooking and consumption are explained. (A child should know how rice grain is turned into kakanin dough.) As an adult, I was quite surprised to read about some legends surrounding the rice grain, such as the Mandaya people’s belief that each grain had a soul, which meant that the planter cared for and respected each plant.

The book then moves on to easier concepts like Filipino favorites such as coconuts, mangoes, and bananas, carefully explaining each variety and each term, from what buko really is, as opposed to niyog (buko is a younger fruit), to the different shapes and sizes of each banana. Another useful guide is the illustration of fish eaten around the country, with English names, just perfect for following recipes from foreign cookbooks: never be confused again when explaining galunggong to foreign friends (that’s scad for you).

While the book explores Filipino food, it also explains the parts and processes in a traditional Filipino kitchen: for example, a pambilo is a rolling pin, and llaneras are both molds and baking pans. Examples of methods such as frying, steaming, and boiling are included here, and tiny bits of trivia are squeezed in short sidebars (such as information on the carved toothpicks and flamboyant pastillas wrappers still brought out at fiestas).

The latter sections also contain recipes straight from Mama Sita’s diary, as well as a food map showing the various regional cuisines of the Philippines: an excellent guide to those who can barely fathom the variety of Philippine culture (sometimes, these aren’t just children).

“We thought that this centennial edition would be a fitting tribute to Mama Sita, who in her lifetime, also kept a cooking journal, and was very close to her grandchildren. She would often tell stories of how it was like when she was growing up. And she was always eager to learn from the people she would meet. Even in her old age, she was always open to new ideas, new experiences,” said Cecille Nepomuceno-Gamad, information officer over at Mama Sita’s in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

Remember, Mama Sita was a real person. She was one of the daughters of Aristocrat founder Engracia Reyes, before herself starting her own food empire specializing in sauces and condiments.

“Our homegrown recipes for many years have allowed countless people, whether in the middle of a hectic week or thriving in the farthest places on earth, to prepare their Filipino comfort food and cure their homesickness,” said Ms. Gacad. “We’ve received random heartwarming feedback from people saying how they survived being away from home, or being a new mother/cook because of our products. Many of the second generation Filipinos, the children of the diaspora, children raised by Filipina caregivers, grew up with nurturing meals prepared with our sauces. Making way for this cooking and sharing of Filipino food anywhere in the world is Mama Sita’s contribution to the preservation of Filipino food culture.”

She also discusses the doubts and worries we had mentioned above. “Young people today are continuing to write our history and we wish to bridge any cultural gap, pass on to them our heritage. The book is a good way to connect with the young minds. Before, when Mama Sita traveled abroad, she worried that her grandchildren might grow up not knowing Filipino food. That inspired her advocacy to promote Filipino food and make it accessible anywhere in the world. Everywhere she went, she cooked Filipino food for friends and other people. Our mission is to continue her advocacy in order to keep culinary heritage alive and relevant to the young people.” — Joseph L. Garcia

STROLL through any supermarket’s canned goods section and the familiar logo of Jolly will be there to greet you. Jolly is a brand by the Fly Ace Corp., which includes under its umbrella Doña Elena (a line of Mediterranean products such as olive oil) and Good Life, a brand specializing in pan-Asian products especially Chinese-style noodles. The company also distributes various international brands in the country, such as Mott’s, Welch’s, and wine brand Concha y Toro. According to its Web site, Fly Ace has 36 brands under its belt. On July 11, Jolly, its first brand, and proudly homegrown, celebrated its 20^th anniversary with a grand dinner in Solaire’s Grand Ballroom.

At the event, Fly Ace President Lucio Cochanco, Jr., told guests about the beginnings of the company, the roots of which were established by his parents, Lucio Sr. and Ederlina Cochanco. They sold products such as rice and oil in a store in Binondo called Jolly General Merchandise. The younger Cochanco and his siblings took over in the 1980s. The operation expanded into Fly Ace Corp. in 1993, and in 1997, the company launched its first brand — Jolly — into the market, specializing in canned vegetables and fruits, a boon to home cooks everywhere fretting about where to get canned corn and mushrooms at affordable prices.

The name Jolly was coined from the nicknames of the Cochanco siblings (Lucio Jr., was known as Jun, while his brothers, Larry and Louie, gave their initials as well). Mr. Cochanco also has two sisters, Ellen and Elliz, who are very active in the company as well.

“Our parents taught us the values of integrity, discipline, and to have the entrepreneurial spirit in doing our business. This is the backbone of how we manage our brands and Fly Ace Corp.,” said Mr. Cochanco in a speech. “We only had one goal,” he said about introducing Jolly back in 1997 — “To offer a quality brand, at a reasonable price, make it accessible, in all the retail and food service channels.”

The company took the opportunity as well to introduce its new brand ambassador, noontime TV star Maine Mendoza (herself a Hotel and Restaurant Management graduate) who appeared on stage concealing her face with a pot lid. Asked if she consumed Jolly products herself, she said, “Yes. Sobrang okay niya kasi. Favorite ko talaga mushrooms. I use mushrooms for merienda — I eat it — lalo na kapag wala na akong work, ’pag gutom (It really agrees with me. Mushrooms are my favorite. I use mushrooms in my snacks… especially when I’m no longer working, when I’m hungry).”

While Jolly’s top products include canned mushrooms and corn (not to mention its dairy arm, Jolly Cow), it also has other canned vegetables such as peas, black beans, asparagus, straw mushrooms, water chestnuts, red pimientos, chickpeas, and tomato paste. The company also has a range of cooking oils, spreads, and canned fruits (peaches, lychees, oranges, and fruit cocktail). “We get our products from different sources,” said Abigail Ng-Reyes, assistant vice-president for marketing for Fly Ace Corp. She mentioned Thailand and Europe as sources, and most of the goods arrive in the country already canned (the products are canned right after they’re harvested according to a video shown at the event).

While Jolly has certainly proven the diversity of its product range, there’s a multitude of food out there just waiting to be soaked in brine or syrup and then canned. “That’s all in the pipeline. We want to make sure that we continue to innovate, but at the same time, provide new options that have better value… our goal is really to make it accessible and affordable to a wider set of [consumers],” she said. By this she means that in the coming quarter, the company is releasing a line of vegetables preserved in pouches (pouches being a cheaper alternative to metal cans).

The products are distributed nationwide, and when asked if they plan to export their products with the loosening of trade in the region, Ms. Ng-Reyes said: “I think right now, the immediate plan is really to concentrate and focus on the Philippine business and continue to grow penetration of Jolly into more households.”

In a way, Jolly has changed the local cooking scene in the country by making products like imported mushrooms and asparagus affordable and more readily available through more channels. “We would like to think that because of the products that we have put in the market, we were able to make cooking easier,” said Ms. Ng-Reyes.

“You don’t have easy access to these vegetables. Example: asparagus. It’s not very easy to access asparagus, but because we can it fresh from harvest, we make accessible for consumers to use.” — Joseph L. Garcia

SAINT-MANDRIER-SUR-MER, FRANCE — Divers scavenging in shipwrecks slumbering at the bottom of the North Sea since World War II were disappointed not to find dazzling troves of gold and jewels.

As consolation, not only did they turn up decades-old wine, but the wine came with a bonus: it was better than equivalent vintages selling for top dollar in luxury caves.

Among the latest to test the benefits of a deep soak are Bandol wine makers in southern France who teamed up with a dive school for a year-long experiment.

Choosing a tranquil section of a marine park off the Riviera, they submerged 120 bottles of Bandol wine to a depth of 40 meters (130 feet), leaving them there for a year.

Another 120 bottles were kept in a cellar for comparison purposes.

“It’s important not just to live long but to live well,” said Guillaume Tari, head of the regional wine association, Vins de Bandol.

Submersion in deep waters “preserves the acidity because there’s not much light, there’s absolutely no air, it’s relatively cool and the temperature is constant,” Tari said.

The underwater conditions — total darkness and constant temperature — are thought to initially accelerate the ageing process, adding complexity to the wine.

Over longer periods, the ageing process slows or stops altogether, making underwater storage excellent for conservation and explaining why shipwreck wine emerges so well.

Master sommelier Gisele Marguin took part in a blind tasting, comparing the underwater Bandols with the same wines stored in a traditional cave.

The underwater Bandol had “a nice texture in the mouth, a good structure, and notes of very ripe dark fruit… even chocolatey,” she said.

However its “secondary aromas are not sufficiently present” — suggesting that the wine would benefit from more time with Davy Jones.

“It’s a wine of the future,” she said.

“I think that this only can be done with great vintages. It wouldn’t be much use to submerge wines with a less promising future.”

‘THE MUST OF MUSTS’
The results of similar experimentation elsewhere in France — in western Brittany and in the southwest — remain largely confidential.

But Philippe Faure-Brac, who was named the world’s best sommelier in 1992, recalled: “Twenty years ago we had the privilege of tasting bottles of white — Sancerre and Pouilly — off the coast of Noirmoutier (western France) that were placed in oyster beds” for a few months.

They were “exceptional bottles in their complexity and conservation.”

The approach can be used with reds, whites, and roses, but Tari said red wines are especially enhanced by long submersion, calling the result “the must of musts.”

Faure-Brac noted that the technique costs more for the wine maker because of the extra time and logistics required.

“Lots of wine makers talk about it,” he said. “People in the spirits trade are also thinking about experimenting with cognacs and rums.”

So far underwater wines have not gone to market.

But Tari is optimistic: “Obviously if you can gain one or two decades (on the ageing process), it could be worth it.” — AFP

NOBU MANILA at City of Dreams offers a special eight-course Omakase set dinner menu crafted by Nobu head chef Mike de Jesus for the month of July. The meal starts with an appetizer of Shrimp dashi jelly with Nobu’s signature cocktail sauce and caviar, followed by a platter of assorted sushi. The third dish is Norwegian salmon in Nobu salsa and salmon rose, while the fourth and fifth are Local tuna in shaved vegetable salad with spicy Ponzu dressing and seared Bay scallops with uni butter crust and grilled zucchini with roasted bell pepper sauce, respectively. The entrée is Umami marinated lamb chop with wasabi mashed potato and crispy shichimi onions in sweet ginger sauce followed by Shiitake mushroom soup with milk foam, negi and crispy enoku mushrooms. The meal ends with dessert, Iwai whiskey dark chocolate mousse with Kuromitsu brulee cream and ricotta cream. Priced at P5,400++ per person, July’s Omakase set menu is offered for dinner daily from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. For inquiries and reservations, 800-8080, e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com.

4 Japanese chefs

NEWLY OPENED fine bistro, Epilogue at S Maison mall fuses the dedicated Japanese approach with the fresh and vibrant flavors of a European style bistro. At the heart of Epilogue are four seasoned chefs namely Tomohide Ono, Hayato Mitsuhashi, Minoru Sorimachi, and Kenji Ishihara. Mr. Ono specializes in soft breads. Having worked in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Jakarta, he now introduces his creations in Manila. Mr. Mitsuhashi’s expertise is pasta and Italian food, and is also into combining Italian ingredients with Japanese flavors while Mr. Sorimachi has turned teppanyaki into a performance art. Mr. Ishihara’s focus is French pastries. Epilogue is at the G/F, S Maison, Conrad Manila, Ocean Drive, Mall of Asia, Pasay City.

Mooncakes at Marco Polo

AS THE Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, Marco Polo hotels in the Philippines showcases special mooncakes to mark the celebration. As part of the cluster project of the Marco Polo hotels in the Philippines — Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, and Marco Polo Davao — special mooncakes are available in Hou Yi (box of four), and Chang ‘E (box of six) gift boxes, available for P2,288 and P3,388. A discount of 15% will be given for a minimum order of five gift boxes from July 15 to Aug. 31. To know more about the hotels, visit www.marcopolohotels.com.

The Perfect Trio at Diamond

DIAMOND HOTEL Philippines’ Bar 27 has crafted three special cocktails — dubbed as the Perfect Trio — to spice up the months of July, August and September. For the whole month of July, the drink is Mystic Chill, a yellow cocktail topped with blue curacao and mint leaves with a Captain’s Morgan Rum base with notes of peaches, melon, and a squeeze of calamansi. August features Scarlet Heaven, made from ripe mangoes and melon, with a bit of rum and a dash of grenadine. September is for the chocolate lovers with Choco Fantasy. It’s a decadent treat with premium vodka mixed in. For inquiries and reservations, call 528-3000.

Tasting Circle’s Thai special

THE Great Women Cafee’s The Tasting Circle focuses on Indonesia on July 15 and 22, Saturdays, with seating at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. Seatings are limited to 14 people at P550 per head. Reservations can be made through 772-2433. Dine-in and take-out is available on July 13, 14, 20, and 21. The Cafee is located a the ground floor of the Tesoros Bldg., 1606 Arnaiz Ave. (formerly Pasay Rd.), Makati City.