A Hamper a Day Keeps the Holiday Gift Giving Blues Away

There is something festively abundant about an assortment of goodies bunched up in a wicker basket or carefully arranged in a nice box. Wine Depot's Holiday Hampers put some thought into delightful gift ideas perfect for anyone this Christmas! Only sets you back P1,000.

For Christmas, I wouldn't mind opening up a coffee hamper to brew and chocolate-y Nutino for spreading on warm toast.

For breakfast, some alpine berry, lip-smacking honey and muesli would get me smiling...

At night, cheese twists, slices of Covap salami and a Chilean red to unwind with...

The Biggest Wine & Food Festival is almost here!!!

At Wine Depot, the countdown to the Biggest Wine and Food Party is our most exciting albeit busiest time of the year. Once October kicks in, we'll be sampling menus from over 100 of our partner restaurants and hotels in one gluttonous week, sharing a glass with over 1,500 people at the NBC tent, and toasting with all our international suppliers. 

To all our winemaker friends from the different regions of the world coming... to the master cutter from Spain and the famous Butcher from Australia... to the Brunello Ambassador of Italy and the celebrated Champagne house of France  .... and to all the wine enthusiasts the foodies in the metro... get ready for a journey of EPICurean proportions all happening during  THE PHILIPPINE WINE & FOOD WEEK 2010!

Japanese Culinary Stations Meet Wither Hills Wines!

Next on Wine Depot's event line-up, we're welcoming Ben Glover, winemaker of New Zealand's Wither Hills and pairing his great wines with delicious Japanese fare. It's going to be a unique experience where inspiration to the restaurant's stations, from the Teppanyaki table to the dessert buffet, will be from Wither Hills' Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

Get your tickets early at any Wine Depot store or click on this link to email your reservation:

e-ticket reservation

Cheaper by the Dozen!

We got featured in SPOT.PH!!!

Spot.PH | Wine Depot Case Discounts | PEOPLE+PARTIES FEATURED NEWS+FEATURES TOP LIST People SALE Alerts

The Godfather knows his coffee...

Al Pacino just recently renounced his lifelong ban on endorsement deals and admitted to his love affair with none other than our very own gourmet coffee - Vittoria. It's now being served at Wine Depot Stores in Alabang Westgate Corporate Center, Reposo and Greenhills:)

He says in a very Pacino way, "there are two things I know about. I'm confident to say one is coffee. the other... I forget."

Here, he's photographed with director Barry Levinson, as they filmed New York for the much-awaited, unscripted TV commercial of the Italian style coffee from Australia.

Winery of the Year Highlight Dinner

Here's to celebrating the 15-time winner of the prestigious Winery of the Year Award of Wine & Spirits Magazine, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery of Washington State, USA. With its Riesling dominating the market as the number one selling Riesling in the world, plus it's Cabernet Sauvignon making it to the top 100 list of Wine Spectator, there was much to eat and drink to!

 the pairings.. Pomelo smoked salmon, fried cheese caviar and lime zest salad with passion fruit dressing paired with the top selling Riesling

 The meaty flavor of the Iberian pork topped with cherry plum and pronto e fresco salsa goes well with the Canoe Ridge Merlot

chicken breast and caramelized onions on a bed of wild mushroom, truffle oil risotto. Its creaminess lends itself well to the 06 Merlot

Wagyu beef crusted sobresada served with smoked caramelized black cherry and reduced cabernet sauvignon sauce. With each bite, we put a little of the coffee jelly siding on the meat for the most mouthwatering taste.

of course, the Cabernet Sauvignon  07 was the ideal pairing.

 

Eye candy for dessert with this cute cup of clove spiced green tea panna cotta with Chateau Ste. Michelle's Gewurztraminer

some snapshots of the evening...

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The Blue Cheese that won Best Blue in the World

Want to know who makes the best blue cheese in the world? At the 28th Biennial World Cheese Championship in Wisconsin, award-winning Australian brand Jindi nabbed the most coveted recognition as the World's Best Blue... and Wine Depot's Gourmet Depot is proud to have it exclusively in its Cheese room.

 

Veteran cheese artisan Franck Beaurain's creation, the Jindi Deluxe Blue was given a near perfect score of 99.65 at what is considered the most prestigious award giving body for artisanal cheese internationally.

From a record 2313 entries from all over, and a panel of 30 experienced judges made up of technical experts, the Jindi Blue received the highest grade across all blue categories (Blue Veined - Exterior Moulding, Blue Veined & Gorgonzola)   

 

White Expressions: Pascal Jolivet comes to Manila and features his white wines from Loire Valley

Why Screw Caps Are Taking Over

This Wine Depot Special came out in the inquirer last Thursday. A whole new argument on the cork versus screwcap debate taken from a d'Arenberg experiment...

Winery of the Year is in Town

Meat the Butcher... and the Chef... and the Antipasto Expert

We were excited to have a workshop with Dirk Geleit of Meat Tender - the "butcher" - as he visited this month to give his expert advice about everything meat. Gourmet Depot carries top-grade Australian meats so we had the Ausmeat certified expert tell us more about how to buy top quality products and get the most out of every cut. 

The butcher says "Make sure that there's not much excess blood in the bag when buying meat."

 Samples from Gourmet Depot show all meat items individually packed and vacuum-sealed.

On the proper way to thaw... "the secret is to not leave it out overnight in room temperature. From the freezer, put it in the fridge and it will be ready the next morning."

Then, Chef Marco showed us how to cook the premium quality meats with 5-minute recipes that will bring out the meat's natural flavor and tenderness.

With a good piece of steak such as this, you'll only need salt and pepper to taste and less than 5 minutes on each side of the grill, says the chef.

He got these ready-to-use products at Gourmet Depot to whip up a few variations. Brookfarm Macadamia oil, the Chilli Factory Chili Sauce, Ferguson Lobster Oil, and naturally pink salt flakes from Murray River

One of which is this piece of Grass-fed Tenderloin with Pronto Y Fresco Semi-dried Tomatoes, baby bell pepper, artichoke and blue cheese.

Next, we had Sam di Virgilio, the Antipasto expert,

and we sampled Pronto E Fresco products with Banrock Cabernet Sauvignon and Angove Long Row Shiraz

these semi-dried tomatoes are the fresher alternative to sun-dried tomatoes. With their brighter red color, great texture and flavor, it could be used for pastas and other recipes that call for the sun-dried variety. 

This is another best seller... and such an convenient, ingenious way to buy your baby peppers - stuffed with creamy feta cheese!

Here's Mongsie Wulff and Monette Hamlin

Trina Ante and Iyee Galasi

A family affair for Ian, Ina, Daniela, Anton, Miriam and Sam Medalla

Brett and Hazel Tolhurst flank Tony and Angie Laborte (inner couple)

A group shot with the Chef