A great glass of wine and a wonderful dinner is always a great way to cap off a busy day.
Recently, I was invited to a wine pairing event at the Polo Bistro at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao. The wines served were those being offered and distributed by Titania Wine Cellar, Inc., the company that supplies wines to Marco Polo Hotels throughout the country.
This was my first six course fine dining and wine pairing experience and I had fun.
As a newbie to this kind of experience, I was definitely surprised by the amount of glasses and utensils on the table. There were six glasses — one for sparkling wine, three for red wine, one for fortified sweet wine, and lastly for water.
The six meal course, which was prepared by Marco Polo Davao Executive Chef Alex Destriza and his team, kicked off with Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Carpaccio and was paired with the Mapu Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonay.
The Mapu, which has an alocohol content of 12.5%, is produced by Baron Philippe de Rothschiled at the Central Valley in Chile.
“This wine is a blend because old world wines from France, Spain, and Italy are normally blended wines,” said Paige Meneses, sales and marketing director of Titania Wine Cellar, Inc.
She added, “Mapu is a blend of two major white grapes, majority of it is Sauvignon Blanc. That is why it has a sauvignon profile, which is citrus, fresh, and more on the acidic side. It is blended with your chardonay, which gives it a little bit more structure and tones it down a little bit.”
Next came the Cognac Beef Consomme, which was flavorful and light at the same time. The dish was paired with the Ardeche Pinot Noir, which is a light red wine. The Ardeche and the consomme complemented each other wonderfully.
The Ardeche Pinot Noir, which has an alcohol content of 12.5%, is produced at Ardeche, France by Vignerons Ardeche.
We were then served the Champagne Apple Sorbet.
For our entree, we were served a generous serving of US Flank Steak with squash and corn puree, smoked tomato, and chive butter. The steak was wonderfully cooked too. They served the Mouton Cadet Rouge, which has an alcohol content of 12.5%, for the entree.
“It (Mouton Cadet Rouge) is the flagship wine of Baron Philippe de Rothschiled from Bordeaux, France. This is the number one selling Bordeaux red wine in the world. It is also the official wine of the Cannes Film Festival for the last 70 years,” Meneses said.
Next we had the cheese course, which was a selection of fine and Malagos cheese and was beautifully presented. The Chevre was phenomenal. We were served the Escudo Rojo for this course.
The Escudo Rojo, which has an alcohol content at 14%, is also a wine by Baron Philippe de Rothschiled from Central Valley, Chile.
We ended the meal with Lemon Curd Tart Meringue. I love lemon-flavored desserts and this was a joy to eat. We were served the Muscador Rose to go with the dessert.
The Muscador Rose, which has an alcohol content of 11.5%, is produced by Compagnie Francaise des Grandes in Mousseux, France.
I really enjoyed this experience, despite getting a little woozy in the end ;). Both the food and wine were really great from the beginning of the meal up until the last.
If you want to enjoy these great wines with your dinner, drop by at Marco Polo Hotel Davao.
Thank you Marco Polo Hotel Davao for this wonderful experience!