By Romy Sia
Wine Story is a story of serendipity. I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for wine in general and obsession for Bordeaux wine in particular had I not read the “Billionaire’s Vinegar.” And Wine Story would not have existed.
It was March 2009, during my annual trip to Anaheim, California for Healthy Options, when I saw this book at Barnes & Noble in Newport Beach called “Billionaire’s Vinegar.”
Even if you don’t care much about wine, this book will captivate you as it did me. It’s a true story about a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite Rothschild supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson (the third US President and hailed as the world’s first wine connoisseur) and discovered in a Paris cellar some 200 years later. It was bought at a London auction by Malcolm Forbes (owner of Forbes magazine) for $156,000, which, in 1985, was the highest price ever paid for a bottle of wine. The book reads like a fast-paced mystery thriller, which I devoured in just two days. More than just a bottle of alcoholic beverage, I discovered each wine has a story.
Most people discover wine through their palate. I fell madly in love with wine because of the story behind each bottle. So mad that I wanted to have my own wine shop. A year after I read the book, I opened a wine shop and called it Wine Story at Shangri-La Mall, Ortigas.
With its lit, temperature-controlled all-glass cellar located in the center of the darkened store, the wines glow like precious gems. Even the Bordeaux wine owners and wine makers who visited the store said they had not seen anything quite like it. C’est magnifique! It has since been copied by others, but, in my opinion, never equaled.
Today, Wine Story has written a new chapter in its never-ending wine story with the opening of a new store in Uptown, BGC. Designed by a Paris-based architect, Wine Story Uptown brings Bordeaux – its vineyard, chateau and cellar – to Manila. The idea is to give an immersive experience of learning, discovering and enjoying the finest wines of Bordeaux together with Burgundy and Champagne.
Assisted by friendly and knowledgeable (WSET-certified) wine angels, guests would find the ambiance inside the store inspiring and exhilarating aw we try to transport them to a French chateau. In the evening, I’m pretty sure they would find it positively romantic and dramatic.
But more than the store’s ambiance, design and knowledgeable wine assistants, Wine Story prides itself in three areas, which makes it unique and special :
o Provenance – Our wines come directly from the Bordeaux chateaux and also from reputable wine merchants in London. Wine Story does not buy from third parties, private collectors or in Asia. This is to guarantee authenticity.
o Storage conditions – From the moment the wines leave Bordeaux to the time we receive and display them in our stores, the temperature is kept strictly between 14 – 18 degrees Centrigrade to assure quality.
o Mature vintages and large formats – Wine Story has the widest and best selections of mature vintages (20 years and older) and large format bottles (1.5-liter to 18-liter bottles) that are not found anywhere else.
Wine Story is located at One Uptown Residence, 36th St. Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
(The author, a bona fide wine connoisseur, is the CEO of Healthy Options Group of Companies. He welcomed recently a select group of guests, including members of the media and several influencers, to Wine Story’s newly opened flagship store in BGC.)
