ODE TO THE VINE

Lifestyle Asia's Contributing Editor, JEANETTE IPAPO-TUASON, dives deep into food's best complement.

- JEANETTE IPAPO-TUASON

“The best wine is the one you enjoy.“

A winery owner told me this while we were having dinner at Flower Drum Melbourne during Formula 1 weekend. I was very young back then and just starting to appreciate wines and initially felt intimidated with its vast offerings compared to my then drink of choice, scotch.

The earliest traces of wine was seen in China around 7000 BC, but it is acknowledged that its birthplace was in Georgia in 6000 BC. Its westward spread is credited to the Phoenicians who created city-states on the Mediterranean coast, which you now know as Lebanon and Syria. The heavy association of wine with religious practices was one of the reasons that promoted its growth and survival. The art of winemaking which was once a closely guarded secret by religious sects and ruling families in Egypt and Sumeria was democratized in Ancient Rome, where they started planting vineyards in garrisons to ensure they had a steady local supply.

The wine you enjoyed today is the offspring of sacramental wine made better, which gave rise to viniculture in different parts of Europe, also known as the Old-World wines. Spanish settlers in America in the time of Columbus attempted to grow vines which later on gave birth to New World wines (Americas and Oceana).

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