in Manila, Manila Food

Column: Tasting Notes & Menu from the Interview with Australian Ambassador Steven J. Robinson

In my recent column for The Manila Bulletin, I had the lovely opportunity to get to know Australian Ambassador to the Philippines’ Steven J. Robinson. We talked about wine and great food coming from his home country and how quality doesn’t always have to come with such a heavy price.

It was so refreshing to meet someone who truly loves wine but is also easygoing with it. There are no rules, no wrong answers – it’s about what you like, no matter the color or the price point of your drink. “So in the old days, people used to say that you could only drink white wine with chicken and fish,” he said. “And then you could only drink red wine with beef and lamb. That’s actually not true at all. You do what you want to do.”

I used to discriminate against screw-top wines. I feel like most of us have been conditioned to think that corked wines will always be better, fancier. Turns out that’s not always the case. Also, corked wines need more care when stored. We all know what happens to wine when the cork dries up – one never has that problem with screw-tops. I learned so many things that evening but I think I’ll have to save them for another post.

For now, let me fulfill my promise at the end of my column, I’m sharing the wines and the food that we had and all the details about them – from price to where they’re available. Hopefully, these will be helpful for your media noche plans!

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