Twin toasts for the wine maker

MANILA, Philippines - A local wine brand and its young COO was given top honors by the Asean Business Awards Philippines  in celebration of local enterprises that have created a positive impact on the growth of the  economy and elevated the country’s image in the Asean region.

Bel Mondo Italia Corp. (BMIC)   and its COO, Christopher Sebastian Quimbo, received the Asean SME Excellence Award for Innovation and the Asean Young Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines award, respectively during the recently concluded 2015 Asean Business Awards at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

BMIC was founded in 1999 by Vicente “Nonoy” Quimbo. Using Italian made state-of-the-art equipment and the finest grapes from Italy, Chile and Spain – the company produce wines at its state-of-the-art winery at Camelray Industrial Estates in Canlubang, Laguna.

Noticeably different from American and European brands, Novellino offers sweet and sparkling wines that are tailor-made for the Filipino palate, capturing the distinct light and sweet flavors locked in every sun-kissed grape.

Nonoy’s son, Christopher, sits as the current COO. Chris is responsible for managing all aspects of the business with  focus on business development, product development, and sales and marketing. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin –Madison and in 2014, completed the Wine Executive Program at University of California-Davis.

The younger Quimbo, who also leads a young team of talented professionals, is credited with boosting Novellino’s digital social media presence. To date, Novellino’s Facebook page has garnered more than 415,000 likes and still counting.

In an interview with The STAR, Chris expresses his feelings after winning the award. “We feel that we are the best company to win these awards because of our dreams to expand in the Asean region as a Filipino company,” he said.

 “It is actually harder to create sweet wine; there is a need to intervene in the fermentation process, to prevent the full fermentation of yeast in the grape juice and avoid the dry and bitter taste that is usually associated with fermented liquor,” Chris said.

BMIC’s expertise in the production of sweet wines is rooted in the Filipino preference for sweetness, one that is also reflected by our Asian neighbors.