The Wine Hunter

That’s what they call this guy from Normandy, Jérome Philippon, who’s making the rounds of the France Food and Wine Festival ’07 inside the Bahia Room of the InterContinental: “The Wine Hunter.” It sounds like someone who wrassles bottles of Bordeaux from patriotic French vintners in the countryside, or something you’d see on the Discovery Channel.

But Philippon is the real thing. More than just a connoisseur of French wines (and exclusively French wines, he’ll let you know), he actually spends the better part of each year tracking down obscure bottles from “boutique” vineyards in France — these are places that produce only 150,000 to 200,000 bottles a year, so they fall safely below the radar of commercial wine guides and wine tourists.

Not that Philippon has anything against wine tourists. Many of us gathered for the two-day festival were just that: wine tourists, people who would probably have a hard time distinguishing between varietals, let alone vintages, without a tour guide. We’d be the ones you see walking around in Southern France with a wine book in one hand, a French pocket dictionary in the other, trying to strike a bargain with the locals.

That’s partly why Philippon, along with Sommelier Selection, an importer of wines in Makati, stages this festival. We tourists shouldn’t be afraid to approach good wines, and to unlock the secrets of what wines go with what dishes.

Everything for the festival was imported: from the French bread to the Beure D’Isigny Ste. Mere — a sublime French butter that we tourists slathered on our hunks of pain with abandon. The Perrier flowed, the mussels and oysters were imported, as was the salt they were bathed in. A lavish spread of French cheeses was tempting enough to blow anyone’s cork, especially paired with a fantastic 2005 Chateau Verdots or a Domaine Berthoumieu, which went amazingly well with the bleu.

If Philippon wants us wine tourists to take anything away from this P2,800-per-head event, though, it’s the concept of terroir. 

Terroir is more than just its root word — terre, or land. It’s really about the symbiotic interaction between land, climate and farmer. The one thing it is not about is the grape: Philippon proves this to us with a little taste test. We sample three glasses, all white; yet all of us agree that each is remarkably different in character. One is biting, the next smooth and round, while the third is even more complex. Turns out they’re all chardonnays. Just goes to show that relying on the varietal is not enough to determine the taste — or quality — of a wine.

Terroir applies not only to wine, but to most French wines, cheeses and agricultural products — those given an appellation d’origine contrôlée. This is France’s measure of geographic indications — quality control, if you will. “Appellation has to do with the process, the land. It’s not about the grapes,” explains Philippon. “While some in the West may say ‘Everything can be duplicated somewhere else,’ the appellation system says no, it cannot.” I’m not sure, but I think he may have been taking a swipe at Napa Valley there.  

During the first quarter of each year, usually in April, Philippon visits one or two regions of France for buying trips. “I only do boutique wines,” he explains, as a large screen in the Bahia Room shows us rural scenes from the French countryside. These are really Philippon’s “home videos,” documenting his most recent wine hunt. I notice cows working the French fields. “The small vineyards have even gone back to using cows to plough the land,” he notes. “This is less disturbing to the soil than industrial machinery.”

Philippon starts his wine trek with the same guides most other connoisseurs sift through, like Parker’s. He compares notes, compiles info on up-and-coming growers, and then starts visiting those hard-to-find but interesting estates. That’s when the real fun begins.

He chose some 140 wines for this festival. Not all are from his recent trip; some are all-time favorites. The wines come from as many as 10 regions, up to 45 growers. A price list and ordering form are made available to festival-goers who want to order from Sommelier.

You quickly notice that many of the guests at the France Wine and Food Festival are restaurateurs. Billy King was there on the final night; my brother-in-law, owner of several restaurants, was there with his wife; I met restaurant owners from as far away as Tagaytay and as close as Salcedo Village — all buyers of Philippon’s wines. 

But for us wine tourists, it’s the little discoveries that make the difference.

According to Philippon, “one person at every table” will become a convert to these obscure labels. They might purchase a bottle they liked, maybe even a case; more importantly, they’ll tell someone else.

With our meat entrée, a medley of lukewarm veal and beef with asparagus spears, the red Guibeau enhanced the rather unimposing flavor. Second best for me was the Brouilly, which we enjoyed for the rest of the night. The St. Joseph was also enjoyable. Again, the grape itself was never discussed.

I found the wines more complex as the night went on, though it’s possible my taste buds were simply in overdrive. Or possibly I was drunk. In any case, the France Wine and Food Festival is a unique, if pricey, way to sample the best of what you never even knew France had to offer.

“You really have to show people, bring it to people’s palettes. You can’t really explain it. You have to get people to experience it,” enthuses Philippon, who never seems to tire of uncorking another bottle.

“It’s like suddenly you get someone who’s been exposed to a new TV channel.”

Hopefully the French Food Channel.

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Sommelier Selection is at 2320 YMC Compound, Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City. Call 892-6882 or visit www.sommelierselection.info.