Nicole Whisenhunt’s sparkling affair

Nicole Whisenhunt makes beautiful fine jewelry, a sparkling venture that she has had for over a decade now. It was only recently that she opened a boutique called Whisenhunt Fine Jewellery at Power Plant in Rockwell, Makati City. At its launch, guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a special champagne “on the rocks” experience with Moët & Chandon’s Ice Impérial Rosé, the world’s first rosé champagne served with ice.

Born in San Francisco and raised in Manila, Nicole became passionate about accessory and jewelry design during her college days but eventually went into embroidery in 2007.  She was nominated for Stylebible’s “Breakthrough Designer of the Year” in 2009, Go Negosyo’s “Most Inspiring Youth Entrepreneur,” among many other citations. She was also featured in international publications such as Elle, Town & Country, In Style and Women’s Wear Daily.

Nicole Jacinto, Tanya de la Paz and Rosanna Ocampo.

In 2011, she started her fine jewelry business. She took classes at L’Ecole Van Cleef and Arpels (The School of Jewelry and Arts) in Paris to further hone her knowledge about diamonds and other fine jewels. She now divides her time between designing a 24-piece fine jewelry collection per year and creating bespoke pieces for clients.  I have admired her art-deco style pieces for a long time.

Cris Ci and Tanya de la Paz.

Nicole’s desire to further educate the Philippine market on the diversity of fine jewelry was one of the primary factors that propelled her to open The Whisenhunt Boutique that now houses three main collections: Contemporary, Wedding Annex and Heirloom. The boutique interiors were designed by Trisha Calma and styled by creative consultant Miguel Rosales.

(From left) Bryan and Dinggay Villanueva, Anna Zamora, Nicole Whisenhunt and Cai Pacis.

Do visit the boutique even if just to smell the signature scent of the place. Trust me, the scent of the boutique is invigorating as you walk through the doors. Jazz and world music softly plays in the background and you feel momentarily taken to an era that has inspired the Whisenhunt pieces.

(Whisenhunt Fine Jewellery is located on Level R2 at Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, Makati City.)

A Mollydooker wine dinner

(From left) BCN and PWX Sergi Rostoll, Bianca Syching, Dani Aliaga, Uri Singla and Jopet Reyes.

Premium Wine Exchange hosted a wine-pairing dinner at the newly opened BCN by Rambla in Makati City. The dinner featured wines from world-renowned Mollydooker Winery. BCN’s head chef Alfredo Rodriguez cooked up a delicious seven-course dinner, which paired well with the Australian wines.

Mollydooker, which is Australian slang for left-handed, was born out of a love story between Sarah and Sparky Marquis (who are both left-handed!).  Their brand rose to fame when Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave excellent reviews of their first ever vintage back in 2006 and all their wines sold out in just 19 days.

Wine of the Night Mollydooker Enchanted Path 2010.

The Mollydooker wines we had that evening included The Violinist Verdelho 2016 paired with the salmon tartare in white truffle dressing; The Scooter Merlot 2016 served with a slow-cooked quail egg with mushroom stew, mashed potato, and Spanish sausage; and the Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2016 that went well with the grilled Spanish octopus in paprika sauce. There were also the Giggle Pot Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, which was paired with my favorite dish in BCN, the grilled Iberian pork in miso; and finally the Enchanted Path 2010 that was served with the tenderloin with potato and bacon terrine in truffle sauce.  

Presa Iberica con Miso.

Indeed, it was an excellent wine-pairing dinner.  

(Premium Wine Exchange is the exclusive importer and distributor of Mollydooker in the Philippines. Check out http://pwxchange.com.ph or @pwxchange on Instagram.)