A ‘French toast’

Friday, November 25, 2011

THE scene was hard to miss.

Easily a thousand glasses of wine everywhere, hoisted head-level to celebrate the opening of a fantastic night of French-inspired festivities.

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A celebration of the Soirée Beaujolais was well attended by VIPs, friends, visitors and guests at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu last weekend. Almost everyone had a glass in hand and needless to say, the Grand Ballroom was packed.

The sounds that followed were what I or anyone else could have predicted. Light rings from glasses colliding, spreading out the entire room in rapid and random succession—a toast here, a toast there—some even without the slightest sip from their drinks yet, already seemed to be in high spirits.

I was content at enjoying the party from a considerable distance in the company of a few friends. The plan was simple: take on the beef at the buffet and some cheeses prepared by cheese master Richard Poirier; load up on a few fresh oysters, and spend the rest of the night trying out wines from regions like Morgon or Brouilly from France.

Everything seemed pretty linear until a couple decided to join us at our table.

“You don’t have a glass for yourself?” the lady asked me.

Even before explaining the intricacies of calling out to a walking waiter while a loud band was playing at a party, she and her husband handed their own glasses to me and a friend.

“Don’t worry about it. We have another glass here,” she said, proceeding to pick up one with white wine. “Cheers,” the couple exchanged toasts with our little company.

The band played. The band stopped. The main man walked up the stage after being introduced by the night’s host, Johnny Litton.

Hans Hauri, general manager of Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, was up for his speech, and it was at that point that something he said caught my attention—something about drinking “new wine.”

The “Beaujolais Nouveau.” The fact completely escaped me.

This event celebrated the unveiling of this year’s harvest that was now shipped all around the world in thousands of bottles. We were the ones to taste first this “fresh wine” just a few weeks old.

Plus, not only was this a celebration of tradition, but of the trademark of innovation as well that had been going on for 60 years. As far as my young mind could recall, all wines were served aged.

Apparently, like a lot of other young minds, I was wrong. This wasn’t a wine intended for aging. In fact, the Beaujolais Nouveau is a type of wine meant to be consumed within the first year of release.

Now even for strangers, it doesn’t take long for you to warm up to each other when you’re on the same table. Later I learned that the couple was Rolf and Alice Hess, who had just come from Hongkong and were staying in Cebu for a few days.

Rolf talked about everything from Apple vs. Android comparisons, to the disadvantages of drinking distilled water. He also gave me a crash course on the basics of wine tasting and history. From the pouring, the swirling, to the color and aroma, all the way up to taking down that first swig.

As Rolf and I were discussing more about the differences between the wines in Europe and America, the host introduced the Cancan Girls of Le Centre des Ateliers de Danse de Figeac, straight from Paris, for their highly festive and energetic dance number.

Soon, class entertainer Verni Varga graced the stage, earning praises for her great timbre and wit. And in perfect time, the Renaissance band did not allow the tone of the party to drop as they played tunes from the ‘80s up to the hits of today including ones from The Black Eyed Peas.

We stayed there, old and new friends alike, until the end of the night to see three people miss the grand prize, which was a trip to Paris. The fourth guy was very lucky, and no, it wasn’t me.

Great food, new friends, and a new discovery about French wine: it all made for a pretty good and memorable night.