Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023 - 112

Personal
Taste
Ang Lugar Ko
G
By PAULA DE PANO
rowing up, i was never more like myself than when
I was in front of a stove: Everything just made
sense. I not only enjoyed the craft, I could eat it,
too. I recall watching our cook throw ingredients in different-sized
pots and pans throughout the day, with aromas
building and building as the hours passed. She never measured;
everything just came together. The first half-hour
would be acrid after she added cane vinegar; minutes later,
it would evolve with the addition of star anise and peppercorns.
Then muscovado sugar would bring a sticky-sweet
and salty pungency into the braiser filled with pork hocks.
Pata tim was for Sunday lunch, wonderful with steaminghot
white rice and petchay (Chinese white cabbage).
I found a lot of calm despite the heat in our kitchen, something
I missed as the middle child in the family. My oldest
sister, also the oldest grandchild, excelled in school, is outgoing,
and is also a brilliant writer. My other older sister
is autistic, which set her apart. And after I was born, my
parents prayed novenas to St. Gerard to give them the boy.
A little over a year after my arrival, my brother, Gerard,
was born.
For most of my childhood, I rarely provoked much notice
from my parents until I started talking about a career in
kitchens. They would say to me in Tagalog, " Gusto mong
maging kusinera? Anong mapapala mo doon? " (You want to
There are only
a handful
of Filipino
sommeliers
back home
because it
is not seen
as a serious
profession,
much less one
that earns a
living.
be a chef? What good will that do you?) My dad insisted I
get a university degree before pursuing food. Once I graduated,
I did an intensive six-month course at a culinary
school in Manila. At 22, my first job was at a wine bar my
professor had opened while I was still a student. I was the
marketing coordinator for the bar-having graduated with
a marketing and PR degree and a love of food. But I really
wanted to be in the kitchen.
The wine bar had the first Enomatic machine in the Philippines,
with over twenty rotating wine selections. It was
the kind of feature that was avant-garde back home and
everyone and their sophisticated mothers loved to visit to
be able to say that they enjoyed wine at this newly opened
spot. Wine is not a thing in the Philippines; the proportion
of Filipinos who genuinely prefer wine over beer and hard
liquor is mostly within the realm of the country's richest
one percent. I would give back to the company most of
the part-time salary I was earning at the bar by sampling
the " goods, " mainly the ones from the section that housed
" value wines " -the wines for the curious and uninitiated.
I remember watching the spout dispense two ounces
of Beringer Chenin Blanc into my glass. I didn't want the
Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc that was next to it, despite
it being slightly less expensive. I wanted a wine that didn't
sound familiar even to a novice like me. I'd heard people
oohing and ahhing about " sauv blanc " and how it was
all they drank. No, ma'am. I took the chenin, despite not
knowing what I was signing myself up for. To this day, it
remains one of my favorite grapes. It had the same bright
acidity as the sauvignon blanc but was rounded out with
" friendlier " flavors. I would rather taste dry honey than cut
grass, crunchy golden apples over mushy kiwi.
There are only a handful of Filipino sommeliers back
home-it is not seen as a serious profession, or a way to
make a living. If you can't attach an MD, PhD, ESQ to your
name, if you don't work from nine to five, then it's a hobby.
I heard my parents' targeted comments and the puzzlement
of my friends, even strangers, when I explained what
I wanted to do. So I knew I would have to leave the country,
reinvent myself and find my place.
With Rocks + Acid, the store I opened in Chapel Hill,
NC, I didn't want it to be just a wine shop. I wanted people
to walk into an open, welcoming space instead of racks
and racks of bottles where the wines' stories disappear
because it looks overwhelming. I wanted a space where
people could sit down and enjoy a glass, start a conversation
and learn something new-a place where guests could
find unique sauvignon blancs as well as distinctive chenins.
I wanted to be able to treat every person who comes
through our doors the same way we curate our selections:
welcoming their individuality.
I still routinely send links, photo updates and articles
about my life as a sommelier and of the shop to my parents.
I've stopped holding my breath for any sort of interest.
It's as if, the less they know, the less they need to ask
questions. I don't begrudge them for it-I truly find it
amusing, as their daughter, that they know virtually nothing
about what it is I really do. I'm 37, and my mother still
thinks that I only need to smell wine in my line of work.
I don't feel the need to burst her bubble. Unlike in my
younger years, I have no desire to stir the hornet's nest. All
that matters to me now is that I have found my place. l
112
WINE & SPIR IT S
Summ ER 2023
PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL TURBERT
Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023

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