Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: My First Bottle of Muscato Wine Named Pinay

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Sunday, January 11, 2015

My First Bottle of Muscato Wine Named Pinay

Main fountain at the Rubicon Estate Winery

Last month during my 80th birthday party, Ditas my youngest daughter gave me a bottle of expensive wine called Pinay. The word Pinay for those of you who are not familiar with it is the feminine form of Pinoy. Pinoy is short term for Filipino.

The wine I got was a 2006 Pinay Muscato. It was created by winemaker Tondi Bolkan. Her creation was inspired to suit a Pinoy's palate thus its aptly named Pinay. The wine was perfect as far as my wife and I are concerned. We loved it very much.

Bolkan was born to Filipino parents but grew up in the US. She left her hometown Chicago to study at the University of California at Davis. Her passion for wine evolved during her years at Rubicon Estate

The Rubicon Estate Winery (formerly Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery and once again Inglenook) is located in Rutherford, California, USA. The winery sits on a portion of the historic Napa Valley property first acquired in 1879 by a Finnish Sea Captain Gustave Niebaum, founder of the Inglenook Winery.

In 2011, owners Francis and Eleanor Coppola acquired the Inglenook trademark and renamed the winery Inglenook.

In 1975, Francis Ford Coppola and his wife Eleanor, purchased Niebaum’s Victorian home, along with 1,560 acres (630 ha) of surrounding land. In 1995, Coppola reunited the two original Inglenook parcels by purchasing the grand Inglenook chateau and 94.5 acres (38.2 ha) of surrounding vineyards (neighboring vineyards include Heitz Wine Cellars Martha’s Vineyard and Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour). The winery was named Rubicon Estate in early 2006, and held that name until 2011 when it was renamed Inglenook. Coppola's longtime winemaker was Scott McLeod, a UC Davis alumnus with wine making background in Tuscany. McLeod left the winery in 2009, and esteemed wine consultant Stephane Derenoncourt came on board shortly thereafter. In 2011, Château Margaux's Philippe Bascaules became Estate Manager and Winemaker.

Thank you Ditas for your gift. May we have some more in the future?

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree