Inquirer Visayas
Negros couple turns hobby into thriving wine business
By Carla Gomez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:04:00 09/27/2008
Filed Under: Regional authorities
BACOLOD CITY – All natural, organic wine made from handpicked local fruits and processed fresh.
That is what a Negros-based winemaker and his wife are passionate about: They have turned a hobby into a thriving “backyard” industry that is finding a niche in the organic market in Negros Occidental.
Federico Barredo, 68, is a research plant pathologist/microbiologist who met his wife, Aurora, while they were both studying at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) in Laguna in the 1970s. Aurora, 59, is a plant breeder.
Barredo today works as a consultant of the Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation Inc. in the Victorias mill district in northern Negros Occidental.
In 2006, he was cited by the UPLB Alumni Association in Negros for “spearheading the intensified distribution of high-yielding sugarcane varieties complimented with transfer of technology and his innovative entrepreneurship with his production of wine in Negros.”
Aurora said when she first met Federico while they were studying at UPLB, he already had a passion for making wine. He did it as a hobby, she said.
Gifts
From their college years up to their transfer to Negros Occidental in 1974, Federico made wine to drink with friends or to give as gifts, she said.
Then when their eldest son, Willie, got married in 2004, Federico decided to make wine as giveaways at the wedding reception and to serve to the guests, she said.
The guests loved the wine and urged the couple to go commercial.
So, what was just a hobby became a business.
The couple bought berries growing wild from the homes of residents living in villages in northern Negros Occidental and started what is now known as “Federico’s Island Wines.”
Today, the couple produces “bignay” and “duhat” wines.
Fermentation
Their wines are for those who believe in healthy living because they are made through natural fermentation with no chemical preservatives, artificial color or flavor, Federico said.
Red wines are also good for the heart, he added.
Their “duhat” wine is slightly sweet, light and smooth to the taste.
The clear and light reddish purple to brownish purple Duhat wine has a 12 percent alcohol content from natural fermentation, Federico said.
Duhat (Syzygium cumini Skeels) is known as “lumboy” in Ilonggo, or java plum, black or purple plum or Indian black berry in English.
It is popular in folk medicine and in the pharmaceutical trade as an astringent, carminative and diuretic, Federico said, making wine made from it medicinal, too.
The “bignay” wine has a rich fruity flavor and aroma that is very slightly sweet and leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. It has about 13 percent alcohol and is clear and dark plum in appearance.
It is made of berries from the “Antidesma bunious” or “bignay” tree, which is also known as “bugnay” in Negros.
“Bignay” is also known as Chinese black currant tree and salamander tree.
Its fruits are also eaten raw, or made into juices, jams or jellies. Fruit extracts have also been used as materials for food supplements, he said.
Pineapple
The Barredos are now working on tapping the rich supply of pineapples in Negros for another kind of wine they plan to introduce into the market by next year.
Pineapple wine has a sweet aroma with a slightly sour and fruity flavor, Federico said.
It has about 13 percent alcohol and is clear and golden yellow in appearance when mature, he said.
Last year, the couple said they produced 7,000 bottles of their “duhat” and “bignay” wines.
People have bought our wine to give as corporate gifts, to serve at weddings and other special occasions, and as “pasalubong,” Aurora said.
“We know there is a growing market for organic market and that is where we also find our niche,” she said.
|
