Wine not? How La Rosa Vino shares the wine experience with Filipinos

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MANILA, Philippines – The idea of drinking wine often intimidates Filipinos.

Rose Abes, owner of La Rosa Vino, noted this, adding that in the Philippines, wine is usually associated with “fancy and special events.” 

“Wine bars are also usually very dim and have a serious vibe, so if you’re not used to that experience, you might think it’s not for you,” she said.

This is not the same for her wine bar in Maginhawa, Quezon City. La Rosa Vino is a well-lit, casual yet chic little spot where they offer over 100 different wines from around the world.

From red to white, sweet and sparkling to bold and full-bodied, the wide selection will surely have you interested in at least one bottle.

According to Rose, she has personally tasted and liked all the wines they offer, ensuring that what they have at La Rosa Vino is truly special.

For beginners

“Whenever a customer comes here and asks for a recommendation, I ask them their preferences and offer something easy to drink,” she said, noting that Filipinos are big fans of Moscato, a fragrant and sweet white wine.

But as a wine connoisseur herself with a Level 2 certificate from the international Wine and Spirit Education Trust, Rose always encourages her customers to try something new.

She offers wine selections that are still familiar to what the customers previously tried, but with some differences. In this way, her customers get to broaden their knowledge and taste in wines, which in turn helps her goal of introducing the wine-drinking culture to more Filipinos.

“Over the past two years since we opened, I can say that the taste in wine of my loyal customers has evolved and reached a new level. Those who only knew Moscato learned that they like other types of wine,” she said.

OLD AND NEW. La Rosa Vino has old world and new world wines to choose from. Photo from La Rosa Vino

It also helps that Rose’s approach to selling wine is very encouraging. I asked for a mini tour of her shop, and listening to her describe the wine selections made me more interested in knowing the products.

Athea Ang, a fellow first-time visitor of La Rosa Vino, said the wine bar has a very welcoming vibe. She shared that she pored over the bottles on the wine rack, curious about the names, origins, and packaging.

Experiencing wine

Rose believes her customers shouldn’t just be limited to wine. That’s why she regularly hosts fun events at her shop, which takes drinking wine to another level.

They had Vino and Vegan, featuring a full-course vegan dinner; Sip and See Beyond with tarot readings; and Wine Down Yoga, yes, a yoga session — all paired with wine.

This month of May, La Rosa Vino offers a floral arrangement workshop called Wine in Bloom.

“I really want to give Filipinos a unique and fun experience with wine so they can develop more appreciation for it,” Rose said.

But the biggest event La Rosa Vino hosts is the Wine and Food Hop tour. In its third year now, the event blends the La Rosa Vino experience with the Maginhawa community.

Being the food district of Quezon City, Maginhawa sets the perfect location for this event.

“We hold the Wine and Food Hop event because it’s a great way to bring quality wine to our customers while celebrating what we have as a community in Maginhawa,” Rose explained.

MAGINHAWA COMMUNITY. Participants walked along Maginhawa Street, exploring the restaurants of Maginhawa while drinking wine. Photo from La Rosa Vino

La Rosa Vino collaborates with fellow local shops and restaurants in the area to bring together a full experience for the participants.

This year was big for the wine bar because they added more stops: from four stops last year, the third edition now has seven. 

Each stop offers delicious bites from partner restaurants and a mix of eight old and new world wines. (Old world wines are produced from Europe; new world ones are from the rest of the world.)

The third year is also a walking tour, quite different from last year, where participants rode tricycles to get to the next stop. Rose shared that she wanted the participants to experience the authentic Maginhawa food crawl, where you just walk to your next stop.

Wine, dine, walk

All complete with our wine glass on a lanyard, and luckily, a cloudy day, we started at the home base: La Rosa Vino. They set up a Pulutan Corner filled with bucheron, sweet and spicy dilis, nuts, and cornicks, partnered with a light and refreshing Ichanka Torrontés from Argentina.

Rose noted that Filipinos might think that wine can only be paired with tapas or a charcuterie board, but she disagrees, which is why the first stop offered a selection of Pinoy pica-pica. 

She also noted that all the wines she chose for the tour are easy to pair with, which is a great introduction even to non-wine drinkers.

FLOWING. Participants were given refills throughout the event. Photo from La Rosa Vino

The second stop was at Daily Habit, just downstairs from La Rosa Vino. Here, we had a fun game of human bingo partnered with a delicious cheeseburger slider, parmesan truffle fries, and a chicken wing. Our first red wine spotlights the Argentinian Cuesta del Madero Malbec.

For each stop, La Rosa Vino prepared 10 bottles for the participants. Surely enough, the sommeliers did a great job encouraging refills for every empty wine glass. By the third stop at Friuli Trattoria, everyone was tipsy and talking.

We had six types of canapés: cream cheese barquillos with caramelized bacon (my personal favorite!), spinach truffle crostini, chicken cotoletta balls, chicken tandoori pizzette, chicken tandoori skewers, and tuna crostada. 

The salty and savory flavors were perfectly paired with a medium-bodied red: Grand Moulin Merlot from France (I liked this wine!) and a game of charades.

Our next destination was Bubble Dreams, where we ate chicken balls in sweet and sour sauce. We also got to try their handcrafted sodas, which were a lovely contrast to the spice of the cheese stick pimiento with truffle oil. Our wine for this stop was another white: an 1818 Sauvignon Blanc from Chile.

I remember reaching the fifth stop, The Sanctuary Cafe and Bar, with my glass still full of white wine. Once we finished our wagyu on sweet potato and fried tofu with pickled cabbage, it was time for another Merlot, but this time, a bottle of Gufo from Italy. I got to play a game of shooting rings, but I guess I was already dizzy because I didn’t score!

Nearing the end is Coffee Nook, where we had a chicken-mushroom pie and a delectable oatmeal cookie, which was perfect for the sweet and fruity Jack Estate Moscato from Australia (another favorite!).

For the seventh and final stop at Puesto, we had a combination of a delicious pork birria taco, chimichanga, and rumchata, a game of limbo, and a glass of Wild House Pinotage from South Africa.

Laughing and maybe talking a little too loud along Maginhawa street, we walked back to La Rosa Vino, where we had the last type of wine, a fruity and sparkling La Gioiosa Moscato from Italy, and a surprise raffle draw.

Friends that wine together, stay together

During the Wine and Food Hop, I met wine lovers, wine experts, Rose’s friends and business partners, and some just curious minds.

One of the participants was Marius Brisenio, a second-time attendee of the Wine and Food Hop.

“I attended the second installation of this event because I heard that the first one was great! I don’t really drink alcohol, but Rose introduced me to the world of wines,” he said.

He described it as a must-try experience in Maginhawa where he made new friends, thanks to the wines that loosened everyone up.

The owner of Puesto, Jana Aganon, also shared that she became friends with Rose after they partnered for the first Wine and Food Hop. 

“I met Rose during our general assembly of the Maginhawa Food Community. She told me she likes our food at Puesto and offered to be a partner for an event. So, we talked about it over wine, and fast forward to 2025, we collaborated for the second time,” she said.

Jana saw this as good for their community because businesses think less of the other restaurants as competition. Instead, they collaborate and get to try the bestsellers of the neighboring food kiosks.

As for the owner of La Rosa Vino herself, she believes it’s all about building a community. Her dainty wine bar and shop was built mainly to become a cozy and homey hangout spot for wine lovers and curious minds alike. She wanted it to be a space where people come back to sip and speak.

“When you swirl your wine, something beautiful will blossom,” Rose said, explaining her wine bar’s logo, capturing what she offers at La Rosa Vino. – Rappler.com