‘Every bottle has a story’

Buying a bottle of Penfolds wine is just the beginning of a lifelong relationship, especially if one intends to keep the bottle.

I learned this from Penfolds’ re-corking clinic in Singapore, where old bottles of Penfolds wines, 15 years old or older, can be assessed and re-corked — free of charge.

Penfolds collectors do keep their wine to drink for special occasions and through a period of time, the wine may evaporate. So, the wine company offers its clients a free assessment, topping up, re-corking, re-sealing, and certifying their bottle. A bottle of wine may only be re-corked once.

Bottles are gauged using a simple paper ullage measure to see if they are eligible for re-corking. Any bottle, which liquid hits the red mark in the ullage measure may not be eligible for re-corking. A bottle may be topped up with wine from another vintage as long as it is 15 ml. or below.

Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago demonstrated re-corking with a 1962 bottle of Penfolds Coonawarra Cabernet Kalimna Shiraz, which was ranked No. 7 in the 100 Wines to Try Before You Die list of the prestigious Decanter magazine. A bottle, if you can find one, costs about £500. Once certified by Penfolds, it can go for at least AU$10,000 in an auction.

As Penfolds winemaking ambassador Sam Stephens opened the bottle, Peter immediately sprayed inert argon gas to stop the wine from oxidizing. Then he poured a small amount of wine on a glass for him and a representative from Sotheby’s Wines to taste. In the process, if they find that the wine is good, it will be topped up, re-corked, re-sealed and certified by Peter. I was lucky enough try a little of that precious wine that they removed from the rare bottle.

Peter calls these re-corking clinics an “interactive engagement with the owner.” Penfolds re-corking clinics are done all over the world, hopefully, the wine company will bring it to Manila soon.

After graduating from the University of Melbourne, Peter Gago, who was born in England, first launched his career as a chemistry and mathematics teacher before giving in to his long-held interest in wine. His passion was also the reason why Peter relocated to Adelaide, where he completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Oenology) at Roseworthy College. After graduating as dux (highest-ranking student in a graduating class), Peter joined the winemaking team at Penfolds in 1989, initially in the craftsmanship of sparkling wines before moving on to red wines where he entered the role of Penfolds Red Wine Oneologist. In 2002, he succeeded John Duval as Penfolds chief winemaker.

According to Peter, people who collect Penfolds are either purists who buy wine to enjoy; investors who intend to sell the wine in the future; or others who just hold on for curiosity, for what will come.  He also added that people shouldn’t really wait forever to drink the  wine they have been holding on to for a long time and they should enjoy the bottle while they can. After all, who doesn’t love to drink a good bottle of wine?

(For more information, visit www.penfolds.com.)

Dr. Peter Moy and Dr. Steve Mark Gan.

Learning from the best

Dental practitioners had an opportunity to learn from Dr. Peter Moy, a world authority on dental implants, during a sold-out conference in Manila recently. Participants also witnessed live dental implant surgery and were updated on the latest development in dental osseointegration at the one-day-only event.

Moy is a protégé of Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark, known as the “father of modern dental implantology.” Moy’s mission is to properly train professional dentists on implant methods and improve the standards of dental osseointegration in the Philippines.

Also at the conference were board members of different dental societies including Philippine Prosthodontic Society’s Dr. Tony Concepcion, Philippine Academy of Esthetic Dentistry’s Dr. Aaron Neal Lu and GT Industries Dr. Steve Mark Gan.

The dental implant conference was presented by Straumann Philippines in partnership with the Philippine Society of Periodontology, Philippine Academy of Implant Dentistry and Philippine Prosthodontic Society.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)