21 October 2007
Now tests exotic fruits for wine-making
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
TABACO CITY—Money sleeps in the local wine-making business, says Dr. Purita Balean, 64, of Barangay Bombon in this city.
But having found her retirement life in this enterprise, there’s no stopping her from expanding her shelf.
Shortly after her accidental venture into the manufacture and selling of Bicol region’s first “indigenous red wine” in 2004, Balean frequently experimented on formulating other wine varieties that could be marketed.
Eventually, in her personal laboratory was conceived the “sweet queen pineapple wine,” which is now recognized as Bicol region’s first ever wine made out of the “formosa” fruit.
The formosa, Balean explains, is the sweetest pineapple variety in the country abundantly produced in and exported from Camarines Norte province.
“I have my own small laboratory at home where I get to try different formulations. If we have the healthy pineapple juice, I told myself, then why not wine?” Balean said.
She added that pineapple wine, which has 10.2 percent alcohol content, complements the red berry wine, which has 6.3 percent alcohol content based on the analysis of the Department of Science and Technology in Bicol.
“The red wine would serve more as a ladies’ drink while the pineapple wine appealed to heavier drinkers, mostly men,” Balean said.
“I would not want to develop wines of higher alcohol content since my wines are only meant for social drinking and family occasions,” she added.
Balean would always tell her buyers of the health benefits of the wine she manufactures.
She said what inspired her are the good testimonies of people about her wine.
“Old people would say it helps them sleep well at night. Women would tell me about its soothing effect on menstrual cramps,” Balean cited.
She said the wine also aids in digestion and has anti-oxidants that are good for the skin and the heart.
Exotic fruits
Balean said she always wanted to explore the use of exotic fruits for wine-making.
Balean’s sweet red berry wine is an indigenous wine blended from the Syzygium fruits or berries, such as what are natively known as “hagis, igot, baligang, makopa, tambis, and zambo.”
The Syzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family of around 500 species and grows in tropical and subtropical regions.
Balean noticed these fruits scattered on the ground when, one day, she and her husband visited their small farm at the foot of Mayon Volcano in 1990.
“The fruits fermenting on the ground produced a smell that reminded me of the wine my professor made in Scotland,” said Balean, who finished a masters degree in Food Science and Microbiology at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1986.
She said her laboratory exposures in Strathclyde, where she studied through a World Bank-funded scholarship, inspired her to conduct her own experiments.
Balean never knew that a 45-minute walk in their farm in Sto. Domingo town in Albay, would eventually yield Bicol’s first indigenous red wine.
“I want to focus in making products out of our native raw materials, like wine out of our exotic, homegrown fruits,” Balean said.
The pineapples Balean uses in wine-making all come from Daet town in Camarines Norte province, while the berries for the red wine come from fertile grounds at the foot of Mayon Volcano.
Unlike the berries that are seasonal, the pineapples are available all year round.
Balean said wine-making is a meticulous enterprise and the kind of fruits and how they are processed determine the quality of the wine.
She said she would teach the farmers and the gatherers how to properly handle the fruits and would make them taste the wine that comes from their own harvests.
Marketability
Through the technical assistance given by the Department of Trade and Industry, Balean was able to improve the packaging of her wine.
Trademarked as “Hannie,” the wines were named after Balean’s daughter, who showed early interest in business but died early due to a heart ailment.
The wines, which have no preservatives, are sealed in bottles accented with netted abaca ropes and a simple sticker label.
The sweetness of the pineapple wine is balanced by refreshing acidity, said Balean, while the red wine remains as the all-time favorite because of its more popular health and culinary benefits.
Balean said the peak season of her wine business is from October to December and during the Holy Week and special holidays when family gatherings would call for drinking sprees.
The two wines come in 350 ml for only P125 and 750 ml for P225.
“Homemade wines in other countries are more expensive than those commercially manufactured but that is not the case in our country,” said Balean.
Nonetheless, she said, she sees a good future in wine-making, especially if it makes use of indigenous and native materials as they are unique and has great export potentials.
“However, it will need a bigger capital, more technologies, a bigger workforce to meet the demands in the export market,” Balean said.
Food items
For the meantime that her wine-business is taking time to develop, Balean also ventured into the manufacture of food products to augment her income and to have something that will complement her wine drinks.
She now manufactures bottled “pinangat” and “Bicol express” at P60 per bottle.
Both the pinangat and the Bicol express are traditional, native Bicolano delicacies that have been innovated through the years.
“Pinangat” is a dish of taro leaves spread with smoked fish, pork, shrimp paste, and herbs cooked in coconut cream. It can be eaten as a side dish or served chilled as a sandwich spread.
The popular “Bicol express,” are chillies, shrimp paste, pork, onion, garlic, and pineapple cooked in coconut cream.
Balean also has bottled “santol” cooked in coconut cream, for P40 and honey for P100.
She said most of her buyers are her relatives, friends and balikbayans.
Having no advertisements, she relies on word of mouth in promoting her products.
Having capitalized at least P200,000 for her wine and food business, Balean said she looks forward to her first export in the next five years, adding she was determined to improve her products and improve her packaging.
Balean was a teacher for 30 years in the Bicol University and the technical services division chief for DOST-Bicol.
In her house, Balean keeps wine varieties she has made but they are not intended yet for commercial purposes.
She said she has seven other fruit wines in her shelf that may be marketed in the future but she is now just happy to serve them free to her family and visiting friends.
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