The best things in life come in threes

On Sept. 12, Winedrop marked its own meaningful three: its third anniversary. The wine and spirits shop celebrated this milestone with this lucky number in mind by hosting a three-day celebration that honors not only its journey, but also the community that made Winedrop possible.

Creating a space for community

Winedrop began its foray into wine and spirits through an online store in 2020, before opening a physical space for customers at Greenhills in 2021, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The idea is that [the Greenhills branch] is a halfway space for people in the North and in Makati,” says Ria Quintana, Winedrop’s marketing specialist and one of the minds behind its three-part celebration.

The store’s proximity to residential areas made it a haven for the surrounding community, who were slowly adapting to a new normal as strict health restrictions began to ease, allowing for intimate gatherings at nearby places.

“Up until now, Greenhills is really more of a community type spot; a last hurrah before you head home,” Quintana explains, “as opposed to Makati, [which] is more of a working crowd.”

The Makati branch, which opened in 2022, now serves as Winedrop’s main office. It also served as the venue for the store’s weekend of anniversary celebrations.

Celebrating with birthday pies and wines

Winedrop kicked off the festivities with a lighthearted yet meaningful kids party-themed gathering, complete with party hats and goodie bags. There, they dished out an unconventional yet delectable combination: three distinctive wines paired with three signature pies.

Though out of the ordinary, the choice to pair artisanal pies with wines over any typical dish—like pasta, for instance—was a no-brainer for Quintana.

“It’s always a great decision to do pasta and wine, but that’s not going to [have people] go, ‘What the heck are you guys thinking?’” she says. “It doesn’t challenge the imagination, as opposed to pies.”

To get their three “birthday pies,” Winedrop collaborated with Raeanne Young Sagan, owner of Instagram-based local bakery Hey Pie People and fellow wine enthusiast.

“Raeanne really liked the idea of challenging wine pairings and making it different than what you would expect,” says Quintana. “With this [collaboration], we made sure that it brought out notes in the wine [and] brought out flavors in the pie.”

After trying out different combinations of wine with Sagan’s signature pies, Winedrop and Hey Pie People shortlisted three playful yet harmonious pairings.

Montecampo Prosecco NV and muscat manchego pie

First, guests were served a glass of bubbly Montecampo Prosecco NV and a slice of muscat manchego pie. Filled with roasted muscat grapes bursting with syrupy sweetness, topped with a nutty and luscious manchego cheese cream, the pie’s decadence was balanced out by the prosecco’s crisp acidity.

Quintana compares the muscat manchego pie with the timeless pairing of wine and charcuterie, saying, “You have your grapes [and] you have your cheeses, [then] you have it with wine… It’s basically a charcuterie board in a pie.”

As if things couldn’t get any more indulgent, the second serving was a comforting slice of apple crumble pie, paired with a glass of Bread & Butter Sliced Chardonnay 2022. The wine’s refined combination of fruity yet subtly vanilla and buttery notes perfectly underscored the pie’s faintly tart baked apples, warm cinnamon, and rich crumble topping.

An unexpected pairing for Winedrop, the apple crumble pie was initially going to be coupled with Tokaj (a type of Hungarian sweet wine), until the more delicately-flavored Bread & Butter chardonnay came up in conversation.

“We tried it, and then we were like, you know what? This is it,” says Quintana. “It [was] more of an ‘Aha!’ moment. That, I think, is how we go with a lot of our wine pairings.”

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Two Hands Tenacity Shiraz 2021 and shepherd’s pie

To end the first of their three-day celebration on a sweet and savory note, Winedrop served guests a third and final glass of Australian Two Hands Tenacity Shiraz 2021, alongside a hearty slice of shepherd’s pie.

A classic pairing among wine enthusiasts, the shiraz’s bold notes of dark fruits, spices, and chocolate were an even match with the dense yet creamy mashed potatoes, savory minced beef, and flaky crust of the shepherd’s pie—a worthy finale to the trio of flavors concocted by Hey Pie People and Winedrop.

Pushing boundaries

Despite the three-day celebration being Winedrop’s first big anniversary celebration, this is not their first time to put a spin on usual wine pairings. Through their Kitchen Takeover series, which the store hosts in collaboration with local restaurants of different cuisines, they continue to show wine enthusiasts that “[they] can pair wine with anything and everything.”

From the classic pairing of oysters and champagne to the wholly original (and Quintana’s personal favorite) combination of Indian food and wine, Winedrop is dedicated to bringing a modern twist to the long tradition of wining and dining, for every wine enthusiast out there.

“It doesn’t have to be something super fancy [and] it doesn’t have to be [for] a momentous occasion,” says Quintana, who, along with other people in the Winedrop office, have paired wine with dishes like lumpiang togue (fried bean sprout spring rolls) and Filipino-style barbecue.

In their desire to bring a similar yet elevated experience to the community, the Kitchen Takeover series was born, and they have been introducing wine enthusiasts to new ways to pair food and wine ever since.

At its core, Quintana explains that that’s what Winedrop is all about: making wine accessible and enjoyable for every member of the community, whether they prefer to pop the cork at a party or at home.

“The idea is that the things that bring people together will always be a perfect vessel to introduce wine,” she ends.