A Visit to an 18th Century Basi Wine Cellar

A Visit to an 18th Century Basi Wine Cellar

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

 

 Late 18th Century Basi wine cellar retains the original brick walls and wooden structure made of hard wood. The jars are original as well, and have been in use through the years in brewing and aging of basi, and lately, different table wines from local fruits. Hermetically sealed jars await 2 to 5 years of aging (10 years on special occasions).    

Original basi wine cellar and jars (burnay) date back to the  18th century across six generations of continuous operation, interrupted only by the Second World War for five years. 

The cellar attracts researchers, students and tourists for its historical significance with the Spanish Galleon Trade, and technology of the old folks in making basi and its related products, principally vinegar (sukang Iloko). By now this jar of basi (right photo) is 15 years old. Unless opened, it remains longer in aging. The general rule is, the longer wine is aged, the more mellow it becomes. It's not really so. There are other factors to consider like damaged clay cap and leaching. And there's the basic rule that "only good wine mellows with age" (So with man, sages add.)

    

House guest, Glenn de Peralta, tourism coordinator, and author (right) delight is displaying wine products of the old cellar. At the background is a mural painting by the author, depicting a typical landscape scene of the Ilocos region, distinctly the sole origin of basi wine.

 

      Left photo, author and tourism coordinator, Mike Escobar from Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, examine bottled basi and fruit wine products as shown in the photo below. Right photo, author poses with Japanese guest, Takehito Kobayashi, a researcher of different kinds of indigenous wine in Asia, which includes basi in the Ilocos region. 

Table Wine products from 16 different local fruits growing in the Ilocos region. Table fruit wine making is a continuing project of developing  table wine from local orchard and wild fruits in the region, basically following the traditional basi wine and vinegar making process. To date, 30 local fruits and root crops like sweet potato and gabi, have been successfully made into table wine.

  

Basi collection souvenirs for wine afficionados.

 Customized basi and fruit wine grace special occasions like wedding and other social celebrations. Ilocos vinegar may be included in the package. Right photo, a country lass displays a rare 10-year old basi, aged in glazed century old jars (burnay).~