A Pilgrimage To Wine Country

You need endurance,” says Jaime Jalandoni, with the measured calm of someone who has learned this the hard way. “And you have to know how to spit.”

This is his advice for navigating a wine trip in Burgundy and Champagne. Not that he’s warning you off. It’s more like he wants you to understand what it actually takes. For Jaime and his partners in Premium Wine Exchange (PWX), the annual trip to France’s most storied wine regions is part pilgrimage, part procurement run, part marathon. In a single day, he and his team may visit up to seven producers, committed to pursuing only the most exciting winemakers to bring into the Philippines. 

Over two weeks, they’ll taste upwards of 200 wines and meet as many as 40 vignerons. First, Paris. Then, the train south, to Burgundy, then Champagne, winding between quaint villages and vineyards in a rented car. On paper, it sounds like the world’s most enviable work trip. In practice, it’s exactly that, and also genuinely difficult. “We joke about it,” Jaime says, with a laugh, “because it’s what a lot of people would love to do on holiday. But it’s hard work. Regardless of the wine’s value or how much you enjoy it, there’s a big difference between tasting and drinking.”