“A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.”
Louis Pasteur, French biologist and chemist.
Traditionally, in Caribbean villages people drink a fruit beverage called ‘chicha’.
Their ancestors had problems with drinking water because it was full of bacteria. It had to be boiled for a long time and left to settle before it could be used for cooking. They gathered ripe fruit, crushed it and poured water into vats. The skins of all fruits and berries contain wild yeast, and their sweet pulp is full of sucrose. Under the hot sun, fermentation began in the vats, and after a few days, a drink was produced. Chicha made from bananas was particularly strong due to the abundance of wild yeast on their skins. The bananas were crushed together with their skins to produce a drink with the strength of beer. During fermentation, all microbes were killed, making the drink safe to consume. The first Caribbean pirates were French and well versed in winemaking. They surpassed the inventions of the indigenous people by adding crushed sugar cane to the fruit. The result was chicha with the strength of wine.
My family loved making homemade apple wine, as well as cherry and strawberry liqueurs. When I moved to the Caribbean, I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of wild fruit trees and bushes bearing incredibly flavorful, juicy fruit and berries. It was a winemaker’s paradise! So, I got carried away. After many years in making wine experiments, I realized why winemakers everywhere keep their ancestral secrets under lock and key. Someone who has graduated from a higher education institution cannot be considered a specialist. Becoming a specialist takes many years of experimentation, failure and discoveries.
I combined the discoveries of pirates with the experience of local residents and added the methodology of my ancestors. I also used modern scientific achievements in the field of winemaking. I drew knowledge from the websites of American and European winemakers, as well as from my own experiments.
Winemaking in a tropical climate has its own peculiarities. The main problem is heat and temperature fluctuations. When tropical daytime heat is replaced by cool nights, the fermentation process slows down or stops completely. The result is wine containing unprocessed sugar, which makes it sweet. Such wine also has a high content of pectin, a substance present in all fruits. This makes the wine cloudy. It is not wine, but Indian chicha.
To produce dry, clear and aromatic wine, you need to master the fermentation process, which holds many secrets. It took me fifteen years of experimentation to master the art of winemaking. The locals call me ‘Wineman’. This nickname amuses and pleases me. After all, no one else in these parts knows how to make such wine. Today, my collection includes six varieties of red and white wine, from simple table wine to exquisite Vermouth, Martini and Riesling. I am not involved in commercial or industrial wine production. That would turn me into a slave. I love freedom, which is why I have lived in four different countries and been married four times. For me, winemaking is a hobby. Same as writing, fishing, sailing and diving.
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This organic white wine has an alcohol content of 13%. It is made from three types of yellow fruit: cashews, mangoes and pineapples. Thanks to the sea breezes, the fruits and wine made from it have a unique aroma and taste, just like a Cuban cigar.
Placencia wines are born and raised here. They pair well with salads, seafood, meat and fruit. The slice of lime will enhance its fantastic flavor.
Vermouth is the world’s most famous type of aromatised wine, mainly produced in Italy, France, and Spain. It can be sweet or dry, red or white, and is a key ingredient in classic cocktails such as the Martini. However, this fantastic drink is also perfect for sipping on its own.
Placencia Vermouth is an organic, dry red wine made from wild fruits that are nurtured by the Caribbean sea breeze and grown in Placencia. It is matured in a blend of gin, herbs and spices, including mugwort, tarragon, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.
No sulphites or artificial flavours are added, and it has an ABV of 15%.
It is the perfect accompaniment to salads, seafood, meat, and fruit.
Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera) grow on trees found only on the coast of the tropical Caribbean. These trees have large, rounded leaves, and their fruit changes color from green to red-purple when ripe, giving them a sweet-salty flavor. Sea grapes have not been domesticated by humans and cannot be cultivated on plantations because the trees drink seawater.
Thanks to their high vitamin, mineral, antioxidant and omega-3 fatty acid content, sea grapes support heart health, promote youthful skin, improve brain function, aid digestion and strengthen the immune system.
THIS SALTY WINE IS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE SHELVES.
Seagrape wine is one of the healthiest wines. No sulphites or artificial flavors added, and ABV is 13%. Like other white wines, Seagrape Riesling should be chilled before serving. It pairs well with fruit desserts, salty cheeses, roasted chicken or salted nuts.
The wild cherry trees in Placencia have a natural source of melatonin and minerals, and the wine made from it is an excellent base for vermouth, martinis and classic cocktails.
Our organic dry wild cherry wine is matured in a blend of herbs and spices, including nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. No sulphites or artificial flavours are added, and it has an ABV of 13%. It pairs well with fruit desserts, seafood, meat, fruit and chocolate.
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