Bignay Wine Making at La Huerta

Dr. Dizon demonstrating bignay wine making.

unWINEd at La Huerta

The first pre-launch event of La Huerta was held at the site in Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna on March 7, 2010, Sunday. The event started at 10 am and ended at 4 pm.

The first part of the event was a lecture demonstration of local wine making, featuring bignay, one of our local fruit wines, which can be found in one of the four clusters of La Huerta; La Luna. La Luna farm lots houses coffee, cacao, and bignay. These crops are grown year-round, with their round canopies a relaxing sight along the road.

Dr. Erlinda Dizon, wine expert and director of the Food Science Cluster at the University of the Philippines Los Banos, demonstrated how to make wine out of bignay fruits.

According to Dr. Dizon, the process of local fruit wine making consists of the following: sorting and washing of the bignay fruits; followed by crushing and slicing; followed by dilution, blending, scooping, sugar adjustment, inoculation, and establishment of mother starter or culture. The most important process for wine making is fermentation, where the sugar is turned into alcohol.

Other local fruits can also be turned to wine like Atis, Tamarind, Banana, and Mangoes.

Bignay also has health benefits. It serves as an antioxidant, which help prevent certain cancers. It also helps cure anorexia or the lack of appetite. Bignay also acts as a mild tranquilizer to reduce anxiety and tension.

Bignay is also a source of blue dye. The second part of the program was wine dyeing. The guests learned how to tie-dye their t shirts using bignay wine. The process consists of tying knots on the tshirts using rubber bands to give them designs and then soaking them on bignay wine (with the addition of synthetic dye to retain color) for thirty minutes or more. The rubber bands are removed to reveal the design created. The t shirts are left under the sun to dry for at least two hours and then washed in cold water.

UnWINED at La Huerta is the first pre-launch event for La Huerta before the grand launch. Each event showcases the pride of each cluster of La Huerta. The second pre-launch event will be a coffee painting session with coffee painter, Sunshine Plata. Coffee can also be found in the La Luna cluster. The third pre-launch event will focus on ostriches and medicinal plants, which can be found in the El Sol and El Cielo clusters.

La Huerta Farms and Residences is the first leisure community development of Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. (SLLI) and its marketing arm, Orchard Property Marketing Corporation (OPMC). The 50-hectare land is owned by Lapanday Properties and is located in the heart of Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna. It is approximately 8 km, 20-minute drive from Batino Exit of South Luzon Expressway and is just ten minutes away from Tagaytay Highlands.

La Huerta emphasizes the benefits of enjoying a full and healthy lifestyle right in one’s own farm estate.

For more information, please contact Liza Crisanto at 470-3794 and at 0922-8665066.