Bicol is one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines. Aside from trekking and hiking, which a lot of backpackers and hikers do, visitors also love its water sports activities like wakeboarding in the Camarines Watersports Complex, swimming, and island hopping.
Foodies also love the fact that Bicol is characterized by its signature spicy dishes, from laing (made of taro leaves) and Bicol express, not to mention its chili ice cream!
Guyabano fruit wine from Bicol.
Aside from the hot spots and hot cuisine of Bicol, however, the province is also teeming with newfound love for wines, tropical fruit wines to be exact. Wine is a mild natural tranquilizer that reduces stress and anxiety, and Bicol being a tropical country, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
There are wines, for example, from passion fruit, jackfruit, sweet sorghum, sugarcane, rice, honey, guava, pineapple, cherries, blueberries, strawberry, rambutan, and tamarind. Some of the locally produced wines include basi (sugarcane), laksoy (nipa), tapuy (rice) and tuba or more popularly known as lambanog, the coconut wine of Bicol which is currently defined as a distilled spirit similar to vodka.
A new addition to the fruit wine industry of Bicol is guyabano wine. Aside from the fact that it has lots of vitamins and minerals to protect one from a range of illnesses, the Bicolanos have transformed this fruit into wine that is increasingly becoming popular among the locals and visitors alike.
What’s better is that with moderate intake of guava wine, you gain the following health benefits: lower the risk of heart attack for people in middle age, prevent blood clots, reduce blood vessel damage from fat deposits, and decrease the risk for ovarian cancer for women. Who ever said “too much of a good thing is bad for you” has obviously never heard of guava wine before!
And the best thing is that, made of tropical fruits they may be, they are just like any other wine when it comes to alcohol content, which is around 8 to 12 percent per bottle. Talk about healthy and having fun at the same time! Cheers to that!
This is a guest post from Alanna Y.
