Wine Tasting @ Adams

Bielmaju Waley-Bawingan is not just a Mayor's wife but a woman on a mission. A few hours conversation with her while tasting wines she personally made will give you a whole new perspective about her mountainous town of Adams - its unmemorable past and its enthusiastically bright future.

Bielma, remembered that times when the City folks of Ilocos look down on Adams. They usually associate highlanders of Adams as second-class citizen and mostly refer to them as mag-uusa (deer-hunters) and tga-bundok (from the mountains) as if they have nothing to offer but dried deer meat and mountain crops.

But over time, things change when outsiders discover the beauty of the place and its strong potential for tourism. Adams has lots to offer in terms of natural beauty and I will feature these places in my future posts.

Bielma is both Adams health officer and tourism chief. She also heads a group of woman into the development of wine industry in Adams. She believes that with its fertile soil, Adams is the perfect place to cultivate Bugnay (Wild Berry), the most essential ingredient of her Bugnay Wine. Although not yet widely-commercialized, Adam's Bugnay wine can be purchases in several stores in Ilocos.

Other than Bugnay, she also produces other wines such as pineapple, kurrant, passion fruit, assem and other fruits. I know there are other fruits she is experimenting on but maybe because its either not familiar to me or alcohol has just taken its toll on me that I could not remember the names.

To sum it up, there are two things I would like to add. First, Adam's Bugnay wine can give Novelino a run for its taste. Second, Adam's Bugnay wine taste good probably because of the mountainous ambiance. I mean, it is something to look forward to when going to that place... and I can't wait to go back there again.

Bielma Waley-Bawingan can be reached at 0917-538-8303 or 0908 863 7193. You can also email her at bielmajuwaley@yahoo.com.