We want people to see that making vacation planning a social occasion is the way forward… We believe that vacation planning is always better when shared with others over a glass of wine
Marcus Ingleby
Once upon a time there was a group of four Manila ladies who loved to drink good wine, hunt for good food, and dine in nice restaurants.
One of the ladies, for certain reasons, had to move to Shanghai.
One evening, two of the ladies, tipsy after a few glasses of wine, said to each other, “I miss Edda.”
The other promptly said, “Let’s go visit her!”
This was not new, as it has happened before in the (now defunct) Martini Bar of Mandarin Oriental. This time, however, Ines and I were in our apartment, my husband (ever supportive of anything related to us girls hanging out) and a laptop (to book tickets) on standby… Plus, a mobile phone ready to call Kaye.
Many adventures (and misadventures, including the cancellation of THE AIRLINE) later, it proved to be one of the best times of our lives, and our friendship became stronger (distance, motherhood, and time notwithstanding).
Participants for the dinner had to bring a travel souvenir. Since we were moving houses, I only managed to bring this small oil painting from Montmartre.
This is why when Marcus Ingleby, Regional Senior Brand Manager of Beringer Vineyards, mentioned over dinner in Toyo Eatery that they believe “vacation planning is always better when shared with others over a glass of wine,” I was able to relate on a deeper level.
Or maybe it was the wine… No complaints though! As I’ve written in previous articles on Beringer, it is a consistently good brand (one of my personal favourites being the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, but I’m happy to note that the Relyenong Pusit & Nilupak of Kamote and Sea Urchin, as well as the Bahay Kubo Garden Vegetables went famously with the California Sauvignon Blanc; The California Zinfandel was amazing with the Oysters and Pork, and the California Pinot Noir was great with many of the evening’s fare, but was equally excellent on its own).
People reading this might be wondering what the correlation is between wine and travel. Personally, I like traveling to vineyards in different parts of the world to learn first hand what winemaking is like (because sadly, the Philippines does not have the weather to make wines).
The people behind Beringer found a deeper connection, so much so that they have launched a campaign on TripAdvisor to inspire a “holiday planning revolution”.
This is not without data. According to their research*:
- 1 in 4 Filipinos waste 4 days of leave annually due to poor planning
- Leave is not maximised because:
- 70% have conflicting schedules/responsibilities
- 44% cite a conflict in schedule with their travel buddies
- 11% find planning so overwhelming that they shut down completely
- 51% of Filipinos have gone to a destination they have no interest in, just because someone else was willing to plan it for them
- 97% agree that sharing responsibility of vacation planning makes it more enjoyable
- 85% are guilty of being critical of travel plans they did not help with, while 60% feel frustrated and on the edge when criticised over travel plans that no one helped with
- …BUT 92% believe that planning is more enjoyable when it is social and over a glass of wine
Marcus Ingleby, Regional Senior Brand Manager, Beringer Vineyards
That said, from personal experience, I couldn’t agree with the last point more. Many a Shanghai trip has been planned in this manner, and to echo Ingleby’s sentiments, “We want people to see that making vacation planning a social occasion is the way forward.”
With wine, of course.
Bonus: I know this has very little to do with the article at this point, but people have got to check out the velvety voice of the waiter in Toyo, with his rendition of a Philippine folk song about our vegetables (and the vegetables found in one of the dishes served during the evening), Bahay Kubo:
Pro tip: Don’t forget travel documents and travel itinerary. Border control does not accept inebriation as an excuse. 😉
*Source: The Beringer Travel Planning Survey 2017, which polled 5,000 respondents aged 25-65 years old across the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia in July 2017
Special Thanks to Ms. Katherine Yao-Santos of Happy Living Wines, Mr. Marcus Ingleby, Mr. Jon Sicat, and Mr. Sunny Ku of Masterminds Asia
For the original Manila-Shanghai Ladies: Edda, Ines, and Kaye. I love you girls.
