Looking to spice up your Wednesday evening with friends or family and finally let loose from a long work day with a wide array of food and wine selections, as well as some added interactive and thrill-inducing activities with a hint of gambling?
Then brush up on your wine knowledge as Grand Hyatt Manila’s recently launched wine and casino-themed Le Grand Casino du Vin at The Cellar (The Grand Casino of Wines) would tease your palate, stimulate your senses, and make your hands full — of poker chips!
Participants will be greeted with a full set of game tables, chips, and dealers who will engage your wit and provide a real casino experience.
The night kicks off with a four-course dinner created by the team of executive chef Mark Hagen. Dinner consists of a Double Baked Meredith Goat Cheese Souffle, Pumpkin and Ricotta Tortellini, a choice between Grilled Beef Tenderloin or Pan-Seared Sea Bass for the main course, and a Frozen Lemon Parfait for dessert.
After dinner, the night’s main event begins. Every player will be given 12 chips to start betting on three gaming tables, each meant to test your knowledge of different types of wines — i.e. the aroma, flavor, and place of origin.
The first table will make use of your sense of taste and smell to determine if the wine in question is red, white, or rosé by first pouring an aluminum coated bottle to a black matte glass to maintain the secrecy. Once you’ve finally secured your bet, the dealer will transfer the remaining wine in your black glass to a clear one for the moment of truth. A relatively easy challenge for true wine enthusiasts.
Frozen Lemon Parfait.
To take it up a notch, the second table will challenge your ability to smell and determine distinct scents for an aroma sensory game. The game masters will present a random vial from a Le Nez Du Vin wine sensory kit, a tool used to familiarize sommeliers on different notes and aromas, for players to sniff out and choose in the choices offered on the table. A tricky game as some of the aromas are relatively similar to others in the sensory kit.
The final table may be the most challenging in the lineup. A keen tongue must discern if the wine is an old world or a new world wine, a distinction that will require a lengthy reading on the topic. And, if you want to push your luck, you can also gamble on the country or continent the wine was made in, which will reward you five times your wager if you guess correctly.
The activity will culminate with an exciting auction that will make use of the chips earned in all of the games. The players will bid on a variety of prizes including massage vouchers, an expensive wine bottle, a supper for two, and the grand prize of an overnight stay at the hosting hotel.
The Le Grand Casino du Vin runs every first and third Wednesday of the month at Grand Hyatt Manila’s The Cellar, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Entry to the game will start at P3,000 for the four-course dinner, a glass of red and white wine, and 12 playing chips.