Basi Revolt 218th Anniversary, September 29, 1807:
Basi Wine
Pride of the Ilocos Region, Philippines
ALL ABOUT BASI WINE, LOCAL FRUITS WINE AND ILOCOS VINEGAR
Dr Abe V RotorLiving with Nature - School on Blog
Part 1 - Bantaoay River - Site of Basi Revolt of 1807
Part 2 - Yeast - the Ubiquitous, Universal Fermenter
Part 3 - Table Wines from Local Fruits
Part 4 - Universal Formula of Basi Wine in Making Table Wine
Part 5 - Integrated Production of Basi and Sukang Iloko
Part 6 - Growing up with Basi
Part 7 - A visit to an 18th century Basi wine cellar, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur
Part 8 - Macopa Table Wine
ANNEX A - Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko) - Nature's Secret of Good HealthANNEX B - Homemade vinegar from local fruitsANNEX C - Mito ng Aklasang Basi - University of the PhilippinesANNEX D - Revisiting the Basi Revolt of 1807: Its Historical andAxiological Relevance Mariano Marcos State University,ANNEX E - San Vicente Ilocos Sur - Where the Bantaoay River Flows
Part 1 - Bantaoay River - Site of Basi Revolt of 1807
The Basi Revolt took place 400 km north of Manila where Diego and Gabriela Silang heroically fought Spanish rule 50 years before. It was precipitated by the declaration of Wine Monopoly by the local Spanish government that virtually took from the hands of small cottage brewers an industry the Ilocos region enjoyed long before Spain colonized the islands. Basi was a major item carried by the Galleon trade plying Ciudad Fernandina (now Vigan City) and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico (1565-1815).
The final battle took place along the Bantaoay River that runs through the town of San Ildefonso down to San Vicente, some 4 km from the capital where the industry flourished. Scores of Spanish soldiers and natives were killed. Although the revolt spread to as far as Ilocos Norte, and Pangasinan to the south, it culminated on September 29, 1907 with the public execution of the captured rebels.
Fourteen big oil paintings depicting the Basi Revolt, also known as Ambaristo Revolt (named after its leader) can be seen today at the Vigan Ayala Museum, which is housed in the original residence of Filipino priest martyr, Fr. Jose Burgos. The painter, Don Esteban Villanueva was an eyewitness of this historic event.
Today, the Basi Revolt lives on with the fine taste and tradition of this unique product standing among the best wines of the world. Nine of the paintings in colored photos are shown in this article. The original paintings may be viewed at the Burgos Museum* in Vigan.
The final battle took place along the Bantaoay River that runs through the town of San Ildefonso down to San Vicente, some 4 km from the capital where the industry flourished. Scores of Spanish soldiers and natives were killed. Although the revolt spread to as far as Ilocos Norte, and Pangasinan to the south, it culminated on September 29, 1907 with the public execution of the captured rebels.
Fourteen big oil paintings depicting the Basi Revolt, also known as Ambaristo Revolt (named after its leader) can be seen today at the Vigan Ayala Museum, which is housed in the original residence of Filipino priest martyr, Fr. Jose Burgos. The painter, Don Esteban Villanueva was an eyewitness of this historic event.
Basi Revolt 1807 - Paintings by Esteban Villanueva
Rotor Basi won the distinct BIDA (Business Incentives Development and Achievement ) award in 2000. It was an encouragement in the revival of a sunset industry in the Ilocos Region. Top photo, the late former administrator Jesus T Tanchanco (right) of the National Food Authority and Mrs Alice Tanchanco pose with the author after receiving the BIDA Award. Right photo, members of the winning team led by the author receive the cash award from BIDA, a joint project led by DOST and DTI (Small and Medium Industries), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Planters Bank of the Philippines.
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*The structure known as the Burgos Museum is an ancestral house constructed in 1788, which was declared as a historical building owing to its association with the martyred priest, Fr. Jose Burgos (1837-1872), whose death along with two other priests sparked the anti-Spanish colonial resistance.Basi and Local Fruits Wine
Signature of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur Philippines
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Basi wine keeps up with the evolving market. Related wine products from chico, mango, caimito and other native fruits), and the famous Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko) proudly stand among local and imported brands. Samples of San Vicente products in tourists shops in Vigan, UNESCO Heritage City, and recently one of the new seven wonder cities of the world. San Vicente town 3-km west of Vigan has been recently declared Heritage Zone of the North under RA 11645. **
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** Under RA 11645, the DOT, in coordination with the Province of Ilocos Sur, the Municipality of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, and the NCCA and its affiliated cultural agencies, will also immediately prepare the development plan involving the preservation, conservation, restoration, and maintenance of cultural and historical landmarks, shrines, establishments, etc. 
Personalized basi labels: Left, historical sites of the Ilocos
region labels; wedding gift
Part 2
Yeast - the Ubiquitous, Universal Fermenter
Bottled basi wine for tourists shops and for export. Basi was among the items carried between the Philippines and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico, during the Galleon Trade era (17th and 18th century) when the Philippines was a colony of Spain, so with Mexico. Old folks attribute the unique fine taste of basi to bubud (homemade yeast).
Wine making is converting sugar into ethanol. Ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) is universal in all alcoholic drinks from beer to table wine to liquor, irrespective of generic or brand name. The strength of wine is indicated by proof, which is actually twice that of its percentage content.
Thus, 80 proof is 40 percent ethanol, which is the strength of Vodka, some Brandy, Cognac, Whiskey, and the like. The strength of beer normally ranges from 3 to 5 percent, unless fortified with distilled ethanol to raise it to say, 7 percent. Fortified wine is also common.
Natural table wine such as Basi of the Ilocos region, table wine from grapes and other fruits, normally contain 10 to 12 percent ethanol. Beyond this level, the fermenting yeasts simply die off from the accumulation of ethanol - a biological phenomenon called autotoxicity. It means that the yeasts are killed by their own product, often leaving behind the unfermented sugar. It is this residual sugar that makes a wine sweet - naturally, that is.
Author shows ripe leaves of samat or binuga (Cananga tenarius)
used in making basi and table wine.
Yeast is found in ripening leaves. Here the leaves contain the highest level of sugar which the plant did not use or store. The yeast acts of the sugar and as the leaves fall to the ground, a myriad of microorganisms and animals (from fungi to earthworms and grazing animals) obtain their energy from them. Ultimately the organic matter left behind becomes part of the soil, releases the needed nutrients to the growing plants and those in the next generation.
Yeast is ubiquitous, it is found in flowers, ripening fruits, honeydew, ripening leaves. It comes in different species under the genus Saccharomyces, among them cerevisiae and ellipsoides. There are also other genera such as Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. Not all yeasts make good wine. But one thing is universal to them. It is Nature's way of converting sugar molecules (C6H12O6) back to their elemental form. Oxidation often accompanies such process, thus converting ethanol to acetic acid (CH3COOH), which is vinegar. Vinegar actually is a term, vin-egar, which means sour wine.
Natural vinegar is oxidized ethanol, usually with the aid of bacteria, principally Acetobacter and Leuconostoc. The latter forms gelatinous capsule that accumulates into a transparent to white layer we call nata. This is the principle involved in making nata de coco and nata de piña.
Yeast is ubiquitous, it is found in flowers, ripening fruits, honeydew, ripening leaves. It comes in different species under the genus Saccharomyces, among them cerevisiae and ellipsoides. There are also other genera such as Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. Not all yeasts make good wine. But one thing is universal to them. It is Nature's way of converting sugar molecules (C6H12O6) back to their elemental form. Oxidation often accompanies such process, thus converting ethanol to acetic acid (CH3COOH), which is vinegar. Vinegar actually is a term, vin-egar, which means sour wine.
Natural vinegar is oxidized ethanol, usually with the aid of bacteria, principally Acetobacter and Leuconostoc. The latter forms gelatinous capsule that accumulates into a transparent to white layer we call nata. This is the principle involved in making nata de coco and nata de piña.
So, even before sugar ferments to vinegar, nata bacteria and other contaminants can spoil wine and vinegar making. A host of organisms are soon attracted such as Drosophila flies, blue bottle flies, wasps, moths and butterflies that feed on the spoiled must. This is happening to unharvested fruits in the field, to remnants of pollination and fertilization, It is true in ponds and lakes where biomass of algae die of algal bloom. Ultimately the product is simply water, evaporating into the air or settling down into a pool or seeping into the ground, and all the organic compounds once part of the living world are back to their elemental components ready to be reassembled into the next living generation. Indeed this a great wonder on how Nature keeps a dynamic balance of the environment called homeostasis.
We can only imagine the ingenuity of wine makers far back during the Egyptian civilization, and in the Orient, the Chinese civilization. I had a chance to visit the ruins of an Assyrian fort on the Plains of Judah outside Tel-Aviv. Our guide pointing at the site said, "The Assyrians were among the best wine makers in the ancient world." The Assyrians were powerful, not even Ramses could conquer them, They had a flourishing economy. Their vineyards can be glimpsed from the vineyards around the place which is Lakish today. Lakish wine is well-known all over the world, perhaps as famous as the Bordeaux in France.
Without yeast, our world would be a less happy one. Perhaps many organisms wouldn't be around in the first place, including us humans.
Preparation of Bubod – Yeast Complex
Closeup of bubud, homemade yeast complex.
Basi is aged from one to ten years in glazed jars (burnay) capped with clay.
Brewing, aging and bottling follow traditional and modern process.
Here is a list of yeast isolates from plants growing at the SPCQ garden. The author, in collaboration with a co-researcher and co-professor, Dr. Anselmo S Cabigan Ph.D. at St Paul University QC, developed the combined process of isolation, multiplication, identification and banking of yeast complex. Thanks to the biology majors who worked for their theses in this field of study.
Researcher/Plant Source/Wild Yeast
Researcher/Plant Source/Wild Yeast
1.Muega, N Basil (Ocimun basilicum), Debaryomyces,
Indonesian Queen - Justicia (Trichosporon genderossa),
and kamuning Kloerckera
(Murraya pinnaculata)
2.Valdez, M.M Guava (Psidium guajava) Brettanomyces
Powderpuff (Calliandra cergenila) Debaryomyces
Aratilis (Muntigia calabura) Saccharomyces,
Trichosporon
4. Ngo, LM Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Cryptoccocus,
Hansenula
The isolation of these wild yeasts was made possible using a technique developed in the laboratory of SPUQC. Food Development Center of the National Food Authority (NFA) analyzed and identified the yeast isolates.
Part 1 - Isolation and Identification of Wild Yeasts from Plants
1. Determination of possible sources of wild yeasts. Since yeast is ubiquitous, it is likely found in places where there is a ready supply of sugar. Pollen and nectarines of flowers offer such as an ideal place.
2. Yeast cells are isolated from these floral parts and inoculated in a 15 percent sucrose solution contained in sterilized bottles (3/4 volume). Beer bottles are preferred because their brown or green color protects the isolates from UV radiation.
3. The bottles are plugged with sterilized cotton and are kept in a dark, cool chamber for at least three days.
4. As fermentation takes place, carbon dioxide evolves and in the process creates a CO2-rich chamber in the bottle that serves as an aseptic blanket especially against aerobic bacteria.
5. The culture is then analyzed in the laboratory. Identification of the yeast isolates is done using the standard procedure of FDC. Yeast isolates by Muega et al at SPUQ were obtained using this procedure.
6. The next step is the isolation and culture of the desired yeast isolates for specific purposes. However, the yeast complex as a whole, after proper identification, can be propagated for commercial use.
Part 2 – Propagation and Banking/Storage of the Yeast Isolates
1. The yeast complex is allowed to multiply for another 5 days in the culture bottles. Detection of any contaminant necessitates discarding the culture, and the procedure is repeated.
2. Rice flour is heated to 100 degrees Celsius and allowed to cool to 50 to 60 degrees Celsius (equivalent to pasteurization). The fermenting sugar solution is the mixed with the flour to make dough. Ground dry ginger is added at the rate of 1 part to 4 parts rice flour. The dough is mashed thoroughly and made into balls, two inches in diameter.
3. The balls are laid on cheesecloth, lined with clean rice straw, and incubated in a wooden box for 5 to 6 days in a dark, enclosed chamber, at 35 to 40 degree Celsius.
4. The balls are air-dried for 3 to 5 days, or until they are dry enough to be pulverized. Direct sunlight may kill the yeast cells. This is now the inoculant that is used in basi and fruit wine making. The rate of inoculation is equivalent to 10 balls to a standard size jar (burnay).
5. The powdered inoculant can be stored in an airtight glass container and placed in the vegetable section of a refrigerator. Viable storage time is around 6 months.
Part 3 – Alternative Procedures and Other Applications of the Rotor-Cabigan Protocol
1. Substrates may vary, according to the microorganisms to be propagated and banked. Papaya pulp is commonly used for Aspergillus niger as shown in the experiment of Marasigan, 1995.
2. Papaya pulp is also recommended in the preparation of Rhizobium inoculant for soybeans and other legumes (Jacob 1997)
3. Other fruit pulps such as citrus and mango have been tried successful in the propagation of food-fermenting organisms such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides (nata de coco), Lactobacillus (yogurt), Micrococcus and Pediococcus (patis), and other Halobacteria (bacteria responsible in bagoong making). (8)
4. Other alternatives the protocol can adopt are in the propagation of
cellulose-breaking bacteria such as Trichoderma, and biological pesticide such as Bacillus thuringiensis.
(Murraya pinnaculata)
2.Valdez, M.M Guava (Psidium guajava) Brettanomyces
Powderpuff (Calliandra cergenila) Debaryomyces
Aratilis (Muntigia calabura) Saccharomyces,
Trichosporon
3.Lacap, DC Duhat (S. cumini) Saccharomyces
Saccharomycodes, Debaryomyces,
Hansenula
Kloeckera
Nematospora
Saccharomycodes, Debaryomyces,
Hansenula
Kloeckera
Nematospora
4. Ngo, LM Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Cryptoccocus,
Hansenula
The isolation of these wild yeasts was made possible using a technique developed in the laboratory of SPUQC. Food Development Center of the National Food Authority (NFA) analyzed and identified the yeast isolates.
The Rotor-Cabigan Protocol is summarized in three parts:
Part 1 - Isolation and Identification of Wild Yeasts from Plants
1. Determination of possible sources of wild yeasts. Since yeast is ubiquitous, it is likely found in places where there is a ready supply of sugar. Pollen and nectarines of flowers offer such as an ideal place.
2. Yeast cells are isolated from these floral parts and inoculated in a 15 percent sucrose solution contained in sterilized bottles (3/4 volume). Beer bottles are preferred because their brown or green color protects the isolates from UV radiation.
3. The bottles are plugged with sterilized cotton and are kept in a dark, cool chamber for at least three days.
4. As fermentation takes place, carbon dioxide evolves and in the process creates a CO2-rich chamber in the bottle that serves as an aseptic blanket especially against aerobic bacteria.
5. The culture is then analyzed in the laboratory. Identification of the yeast isolates is done using the standard procedure of FDC. Yeast isolates by Muega et al at SPUQ were obtained using this procedure.
6. The next step is the isolation and culture of the desired yeast isolates for specific purposes. However, the yeast complex as a whole, after proper identification, can be propagated for commercial use.
Part 2 – Propagation and Banking/Storage of the Yeast Isolates
1. The yeast complex is allowed to multiply for another 5 days in the culture bottles. Detection of any contaminant necessitates discarding the culture, and the procedure is repeated.
2. Rice flour is heated to 100 degrees Celsius and allowed to cool to 50 to 60 degrees Celsius (equivalent to pasteurization). The fermenting sugar solution is the mixed with the flour to make dough. Ground dry ginger is added at the rate of 1 part to 4 parts rice flour. The dough is mashed thoroughly and made into balls, two inches in diameter.
3. The balls are laid on cheesecloth, lined with clean rice straw, and incubated in a wooden box for 5 to 6 days in a dark, enclosed chamber, at 35 to 40 degree Celsius.
4. The balls are air-dried for 3 to 5 days, or until they are dry enough to be pulverized. Direct sunlight may kill the yeast cells. This is now the inoculant that is used in basi and fruit wine making. The rate of inoculation is equivalent to 10 balls to a standard size jar (burnay).
5. The powdered inoculant can be stored in an airtight glass container and placed in the vegetable section of a refrigerator. Viable storage time is around 6 months.
Part 3 – Alternative Procedures and Other Applications of the Rotor-Cabigan Protocol
1. Substrates may vary, according to the microorganisms to be propagated and banked. Papaya pulp is commonly used for Aspergillus niger as shown in the experiment of Marasigan, 1995.
2. Papaya pulp is also recommended in the preparation of Rhizobium inoculant for soybeans and other legumes (Jacob 1997)
3. Other fruit pulps such as citrus and mango have been tried successful in the propagation of food-fermenting organisms such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides (nata de coco), Lactobacillus (yogurt), Micrococcus and Pediococcus (patis), and other Halobacteria (bacteria responsible in bagoong making). (8)
4. Other alternatives the protocol can adopt are in the propagation of
cellulose-breaking bacteria such as Trichoderma, and biological pesticide such as Bacillus thuringiensis.
Part 3
Table Wines from Local Fruits
Living with Nature Center Products
Table Wine products from 16 different local fruits growing in the Ilocos region
Table fruit wine making is a continuing project of the author in developing
table wine from different local orchard and wild fruits in the region.
Table wines from various local fruits in season, and lately, from local
root crops like sweet potato and taro or gabi.
House guests at the 18th century old cellar. "It's like living in the time of the Galleon Trade (16th to 18th century) when basi wine was one of the important products carried by galleon ships to Europe via Acapulco, Mexico."
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An 18th Century Basi Cellar
Living With Nature Center, San Vicente Ilocos Sur ~
Part 4
Universal Formula of Basi Wine in Making Table Wine
Fruit Wine from Local Fruits in Season
Fruit Wine from Local Fruits in Season
Table wine from different local fruits produced at the Living with Nature Center
Yes, you can make wine from many fruits, particularly those in season.
1. Choose the fully ripe fruits, fresh and without blemishes.
2. Discard over ripe fruits and those with injury and signs of pest and diseases.
3. Wash thoroughly, remove peduncle, stem, leaves, dirt.
4. Slice thinly (banana), peel but include rind (rambutan), remove seeds from pulp
and skin (mango), mash, remove seed (duhat), peel off and include skin (piña).
5. Add red (natural) sugar to raise sugar content twice that of the sugar in the
5. Add red (natural) sugar to raise sugar content twice that of the sugar in the
particular fruit.
6. Add equal amount of water (liter) to weight fruit and sugar (kilo). This is the must.
7. Add to the must baker's yeast, 1 tbsp per 5 liters of must.
8. Use glass jar or earthen jar (tapayan or burnay). Don't use plastic bottles.
9. Seal with cotton to allow gas to escape during fermentation. Warning: Container
6. Add equal amount of water (liter) to weight fruit and sugar (kilo). This is the must.
7. Add to the must baker's yeast, 1 tbsp per 5 liters of must.
8. Use glass jar or earthen jar (tapayan or burnay). Don't use plastic bottles.
9. Seal with cotton to allow gas to escape during fermentation. Warning: Container
may break if cover is tight.
10. After 15 to 20 days, decant - transfer filtrate to another container for aging for
10. After 15 to 20 days, decant - transfer filtrate to another container for aging for
at least one year. Seal airtight. Use sediment for feeds, or make it into compost.
11. Keep in cool and dark place for the entire aging period.
12. Harvest. Say a little prayer. Serve as is, or chilled. Congratulations!
11. Keep in cool and dark place for the entire aging period.
12. Harvest. Say a little prayer. Serve as is, or chilled. Congratulations!
Preparing the must in earthen jars: rambutan (above), and banana. Lower photo, author checks final composition of banana must with yeast.
Table Wine from 12 common tropical fruits.
1. Mango
2. Guyabano
3. Pineapple
4. Guava (native)
5. Duhat
6. Dragon Fruit
7. Sineguelas
8. Rambutan
9. Nangka
10. Macopa
11. Chico
12. Banana
2. Guyabano
3. Pineapple
4. Guava (native)
5. Duhat
6. Dragon Fruit
7. Sineguelas
8. Rambutan
9. Nangka
10. Macopa
11. Chico
12. Banana
Other indigenous fruits in the Philippines
13. Limonsito
14. Aratilis
15. Macopa
16. Lubeg
17. Kamachile
18. Caimito
19. Mansanitas (Aratiles)
20. Bignay
Other fruits
21. Pomegranate
22. Aplas (wild fig)
23. Lanzones
24. Marang
25. Limonsito
26. Kamias
27. Karamay
29. Pomelo
30. Pusa-pusa (Wild Passion fruit)
31. Tultullaya (Physalis)
32. Nangka
33. Tibbig (Ficus)
34. Watermelon
35. Melon
Root Crops
- Sweet Potato
- Taro or Gabi
- Tugui'
- Ube
- Kama-nged
NOTE: Vinegar (vin-egar or sour wine) may be produced from the same fruits. Thus, fruit wine can be made into vinegar (e.g. tamarind vinegar, pineapple vinegar) through the process of acetification. Acetic acid or vinegar (CH3COOH) is oxidized ethanol (C2H5OH + O2).
Fruits in season come plentiful that otherwise go to waste. Make fruit wines from them instead. And vinegar, too, which is a by-product of wine making. The formula follows basically that of basi wine making. Here are two dozen kinds of fruit wine made from local fruits, from macopa to guava, and from wild species, Is-is (Ficus) to Aratiles (Muntingia). You can also make Mead (Honey wine) from local honey.
Here are some fruits that make excellent Table Wine
Siniguelas (Spondias purpurea) Family Anacardiaceae;
macopa (Eugenia jambolana) Family Myrtaceae
sampalok (Tamarindus indica), Family Leguminosae
Pomegranate (Punica granatum), family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae;camachile (Pithecollobium dulce) Family Leguminusae.
Back Label: Philippine History – The Basi Revolt of 1807
The revolt erupted 400 km north of Manila, where Diego and Gabriela Silang fought heroically against Spanish rule 50 years earlier. The cause: Declaration of Wine Monopoly by the Spanish government virtually taking from the hands of local brewers an industry the Ilocos region had long enjoyed even before Spain colonized the islands. For centuries basi was an important item of commerce among Asian neighbors, and later with the Galleon Trade (1565-1815) plying Ciudad Fernandina (now Vigan City) and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico. The final battle took place along Bantaoay River with scores of Spanish soldiers and natives killed. On September 29, 1807 the captured rebels were executed. Artist Don Esteban Villanueva, an eyewitness recorded the historic event in 14 big paintings, now seen at the Vigan Ayala Museum at the original residence of priest martyr, Fr. Jose Burgos. This bottle is a tribute to the heroes of the Basi Revolt and their descendants. Today basi stands among the finest wines of the world.
Product Guarantee: Basi is brewed and aged in glazed jars (burnay. It is made from sugarcane, rice, and botanical ingredients - Pithecolobium dulce, Macaranga tanarius and Syzigium cumini. No flavoring and coloring added; no filter and plastic container used. This product meets the European Standard for Champagne, Port and Sherry. (Reference: PFDCS 2498 & PFDCS 9429, Food Development Center, National Food Authority.) Approximately 21 proof. (Ref: 01-00-0CL-0017, ITDI, Department of Science and Technology.) A product of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Content: 750 ml/375 ml.
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Part 5 - Integrated Production of Basi and Sukang Iloko
(In celebration of the 218th Anniversary of the Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807- September 29, 2025)
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Historic Vigan, UNESCO Heritage city, a main tourists' attraction 400 kilometers north of Manila, northern seaport of the Galleon Trade which carried basi among the local products exported to Europe via Acapulco in Mexico.
Basi in earthen jars hermetically capped with clay for the duration of aging which lasts one to five years, or more. The earthen jars, called burnay, are made of special earth mined at the hilly outskirt of Vigan. It is glazed to last for many years, in fact generations. The centuries-old process has not changed. Pagburnayan, the seat of jar making, is a main tourists' attraction.
Basi and Sukang Iloko are displayed in tourists shops in Vigan. The labels of Rotor Basi carry the synopsis of the Basi Revolt of 1807. The front label of every bottle depicts a historical place and event of the Ilocos Region, There are dozens of such historic labels, that make a fine collection of the product. Another set of labels depicts the Basi Revolt paintings by Don Esteban Villanueva.
The significance of the industry during the Spanish period can be attested by the fact that the Spanish government declared monopoly on the industry in the same way the Tobacco Monopoly was imposed. This move stirred an uprising by the brewers and natives in the Ilocos region which became known as the Basi Revolt of 1807. (1) See the synopsis of the Basi Revolt.
The Commonwealth era further saw the decline in the production of basi and sukang Iloko displaced by imported products. This was exacerbated by the outbreak of the World War II. The industry has never recovered since then. Today’s generation has a vague idea of this fine, traditional industry, which was once the pride of our ancestors, particularly the Ilocanos.
The idea of reviving this sunset industry holds potentials in creating livelihood opportunities, and in integrating agriculture and industry in the classical concept of agribusiness that is rural- and people-based. The industry offers natural products that protect people’s health, and are friendly to the environment. Lastly it revives the spirit of nationalism, culture and tradition.(3))
Basi is table wine made from upland sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), glutinous rice (Oryza sativa), and local botanical ingredients: duhat (Syzygium cumini), kamachile (Pithecolobium dulce) and samat (Macaranga tenarius) kariskis (Albizzia lebbecoides), and kupkupyies (Desmodium gangiticum). Bubud, a yeast complex preparation is used as the fermenting agent. It is locally prepared using simple techniques developed at the St. Paul University QC biological laboratory with the assistance of Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan. (6,7,9 & 13)
Basically basi is a product of ethanol fermentation, with 12 proof which is equivalent to 6 % alcohol (Ref: DOST-ITDI Report of Analysis 01-00-0CL-0017). The bio-chemical equation in basi fermentation is shown in this general formula:
Zymase
C6 H 12 O6 ------------- 2 C2H5OH + 2CO2
Sugarcane Yeast Basi
This equation shows that basi is the direct product of anaerobic fermentation by a variety of yeast, principally by the genus Saccharomyces of which two species are involved: ellipsoides and cerevisiae. Two other genera make up the locally produced bubud or yeast complex, namely Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. (11, 12)
Sukang Iloko, on the other hand is basi “gone sour”. Vin egar means sour wine. This means that basi, like any table wine, spontaneously turns into vinegar when oxidized with the aid of microorganism-fermenters. A single continuing process then produces both products – wine and vinegar. Thus, the following equation shows oxidation or acetification (vinegar formation).
A. Historical Background
The manufacture of Ilocos wine (Basi) and vinegar (Sukang Iloko) is traced long before Spain colonized the Philippines. Although the two products were already part of a flourishing trade between the Philippines and its neighboring countries, basi in particular reached prominence when it became an export via the Galleon Trade to Europe by way of Acapulco, which lasted for nearly two centuries. (4)The significance of the industry during the Spanish period can be attested by the fact that the Spanish government declared monopoly on the industry in the same way the Tobacco Monopoly was imposed. This move stirred an uprising by the brewers and natives in the Ilocos region which became known as the Basi Revolt of 1807. (1) See the synopsis of the Basi Revolt.
The Commonwealth era further saw the decline in the production of basi and sukang Iloko displaced by imported products. This was exacerbated by the outbreak of the World War II. The industry has never recovered since then. Today’s generation has a vague idea of this fine, traditional industry, which was once the pride of our ancestors, particularly the Ilocanos.
The idea of reviving this sunset industry holds potentials in creating livelihood opportunities, and in integrating agriculture and industry in the classical concept of agribusiness that is rural- and people-based. The industry offers natural products that protect people’s health, and are friendly to the environment. Lastly it revives the spirit of nationalism, culture and tradition.(3))
The Products
Basi is table wine made from upland sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), glutinous rice (Oryza sativa), and local botanical ingredients: duhat (Syzygium cumini), kamachile (Pithecolobium dulce) and samat (Macaranga tenarius) kariskis (Albizzia lebbecoides), and kupkupyies (Desmodium gangiticum). Bubud, a yeast complex preparation is used as the fermenting agent. It is locally prepared using simple techniques developed at the St. Paul University QC biological laboratory with the assistance of Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan. (6,7,9 & 13)
Basically basi is a product of ethanol fermentation, with 12 proof which is equivalent to 6 % alcohol (Ref: DOST-ITDI Report of Analysis 01-00-0CL-0017). The bio-chemical equation in basi fermentation is shown in this general formula:
Zymase
C6 H 12 O6 ------------- 2 C2H5OH + 2CO2
Sugarcane Yeast Basi
This equation shows that basi is the direct product of anaerobic fermentation by a variety of yeast, principally by the genus Saccharomyces of which two species are involved: ellipsoides and cerevisiae. Two other genera make up the locally produced bubud or yeast complex, namely Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. (11, 12)
Sukang Iloko, on the other hand is basi “gone sour”. Vin egar means sour wine. This means that basi, like any table wine, spontaneously turns into vinegar when oxidized with the aid of microorganism-fermenters. A single continuing process then produces both products – wine and vinegar. Thus, the following equation shows oxidation or acetification (vinegar formation).
Acetobacter acetiC2H5OH + O2 -------------------- CH3COOH + 2H2OBasi (Ethanol) to Sukang Iloko (Acetic acid)
As shown by the two equations, the two products – wine and vinegar - are integrated. The dual process can be extended to the production of Nata de Coco, and various kinds of fruit wine and fruit vinegar. This means that the formula is applicable in the production of other products, a key to increased productivity of an enterprise. In this paper however, only basi and vinegar production is described. Nata de coco making may be treated as a separate enterprise. (12)
B. General Features of a Basi-Vinegar Industry
1. It revives a once flourishing industry, making use of indigenous tools and materials. Thus, it also relives a rich history of a people and culture.
2. As a cottage- and rural-based family business, it is dependent on family and local manpower, but nonetheless requires innovations in both technology and management.
3. Its products are made from natural materials and by a natural process, hence safe to health and environment-friendly.
4. It makes use of local researches and indigenous skills, thus it is important to both research institutions and industry. It therefore, links the research system and enterprise system on one hand, and the field with the laboratory on the other.
5. It is viable as a short- or medium-scale enterprise, and can be expanded on long-term basis, which makes it compatible with business organizations, especially family enterprises and cooperatives.
6. It supports the philosophy on which NACIDA and KALAKALAN 20 were founded. It is in line with the government’s program on small and medium enterprises, led by DTI, UP Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises, and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
7. As a dollar earner (and saver), it takes pride in a modest sense in propagating an indigenous and truly Filipino product that meets international standard for European table wines, in the likes of sherry and mass wine. (Ref: PFDCS 2498 and 9429, Food Development Center, National Food Authority)
8. The universal formula in the production of the two products lends to expansion of product lines within the same framework of technology and business organization. Table wine can be produced from local fruits such as chico (Achras sapota), pineapple (Ananas comosus), mango (Mangifera indica), guava (Psidium guajava), cashew (Anacardium occidentale) and the like, using the same production formula. This is true in making vinegar out of these fruits particularly during their peak season.
The Process
1. Cleaning and Sterilization of Jar Containers
The jars are thoroughly cleaned. This takes three weeks, with the water changed three times, once every week. The author introduced a technique of improving and hastening the cleaning process by culturing the tiny kataba fish in the jar (Poecilia) feeding on mosquito wrigglers, algae, other plankton organisms, and decomposing matter. With this innovation, cleaning is more thorough and the time required is reduced to a period of one week instead of two. Sterilization of the jars after they are clean is by direct sunlight exposure for at least 6 hours.
2. Brewing
Cooked sugarcane juice is poured into the sterilized jars. The botanical ingredients, bubud (yeast complex) and glutinous rice are then added and the jars are loosely capped with banana leaves and cheesecloth cloth. Fermentation soon takes place and increases in rate until the twentieth day. Thereafter brewing declines. The sediments are removed and the jars are closed, and are ready for ageing.
3. Ageing
The jars are hermetically sealed with termite earth, another innovation by the entrepreneur. Termite earth is dug from a anthill or punso. There are two advantages of using this sealing material: it is clay-hard, and it is termite-proof – because it is waste of the termites. The jars are kept in a dark cool place away from the elements of nature, insects and other forms of disturbance. The idea of ageing is to allow the wine to mellow in order to attain a desired aroma, bouquet or body, color, taste, and other qualities. The wine matures in 10 to 12 months. There is a saying that prolonged ageing improves a “good” wine, but not a “poor” wine. The author can attest to the exceptional quality of basi aged for two up to five years. Other than capital being tied up in long storage, shrinkage is also a problem due to jar leaching and seepage.
4. Bottling and Packaging
Long-necked glass bottles with 750 ml content are obtained from suppliers of new or recycled bottles. The bottles are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized. The bottles are directly filled up with the harvested wine after passing laboratory test (percent alcohol and acidity) and organoleptic test (taste, color, bouquet, etc.). They are capped, sealed, and labeled. They are covered with yellow to orange cellophane to reduce ultraviolet radiation, and placed in individual brown bags and in carton boxes of 12 bottles per box.
Materials and Ingredients
1. Sugarcane – Saccharum officinarum Linn, or unas in Iloko, provides the main ingredient, the source of sucrose extracted by wooden cane crusher or dadapilan. The extracted juice is cooked and evaporated in large kettle until 10 percent sucrose is attained.
2. Kamachili – Pithecolobium dulce (Roxb) Benth. The bark is used for its tannin and crimson red dye.
3. Samat - Macaranga tanarius (Linn) Muell-Arg. Its leaves and fruits are concocted and added to the must during fermentation. Its tannin and dye impart body and bouquet to the wine.
4. Rice – Oryza zativa Linn. Rice increases supply of sugar. Hydrolysis converts polysaccharide into simple sugar, which is ultimately acted upon by yeast. Rice is the main substrate of bubud.
5. Peanut – Archis hypogea Linn. It contains arachis oil and albuminoids, impart special taste and aroma preferred by women drinkers.
6. Kariskis – Albizzia lebbekoides (DC) Benth. Its leaves and pods impart acrid and bitter taste. Moderate amounts enhance body and bouquet of the wine.
7. Cacao – Theobroma cacao Linn. Basi makers add cacao for its chocolaty aroma.
8. Kupkupies – Desmodium gangiticum (Linn) DC. The whole plant is used as filter while the sugarcane juice is being cooked. It imparts a pleasant aroma to the cooked juice.
9. Ginger – Zingiber officinale Rosc. Antibacterial, it is used as an ingredient in the preparation of bubud
10. Duhat – Syzygium cumini (Linn) Skeels. Bark and ripe fruits impart dark color, acrid and bitter taste that contribute to the body and bouquet of the wine.
Quality Control
The ground floor of an old brick house in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, serves as cellar, office and working area. It houses a small office and laboratory. It is readily accessible to the sources of raw materials, buyers and transport facilities. Burnay or earthen jars (15-liter capacity) are made in Vigan. The net content of each jar can fill up 50 long necked bottles of 750 ml, the standard packaging of both products. The principal tools are light microscope, sugar meter, hydrometer, refractometer, pH meter, and accessories such as weighing scale, beakers and test tubes. Analyses and experiments involving sophisticated equipment like chromatograph and distilling apparatus are conducted in cooperation with research institutions like DOST and FDC.
The main ingredient is cooked pure sugarcane juice. Hydrometer reading is around 20 degrees Baume depending on the sucrose content and variety of the cane. Glutinous rice increases concentration since starch is a polysaccharide. Through hydrolysis, starch is broken down into simple sugars. Bubod is a yeast complex prepared from pure culture in the laboratory consisting of several strains of yeast. Four of the strains were isolated at the SPCQ botanical Garden by the faculty and students in biology led by Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan. Results of the discovery was confirmed by FDC and DOST and published in the St. Paul University Faculty Journal. Five local plants are used in making basi and vinegar. These are kamachile, duhat, samat, kariskis and kupkupyes. Distilled water is ideal to prevent contamination and unwanted materials..
Quality control starts with the choice of sugarcane variety, its cultivation, stage of maturity and crop stand. Too much nitrogen fertilizer is not advisable. Upland crop is preferred over lowland crop. The cultivation of the cane follows local practices with innovations recommended by PCARRD (Philippines Recommends for Sugarcane.) Only premium canes are assigned for basi while inferior canes, such as those affected by drought or typhoons are used for vinegar making.
The key to product quality is in the three stages of manufacture: formulation, brewing and ageing. The skill is acquired through training and experience augmented with basic knowledge in chemistry and microbiology. It is in this stage that laboratory analysis is regularly conducted to monitor percent sugar, acidity of must (fermenting material), cell count of the yeast complex, and fermentation rate.
The last phase of quality control is in bottling, capping and sealing, labeling and packing. Consistency of product quality is of utmost consideration, not only for the whole shipment, but also in all sales, bearing in mind market demand and international standards. Food Development Center, which is authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration and USDA, determines the quality of products exported to the US and its territories. Basi has been determined by the Food Development Center of the National Food Authority for having passed the standard for Sherry, Port and Champagne. (Ref: PFDCS 2498/9429)
Organoleptic Analysis
A taste test was conducted on two occasions among basi drinkers in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur in 1999. Using the Likert scale of 1 to 5, the average rating was 4.05, which proved that the product is of high quality. Earlier a similar test was conducted among the participants of ASEAN-New Zealand Symposium on ethnobotany. Basi was presented as an indigenous product using native herbals. The overall rating obtained was Very Good (4.21).
The criteria of a good wine were defined in another organoleptic test in a seminar sponsored by the Biotechnology Society of UST and the UST Graduate School in 1999. These are aroma, color, clarity, strength, sweetness, general taste, aftertaste, acrid taste, and body or fullness. Actual taste test revealed that basi topped the overall rating with 3.26, closely followed by Local Brand S (3.17). The imported brands garnered the following scores: SanIs (2.54), PerG (2.26), RosSi (1.74), and FlorLon (1.72) NOTE: Brands mentioned are not their true names.
C. Technology Innovation and Industry Development
These are innovations in reviving basi and vinegar making as a viable enterprise.
1. Standardization of quality refers to both the attainment of high quality wine compared with local and foreign brands, and the consistency in product quality that through time becomes associated with a distinct brand. The key is in the standardization of formula, from brewing to ageing period.
2. Yeast Complex preparation holds the key to quality. Of the yeast isolates, Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces contribute greatly to the improvement of quality.
3. The earthen jar is imprimatur of the product. The use of bigger vats specially designed for large-scale production is in its pilot stage. Product development has succeeded in reducing wastage, increased brewing success, and improvement of color and clarity using indigenous technology.
4. Control of the “brewing disease” which plagued the industry in the fifties and sixties. A bacterial contamination caused scouring of the jars in the first days of fermentation. The must or substrate becomes sticky and frothy, spilling all over, and attracting flies and other vermin. The disease can cause total loss in a brewing season. Strict sanitation is important in wine making, and quarantine at the source of the cane juice of possible contamination is likewise necessary. (11)
5. Product presentation is linked with history and culture. The labels speak highly of the tradition and heritage of the Ilocos Region. The regional and nationalistic fervor became an important factor in developing the market. There are around sixty different photograph labels of important scenes and events about the Ilocos region, each on every bottle.
6. Organization and management of an enterprise in making basi-vinegar making as a viable cottage industry. Under the Rotor Enterprise, the Return on Investment is comparable with other businesses of the same category.
D. Outlook
How a fledgling industry survives and rises from the ashes of a colonial past is beyond imagination of a scientist-businessman to be able to see any bright prospect. But research and business have many challenges, beyond time, money and perhaps opportunities to become rich. (5)
Would not a business venture consider values beyond economic parameters, such as reviving a rich culture, reliving history, touching fervors of faith and pride in a people? To be practical however, one should first consider the viability of a business before aiming at any higher consideration or “cause.” (3 & 10)
With the current research and business climate in the Philippines there are many risks a scientist-entrepreneur faces, from the crunching effect of currency devaluation to open competition brought about by the world's order on trade liberalization as a result of the passage of GATT and the inequitable workings of WTO which is often to the disadvantage of Third World countries. On the part of science and technology capitalism has taken over many of the indigenous technologies. Fortunately basi and sukang Iloko have been spared so far from such capitalistic techno-piracy. By putting back into the path of trade and commerce, how humble it may be, the first to benefit from the Basi-Sukang Iloko industry thousands of farmers and hundreds of households by way of crop diversification and cottage processing, the prototype of agro-industrialization and agribusiness.
The second advantage is based on the fact that the products derived from the industry are natural, and therefore favorable to the health of the consumer and the conservation of the environment.
Thirdly, the indigenous nature of the technology involved and materials used puts to maximum advantage the utilization local resources thus lessening if not eliminating our dependence of imported raw materials – and imported wine.
Lastly, the technology can be transferred and replicated on the cottage level, a social component to spur rural development and advance cooperativism. I believe in the future of the industry as a heritage of the Ilocanos and the Filipino people as a whole.
References
1. Azurin, AM (1991) Beddeng, UP Diliman QC
2. Brown, WH (1937)- Useful Plants of the Philippines 3 volumes, Bureau of Printing, Manila
3. Conti RM and Malicsi AS (1990) - Decision Making Tools for Small Business. Small Economic Enterprises Development Incorporated (SEED), 119 pp
4. Gironiere, P (1935) Twenty Years in the Philippines
5. Jocano, F.L. (1990) Management by Culture (Fine-Tuning Management to Filipino Culture, 100 pp
6. Lacap, DC (1995) – Alcohol Fermentation of Yeast Isolates from Flowers and Leaves of Syzygium cumini BS Biology theis SPCQ
7. Muega N (1994) Isolation of Wild Yeasts from Flowers of Ocimum basillicum, Justicia genderussa, and Murraya paniculata (BS Biology thesis, St. Paul College QC)
8. Narvas-Quiason, SD and J.O. And (1994) Indigenous Fermentation; Theory and Practice Phoenix Publishing QC 278 pp.
9. Ngo, ML (1998) Yeast Screening in Flowers of Cocos nucifera BS Biology thesis. SPCQ
10. Roque, RS (1990) - Management Advisory Services, Manila 709 pp.
11. Rotor AV (1984) - Ethnic Practices in Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region, Proceedings ASEAN-NZ Conference.
12. Rotor AV (1986) – Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region: Ethnic Practices and Innovations St. Paul College QC Journal of Research , ppl-15
13. Valdez, MJM (1994) – Isolation of Wild Yeasts from Flowers of Psidium guajava, Calliandra cergenila, and Muntingia calabura BS Biology thesis SPCQ.
Author’s Note: Integrated Production of Basi and Sukang Iloko was adjudged a recipient of the 2002 Business Incentive Development and Achievement Award (BIDA Awards). The award was sponsored by CHED, DTI, DOST, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council and Planters Bank). The integrated enterprise was featured Business of the Month in Agribusiness Magazine of the Department of Agriculture, The Women’s Journal (Revival of Basi, 2000), Bannaoag Magazine (2002) and Greenfields (2002). A scientific paper on the manufacture of the two indigenous products was read by the author at the ASEAN-New Zealand Conference on Ethnobotany in 1995. Basi is a distinct product of the Ilocos region consistently exhibited in agro-industrial fairs here and abroad, which include agro-industrial fairs at SM Mega Mall and the Philippine International Trade Center, the Basi Revolt exhibit at the National Museum (2008), and UP Diliman Basi Revolt anniversary (c. 2012).
Basi for shipment to tourists shops and wine shops.
Finished product for labeling
* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738KHz DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
738KHz DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Part 6
Growing up with Basi Wine
(San Vicente, Ilocos Sur)
Dr Abe V Rotor
Product quality meets European Standards for Port
and Sherry as evaluated by Food Development Center
and the Department of Science and Technology.*
and Sherry as evaluated by Food Development Center
and the Department of Science and Technology.*
Glazed earthen jars are thoroughly washed and sterilizedbefore filling them with sugarcane juice and botanical
ingredients which will be brewed and aged for two or more years.
Each bottle has a label depicting a significantevent or place about the Ilocos Region, basi
being indigenous to the region.
I grew up with an age old local industry – basi wine making. At home there are still 18th century jars which I use to make basi in the same way my ancestors made this unique table wine for generations.
I remember Lolo Cilling (Marcelino) made basi in the cellar at the lower part of the house made of thick brick wall. Dad took over and increased the number of jars to a hundred or so. He was one of the principal brewers in town in post Commonwealth era - and probably after the infamous Basi Revolt in 1807 when the Ilocanos took arms but lost to the Spanish government who declared monopoly over the industry. Many were killed in that short-lived revolt along the Bantaoay River, a walking distance away from home where my brother Eugene and I used to catchpurong(mullet) with hook and line in summer in our boyhood days.
As a farmhand even before I went to school, father always warned me not to be an aliwegweg (curious at doing a sort of things), the experimenter that I was. One morning as dad went on his routine, first to hear mass in our parish church just across our residential farm, I went to the cellar with a sumpit (small bamboo tube) to take a sip of the sweet day-old fermenting sugarcane juice. I didn't know that with a sip too many one can get get drunk.
And that was precisely what made me feel sick but of course, I did'nt tell dad. He called a doctor to find out what was the matter with me. When the doctor arrived he found me normal. What with the distance from Vigan to San Vicente - on a caleza (horse-drawn carriage)? It would take about a couple of hours. But the doctor was whispering something to dad.
Then it happened. Dad had left for the church, so I thought. I went to the cellar and as soon as I probed the sumpit into a newly fermenting jar and took a sip, someone tapped my shoulder in the dark. lt was dad!
Imagine the expression of his face as I saw it in the dark. I sobbed with embarrassment while he took a deep sigh of relief. Since then the doctor never came again. And I never tasted my “beverage" again.
Years passed. I left home for my studies in Manila. So with my brother and sister. Dad continued the industry until he became very old. By then the demand for the local drink declined as beer and all kinds of wine and liquor began flooding the market. It was requiem to a sunset industry. In 1981, dad died, so with our home industry.
After I retired from government service, I tried to find out if I inherited the "green thumb in wine making." Sure enough after a few years of experimentation I was able to improve the product and even tap the market, catering mainly to tourists and Ilocano balikbayan. Whenever I open a jar and harvest the golden wine, I remember dad standing nearby. This time he is telling me, "Keep it up, son." ~
The revolt erupted 400 km north of Manila, where Diego and Gabriela Silang fought heroically against Spanish rule 50 years earlier. The cause: Declaration of Wine Monopoly by the Spanish government virtually taking from the hands of local brewers an industry the Ilocos region had long enjoyed even before Spain colonized the islands. For centuries basi was an important item of commerce among Asian neighbors, and later with the Galleon Trade (1565-1815) plying Ciudad Fernandina (now Vigan City) and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico. The final battle took place along Bantaoay River with scores of Spanish soldiers and natives killed. On September 29, 1807 the captured rebels were executed. Artist Don Esteban Villanueva, an eyewitness recorded the historic event in 14 big paintings, now seen at the Vigan Ayala Museum at the original residence of priest martyr, Fr. Jose Burgos. This bottle is a tribute to the heroes of the Basi Revolt and their descendants. Today basi stands among the finest wines of the world.
------------------
* Product Guarantee: Basi is brewed and aged in glazed jars (burnay. It is made from sugarcane, rice, and botanical ingredients - Pithecolobium dulce, Macaranga tanarius and Syzigium cumini. No flavoring and coloring added; no filter and plastic container used. This product meets the European Standard for Champagne, Port and Sherry. (Reference: PFDCS 2498 & PFDCS 9429, Food Development Center, National Food Authority.) Approximately 21 proof. (Ref: 01-00-0CL-0017, ITDI, Department of Science and Technology.) A product of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Content: 750 ml/375 ml.
Part 7 - A visit to an 18th century Basi wine cellar
San Vicente, Ilocos Sur
Original basi wine cellar and jars (burnay) date back to the
18th century across six generations of continuous operation,
interrupted only by the Second World War for five years.
The cellar attracts researchers, students and tourists for its historical
significance with the Spanish Galleon Trade, and technology of
the old folks in making basi and its related products, principally
vinegar (sukang Iloko).
By now this jar of basi is 13 years old. Unless opened, it remains longer
in aging. The general rule is, the longer wine is aged, the more mellow it
becomes. It's not really so. There are other factors to consider like
damaged clay cap and leaching. And there's the basic rule that "only
good wine mellows with age" (So with man, they add.)
Crystalline golden color and pleasant wine aroma meet the happy
connoisseur after the desired aging period is reached (at least two
years in the case of Rotor basi). Fresh and direct from the jar, the
harvest is bottled, sealed and labelled (as shown below), according
to customers' specifications intended for an occasion like
wedding, Christmas, exhibit, and the like.
House guest picks a fruit wine of his choice, Fruit wine making
follows the basic fermentation-aging process in basi making.
There are 30 kinds of fruit wine developed in this cellar from different
fruits growing locally like macopa, aratiles, duhat and guyabano.
Stamp commemorating the Galleon Trade.
Scene of a Galleon trading post in Ciudad de Vigan in Spanish time.
"The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade* in the 18th century was undertaken by Vigan Chinese mestizo traders who exported local products such as basi, tobacco and abel to Europe and other parts of Asia..." Pia Roces Morato, Thorns and Roses
Basi jar lying on the sea floor where a galleon ship was wrecked.
Basi sparked one of the major revolts against Spanish rule by the natives when wine monopoly was declared by the government. This meant virtually taking the industry from the hands of the natives. The short-lived uprising took place in Ilocos, with the final battle fought on both sides of the Bantaoay River which runs through the towns of San Vicente up to San Ildefonso, which are today the major suppliers of Basi principally to tourists in Vigan, UNESCO's world heritage city, and one of the cultural wonders of the world.
ANNEX - Demographics
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| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][8][9][10] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the 2020 census, San Vicente had a population of 13,118.[3] The population density was 1,000 inhabitants per square kilometer (2,600/sq mi). No recent data on the Internet.
Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday
Part 8 - Macopa Table Wine
Macopa or Syzygium samarangense belongs to Family Myrtaceae), a fairly large tropical tree that bears plentiful fruits in summer. The fruit is bell shaped like wine goblet (copa in Spanish) from which it got its popular name.
Dr Abe V Rotor
It's "raining" macopa in summer at home,three full bearing trees form a triangle,litter the ground; up in the tree like stars,clusters of fruits like bells freely dangle.Children in the neighborhood have their fill;stain on their shirts, but who would care?Many years ago I was among them, too;oh, how lovely indeed, is Nature's Fair!Who cares about fruit waste in season?but roving goats and pigs, bat and fowl -and old folks' technology revisited anewin crystalline red table wine for all.
Step 1. Pick mature fruits from the tree.
2. Slice red skin with knife. 3. Mash with sugar and yeast
4. Fermentation 5. Aging in glazed jars (burnay)
6. Bottling and labelling
NOTE: Dispose off regularly spent and defective fruits.
Make them into compost - Nature's recycling. ~
ANNEX A - Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko)
- Nature's Secret of Good Health
Dr Abe V Rotor
Vin-egar, which means sour wine, is Nature's secret of good health.
Vinegar or acetic acid (CH3COOH) abounds in nature, as long as there's sugar(C6H12O6). Sugar is converted into ethanol, and ethanol to acetic acid.
Vinegar is oxidized ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH). The conversion process is both biological and chemical. In fact, fermentation of sugar to ethanol, goes hand in hand with ethanol conversion to acetic acid, with the latter prevailing at the end.
This formula is taking place in food, flowers, fruits, plant sap, insect exudate, honeycombs, raisins, etc. Nature eliminates sugar - simple and complex - ultimately through this process, and at the end converts them back to elements ready to be re-assembled in the next process and for the next user or generation. This process is taking place everywhere because the agents are ubiquitous such as the yeast (Saccharomyces) and the vinegar bacteria (Acetobacter). And there are dozens more working in union. This scenario is also taking place in the mouth and stomach, on the skin, and other parts of the body of organisms.
Vinegar is Nature's cleansing agent and disinfectant, eliminating stain, odor, fungi, bacteria, weeds, and repelling ants, and other vermin.
People who are fond of food prepared with vinegar are healthier and slimmer. It is because vinegar regulates formation of adipose tissues, and burns fat. Some people dampen their appetite by sprinkling a little natural vinegar on prepared food to take the edge off their appetite. Notice that after eating anything with vinegar, you lose interest in your meal. Vinegar triggers the appetite's shut off mechanism.
Feel good. A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, with a bit of honey added for flavor, will take the edge off your appetite and give you an overall healthy feeling.
Well, here is a short list of home remedies using vinegar.
- Soothe a sore throat. Put a teaspoon of natural vinegar in a glass of water. Gurgle.
- Apply cold vinegar right away for fast relief of sunburn or other minor burns. It will help prevent burn blisters.
- Soothe a bee or jellyfish sting. Douse with vinegar to soothe irritation and relieve itching.
- Relieve sunburn. Lightly rub diluted natural vinegar on skin. Reapply as needed.
- Conditions hair. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to your rinse to dissolve sticky residue left by shampoo.
- Relieve dry and itchy skin. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to your bath water.
- Fight dandruff. After shampooing, rinse with a solution of ½ cup vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.
- Treat sinus infections and chest colds. Add ¼ cup or more vinegar to the vaporizer.
- Cure hangover. Combine two raw eggs, a tablespoon of vinegar and black pepper. Blend well.
ANNEX B - Homemade vinegar from local fruits
Dr Abe V Rotor
You can put up a vinegar generator in your kitchen and you will have a continuous supply of natural vinegar. Protect yourself and your family from glacial acetic vinegar. Convert those surplus fruits that would otherwise go to waste. You can also produce vinegar for your friends and community.
I am simplifying the procedure as a practical guide in vinegar making for the rural as well as the urban areas.
1. Clean two wide-mouthed, gallon size glass containers. (Ordinary glass gallons will do. Do not use plastic containers.)
Chico and mango make excellent fruit wine and vinegar, Manaoag Pangasinan
2. Peel and clean around two kilos of overripe fruit of any kind (pineapple, chico, banana, etc. You may combine two fruits, like chico and guava, or pineapple and mango. (Do not use kamias. Kamias contains oxalic acid which weakens the bones.)
3. Mash the fruit with two kilos of sugar. Be sure the sugar is well imbedded into the tissues of the fruit pulp. Divide the substrate equally for the two glass jars
4. Add tap water to four-fifth of the container. Shake or stir.
5. Add one tablespoonful of commercial yeast (baker’s yeast) onto each jar, then stir.
6. Cover the setup with sinamay or kulambo textile. The reason for this is to allow air to enter, while letting the fermenting gas C02 to escape. Do not plug or seal. Pressure builds up and is likely to break the container.
7. Do not be bothered when you see Drosoplila flies hovering around because they are attracted to the fermenting odor. They carry with them beneficial fermenters. Just allow them to settle near and around the setup. Their presence hastens acetification. What must be avoided are houseflies and other vermin. To do this, design a nylon screen frame, which is good to cover four gallons. Be sure only the Drosophila flies can pass through.
8. During the first two to five hours, froth will rise. Stir to calm the substrate. Stir once daily for the first week. Allow the setup to stand for three to four weeks until the solids have settled at the bottom. Keep it in a shaded corner of the house or kitchen.
9. Decant the filtrate and transfer to another gallon or large bottles. Plug with cotton to allow air circulation. This is the ageing phase. The longer you keep it this way, the better the quality becomes. This takes around two to three months. There will be sediments that form at the bottom. Nata (nata de coco) may also grow at the surface of the liquid. This is proof of natural vinegar.
10. This is the time for you to harvest your vinegar. Use a small siphon to decant and leave the nata and sediments behind. Cap the bottles airtight. Expose them to direct sunlight for at least three hours. The color of your product is now golden to reddish from above, or crystal clear against the light. Label with a trademark of your choice. Write the following information. Fruit used; place and dates of fermentation; ageing and bottling. And of course, your name.
Entrepreneurial Prospect
Vinegar making can be made into a lucrative enterprise due to its authenticity as natural vinegar. Many brands bear the name natural but are actually overnight formulations of diluted glacial acetic acid, no different from the acetic acid used for industrial purposes like in photography and in textiles manufacturing.
People are becoming more and more health conscious making them very judicious in their choices of health-enhancing food and food preparations. This is your best selling point. People are willing to pay a premium of a guaranteed natural product.Premium vinegar is made from pineapple, such as Del Monte vinegar
On the aspect of manufacturing, experience has it that vinegar making alone does not maximize business opportunity and benefits. The two steps – fermentation and oxidation – can be treated as two separate processes, hence two lines of products can be developed in one enterprise. In fact, a third step is nata de coco production, which immediately follows vinegar production. This is shown by this formula.
CH3COOH Nata de Coco (coco jelly)/Nata de Pina
Leuconostoc mesenteroides
The experience of making nata de coco developed in the second half of the 1990s when nata was in great demand for export, principally to Japan.The product is used as food and also for industrial raw material. Local demand as sweetened gel remains high in spite of the abrupt decline of the Japanese market.
Here is the business concept for holistic and integrated, hence, viable operations:
1. If you are a small sugarcane farmer, have a control over the making of red (raw) sugar. Native or brown sugar not being refined is natural food. There is a big demand for this kind of sugar where the molasses have not been separated.
2. Ferment table wine (Basi in the Ilocos region) from sugarcane. There is a big demand of this native wine by Ilocano balikbayans. Similarly with fruits, there is now a trend to take table wine either for health purposes, in lieu of liquor. The fruit industry may look into this field of endeavor. It offers definitely a value-added advantage to fruit growers, and there are thousands of families that grow fruit trees at the backyard.
3. Make vinegar out of the inferior cane, specially during a poor crop year.
Typhoon and drought damaged cane can be salvaged into previous natural wine. Fruits in season, and fruits that cannot pass for the market can be made into fruit vinegar. This is advantageous to orchard growers and contractors.
4. Nata de coco can be made out of the local vinegar products with local sugar as raw materials. Nata in many colors and flavors is an innovation of the traditional product. A progressive idea proved that nata can be made into laminate as substitute to leather, sheepskin and material for bags and belt. The biological laboratory of St. Paul College QC has made preliminary products.
Vin egar is wine gone sour. It may not be man’s elixir, but it bridges an intricate process of nature, benefiting man with other products of great importance. ~
ANNEX C - Mito ng Aklasang Basi
University of the Philippines
Exhibit prepared by Prof. Roberto Feleo in celebration
of the Basi Revolt anniversary
Prof. Feleo (middle) poses with Dr. and Mrs. Abe Rotor.
Ethnic representations on the origin of Basi wine making.
ANNEX - D
Revisiting the Basi Revolt of 1807:
Its Historical and Axiological Relevance
Jayson L. Antonio1 and Celerino F. Ancheta2 Instructor I, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Teacher Education, Laboratory High School, Laoag City Associate Professor IV, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Industrial Technology, Laoag City jaysonantonio82@yahoo.com
Abstract: This study focused on the historical and axiological relevance of the Basi Revolt of 1807. This historical research employed archival work method in gathering and collecting data necessary to the topic being studied. Since most of the documents were written in Spanish, the researcher sought the help and assistance of an accredited Spanish interpreter/translator. The voluminous data gathered were grouped, sorted out and dealt with according to the precipitating events, the phases of the revolt, the aftermath of the revolt, the key players, the causes of the revolts in general and the historical and axiological relevance of the Basi Revolt. Archival documents were carefully studied and analysed and therefrom, themes and sub-themes were drawn out and presented in narrative forms. The humble lives the Ilocanos lived during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines changed when the Spanish authorities imposed monopoly to their products, the basi and tobacco. The Ilocanos fought bravely against the Spaniards. They suffered from great pain, trials, and torture brought about by the brutality and viciousness of the Spaniards. The heroism and sacrifices of the Ilocanos proved that they are worthy of a niche. The Ilocanos today pay tribute to the indomitable courage which was the Basi Revolt. The Ilocanos risked their lives to give meaning to our lives. Their ideas lived on amidst the holocaust of battle. The significant events that transpired in the Basi Revolt are: the disruption of the lifestyle of the Ilocanos, loss of a major source of livelihood, pent-up frustration and anger over Spanish abuses, social desperation, inspiration from the Ilocano revolts, the outbreak of the rebellion and the march toward the south, the Garasgas Bridge and the defeat of Escobedo, the re-structuring of the defense by the Augustinian friars, conclusion of the revolt, the defeat of the insurgents, the aftermath of the revolt and the causes of the revolts in general. An analysis of the events in the Basi Revolt revealed that: blatant disregard for a treasured practice is a form of rejection; that curtailment of basic freedoms is a violation of human rights; that curtailment of the right to own property triggered revolts; that censorship is curtailment of freedom and political and economic persecution engender courage; sporadic, uncoordinated revolts are bound to fail and regionalism and lack of unity weakens an endeavor.
1 Instructor I, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Teacher Education, Laboratory High School, Laoag City 2 Associate Professor IV, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Industrial Technology, Laoag City.
About San Vicente Ilocos Sur
Source: Wikipedia, Internet; Poem reprinted from Light in the Woods: Photographs and Poems by Dr A V Rotor Megabooks 1995
ANNEX E - San Vicente Ilocos Sur
- Where the Bantaoay River Flows
Dr Abe V Rotor
Dedication: San Vicente Ferrer, patron saint of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, other towns, villages, schools and other institutions in many parts of the world, whose feast day is celebrated in April
Bantaoay River today (Barangay San Sebastian). Photos by the author 2024
Main road from Vigan going to San Vicente town, 3 km.
Shaded area in first photo - the poblacion showing the church,
plaza, elementary school, market and municipal Hall, circa 1970
17th century church after the war.
In my childhood I saw detours of footpathsdividing East and West, two warring nicheswhere the zone of peace was the holy ground,and beyond was wilderness - and the unknown,beyond the confines of Subec and the Cordillera,the memory of Diego Silang, and the Basi Revolton old, meandering Bantaoay River.In my youth I saw the sun sittingon acacia stumps and on the tired landscape,but rising in dreams and visions on the horizon,and in the wisdom of my forebears,the old guards of your fort.Time has stood still since then.I come to pay homage to your temple,and into the arms of my people, my roots;I see the footpaths of yesteryears,now grown and multiplied, and always fresh,leading from the East and West,and the many corners of the earthconverging at your portals in pilgrimage.~
Idyllic scene of rural San Vicente mural in acrylic by the author circa 2003
San Vicente is a fifth class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,720 people.
The municipality is known for its production of beautiful furniture made from narra and other tropical hardwoods, even from old wood previously used in wooden sugarcane crushers and old houses to make reproduction antiques.
Barangays
San Vicente is politically subdivided into 7 barangays.
- Bantaoay
- Bayubay Norte
- Bayubay Sur
- Lubong
- Poblacion
- Pudoc
- San Sebastian
Etymology
The municipality's name came from the name of Saint Vincent Ferrer, whose winged statue was found inside a box entangled in fishing nets. The fishermen consulted this matter to the friars in Villa Fernandina (now Vigan), who identified the person depicted by the statue. The statue was carried to the town's center, where a church was built. From then on, the town formerly known as Tuanong (sometimes called Taonan) became San Vicente.
History
In tracing the history of San Vicente, one always has to start from Vigan. Vigan was established by the Spanish colonizer, Juan de Salcedo on June 13, 1573 up to 1582, there were only 800 residents.
Upon Salcedo’s return in 1574, he brought with them the Augustinian friars in order to teach Christianity to the inhabitants. After Salcedo’s death on March 11, 1576, Franciscan friars replaced the Augustinians in the year 1579. These same friars spread up to San Vicente to convert the people to the Catholic faith.
In 1591, Vigan has already an organized form of government, which included these barrios namely: Bo. Tuanong, Bo. Sta. Catalina de Baba and Bo. Caoayan. There were then a population numbering about 4,000 inhabitants.
Between the years 1720 and 1737, the first chapel of Bo. Tuanong was erected. Later in 1748, the Confraternity of Jesus of Nazareth was organized. In one record of the Vigan Convent archives, a funeral that happened on January 29, 1748 at the Chapel Bo. Tuanong was recorded. Two chaplains Bro. Don Agustin de la Encarnacion and Don Pedro Geronimo de Barba were the priest stone the chapel in that year 1748. It is believed that the chapel is the first stone building that sees upon entering the San Vicente Central School from the main road. Bo. Tuanong which belonged to Vigan was the old name of San Vicente.
On June 16, 1751, the chaplain was Don Miguel de Montanez. He was the first priest there and also in the chapel of San Sebastian. It is found out that Barangay San Sebastian already erected.
Hardship in reaching Bo. Tuanong and Bo. Sta. Catalina de Baba from Vigan especially during the months of June to October was experienced, due to the absence of dike or bridge. Priests from Vigan reached these places by means of a raft. The problem prompted the separation of these two barrios from Vigan in 1793.
In 1795, it was the initiation of the seat of municipality and the church and Bo. Tuanong became San Vicente de Ferrer. Don Pedro de Leon was the first parish priest and he was believed as the initiator of the construction of the Church of San Vicente.
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