Wine

Visualise this- you’re with your best buddies in a cosy bar around a good bottle of wine, sharing memories of the yore and wishing that time would just hold. The wine is truly pleasing and you request the sommelier for a refill – insisting the same on your friends who relent, albeit with a ‘one too many’ refrain. And the evening turns  out to be one of the most memorable ones.

Now imagine the same wine that you enjoyed, being served at an al fresco tasting for connoisseurs. The temperature of the wine is just right, the air is pristine with virtually no ambient aromas as you tilt the glass to notice that the wine is more  garnet than ruby, even as your fellow connoisseur lists out his preference for French oak against American. Does the wine feel any different? Probably so.

We often get influenced by the intangible factors related to tasting wine, apart from the rudimentary 5 ‘S’s   viz. See, Sniff, Swirl, Sip and Swallow. These factors work at a subconscious level to determine our interpretation of a wine.

A few posts back, I had dwelled leisurely on this subject through a wine that I had the opportunity to appreciate in two distinct environs situated oceans apart. Here is a recap:

In either of the cases  the wine expressed different traits. While at Château de la Marquetterie, it came across as a chic dessert indulgence with an interwoven piece of history, at Oval bar it was a très moderne experience amid club causerie. To read the experience in details click here to access the relevant post.

Taking the theory further

In a recent article in The Drinks Business, I came across another interesting connotation of such external stimuli on wine.  It talks about an ongoing research by a leading experimental psychologist on exploring the impact of different stemware textures on people’s experience of drinks.

The psychologist, Mr. Spence is the director of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University’s Department of Experimental Psychology. According to Spence, he is  currently playing a lot with texture and feel, for example, glassware manufactured with textured rims or lips, to look into “things you feel while you are tasting”.The new emphasis follows extensive work with leading chefs, where Spence has found that touching different fabrics can affect the taste sensations of diners.

• Using different fabrics swatches to affect the language used for describing wines- like ‘velvety’ for describing a red wine’s tannins.
• Etching or bevelling  wine glasses to explore the influence of texture on the drinker’s experience.

The idea may appear abstract, but consider it in the light of tactile influences in other domains and it becomes  perfectly plausible. For instance, a thick rimmed leather covered steering wheel of an automobile that gives a ‘chunky’ feeling of reassurance not necessarily related to its functionality. Ditto for an uber slim key board of an iMac imparting a luxury experience inconsequential to the task outcome. Related to wine, this is perhaps why we sub consciously form a favourable opinion of one with a sturdy textured label on the bottle even before sampling it.

The Price Effect

In yet another study on the effect of external stimuli on wine appreciation  highlighted by Matthew Keiran,  scientists at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Stanford conducted a distinctive wine tasting where subjects were told they would be asked to sample five different Cabernet Sauvignons to study the relationship between tasting time and perceived flavours.  As each  different wine was served, it was identified by its supposed price, ranging from $5 to $90. However, there were only three different wines involved. Two wines were served twice, one marked with its actual price ($5) and alternatively a 900% mark up ($45), another with its actual price ($90) and a 900% mark down ($10). All subjects reported being able to taste five distinct wines and the more expensive the price cue for a wine was, the more subjects liked it.

The pleasure apparently derived by the subjects in tasting the wine was significantly affected by its perceived price. Sounds familiar?

Some may argue that lack of wine experience may result in  situations like the above. But even  the most seasoned wine connoisseur would acknowledge that at a blind tasting, zeroing down on a wine to the granularity of its detailed provenance is an outcome heavily dependent on the chance factor. I distinctly remember a wine knowledgeable gathering (of which I happened to be a part)  tasting Bordeaux blends in which there was a surprise inclusion of a Beaujolais Villages wine. I  thought of it as a Bordeaux Clairet due to its noticeably low tannin extraction, and by believing that only Bordeaux blends  were being served at the tasting. The theme of tasting had clearly polarised my mind towards the Bordeaux region. The solace however, was that I had at least noticed the generic style of the wine.

Getting influenced by others’ opinions

More recently in 2016, I attended a tasting in the company of some of the top wine professionals where one of the accomplished sommeliers declared a wine as being ‘corked’. There was a tendency by some to analyse the wine in the same light and second the opinion. That the wine was ‘corked’ or otherwise is a different issue, but the episode served as a good example of getting influenced by others’  opinions- while tasting wine. Another common example of such an influence would be  guided tastings conducted by experts where the audience tends to follow a similar aromas/flavour profile path which the expert steers it towards.

Accept or deny, intangible factors in wine appreciation are a reality. It is only a matter of being conscious of these intangibles to be able to interpret a wine justly.

The way mother nature intended it to be- using all our faculties while perceiving the outer world!

Happy New Year! I hope and pray that 2016 turns out truly awesome for you on all fronts- including plenty of good wines to root.

As I look forward to sharing much more than ever on wine and spirits this year, let us start the journey with some interesting wines that I came across in the preceding period.

The year 2015 concluded for me with a famed Premier Grand Cru wine, that too in double magnum measure. My previous post made on the Christmas of 2015 narrates the experience.  The wine was brought in by a good friend living in Singapore, whom I do not get to meet so often. It also made me ponder on the nature of Grand Cru and equivalent wines (let’s call them prestige wines) being similar to such good friends. One would like to meet them often, if it were not for the existential constraints.

However there are other good friends who are situated closer to us and whom we keep meeting regularly. Extending our analogy, these are  the wines that we enjoy on a day-to-day basis. There are also some wines which may not be our regular ones but nostalgic one time ‘acquaintances’ whom we hope to ‘meet’ again. These wines are generally not available through regular channels-  rather picked up during travel, gifted by somebody and likewise.

A true friend of wine must look beyond prestige wines if he wants to discover the hidden pleasures of the wine world. It is akin to finding a multitude of orchids in the wild rather than sticking to what the florist has to offer.

For me, one such wine was a  Shiraz from the Clare valley, Australia which was sent to me by the producer for an honest opinion on how this wine would probably fare in India. Not talking of price points for now, I found this wine to be delicious and very much suitable for a country with a rich cuisine like India.

Another interesting wine I came across was from Ethiopia that I procured from an unusual source- an auction by the Customs department. Most wine lovers would be surprised to know of  a wine from Ethiopia since the country is  not particularly famous for its wines in the current day. Nevertheless, it has a centuries old  history of winemaking.  The wine called ‘Dukam’ was a generic blend of red varietals. Not expecting much from it, I was delighted to find it to be an unpretentious and well made wine pleasing to the senses.

Then there was a Bulgarian wine that I showcased at one of the wine dinners. The wine was offered to me by the Bulgarian embassy in New Delhi urging me to pair it with the main course of the contemporary Indian spread. Amid other better known wines, it turned out to be the hero wine of the day.

During my trip to the Champagne vineyards I tasted a lot of Grandes Marques Champagnes. But there was this utterly beautiful bottle of a Rosé Champagne from a boutique winemaker called Edouard Brun which was gifted to me by a French friend.  I couldn’t probably have found this wine otherwise due to its limited production and relatively localized market. Ferrying it back to India, I shared it with my close friends- who  haven’t stopped raving about it till now!

The  final wine that I would like to share in this space is a sweet wine from Romania that arrived directly from the producer. I initially wanted to pair it with dessert at a wine dinner but dropped the idea owing to its light body. Wondering the next day at breakfast, I had a Eureka moment,realising that the Indian breakfast of kandha poha (water soaked flattened rice flakes, pan fried in mustard oil with onions and Indian condiments)  would be an ideal accompaniment for this wine. And indeed, it turned out so.

There are many more wines that I would like to share in this post, but for the space constraints. Uncommon wines particularly from the Czech Republic, Malta, Georgia and Greece surprised  me with their quality and value for money  in the year gone by.

But the year has just started, hasn’t it?

Cheers!

Mention the word “Grand Cru” to  wine lovers and instantly see their faces light up! Such is the aura of this classification of wines made in  1855 under the directions of King Napoleon III,  that any serious wine lover strives to memorize the list  to be truly called a connoisseur. The classification has a total of  62 estates across 5 subclassifications stretching across Premier (first) to Cinquième (fifth) growths mainly in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France.

The  Premiers Crus are considered top of the ladder and fetch highest prices in the global  wine market. These five wines are- Châteaux Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Latour and Haut Brion. Out of these, Château Mouton Rothschild made it to the club in 1973- being elevated from the second to first growth.

Now what if a good friend offers to bring you one of these first growths neither in standard, nor in magnum but in double magnum size- that too, from a vintage very close to your heart?  I bet you  can sense the aromas and flavours of the excitement  to follow.

So when  Gajendra (Gajju) Sareen, my buddy from the Military Academy informed  me that he had procured two double magnums (3 litre bottles) of Château Mouton Rothschild 1987 specially to celebrate our course anniversary (we graduated from the Indian Military Academy in 1987), my anticipation knew no bounds. It was a true “Guns to Gewurztraminer” moment realizing that two former army mates  who were more used to gun powder aromas in the past would now collectively revel at the complex  aromas of none less than a Premier Grand Cru Classé! That Gajju is now a global business tycoon  and a frequent buyer of fine wines  was surely a facilitating factor for this proposition.

Time flew fast before I received a message from  Gajju,  seeking to fix the itinerary of the tasting on his impending brief visit to Delhi. We were to meet at  his permanent suite in one of Delhi’s finest star properties  to sample the wine before carrying  the bottle to a larger gathering  of our course reunion.

I arrived at Gajju’s suite with  Smita, my lady who is also my Chef de Cuisine for wine pairings. With great enthusiasm he whipped out the wooden case containing the wine from a large bag. The box had several  stickers on it, apparently tracing the wine’s journey before it had reached us. On my enquiring Gajju told me that he bought the wine at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong and parked it in Crown Wine Cellars in the same city. Being a member of Le Club FICOFI (a prestigious club for buyers of fine wines ) he requisitioned them to fetch the wine to his Singapore cellar and voilà! There it was with us!

The box was handed over to his designated butler for opening.  Seeing him struggle with the box, I realized that three of its sides were nicely nail-hammered while the top panel was stapled. The butler accepted my suggestion to crowbar the top panel out, and a screwdriver  did the job just well.

The magnificent bottle emerged and we took some pictures. We were now ready for the grande oeuverture. Though I have been served wine from much larger bottles during my stay in Bordeaux, this was my maiden experience of opening a double magnum,  and I believe many wine lovers would be in the same boat. Therefore, I am sharing the micro level details:

The label

Château Mouton Rothschild is known to engage eminent artists to design the labels for each of its vintages. The 1987 label was created by Swiss painter Hans Erni and it  bears the face of its ancestor -the iconic Baron Philippe de Rothschild, as a homage to his last bottled vintage. A dedicating note by his daughter Baroness Philippe de Rothschild completes the homage and sums it up by a  phrase “Mouton ne Change” implying the continuing legacy of the Baron.

The Oeuverture (opening)

A thicker capsule required two well pressed turns of the knife to cut through. As I leveraged the fulcrum end of the waiter’s friend on the bottle lip, I realized that the lip was much thicker for the fulcrum to afford a snug grip. Endeavouring to pull out the cork carefully, I further realized to my horror that the cork started crumbling on the top and I paused. Gajju told me not to hesitate as he had seen it happening often with bigger bottles. He lent me a helping hand and the day was saved. I suppose an “Ah-So” cork remover (that pulls out a cork by sliding two prongs on its either side) may be a good choice if things indeed go awry. Any experiences?

The Tasting

Contrary to my long standing conviction that a  vintage wine of high pedigree need always be decanted before you could meaningfully appreciate it, Gajju insisted that we pour a glass right  away since time was at premium. I readily complied since I had already noticed intense aromas wafting out from the bottle. We did well by summoning  the largest bowled stemware with the hotel rather than the routine ones in the suite.  The first glasses were poured followed by a generous pour in a decanter for our second glass. As we swirled and sniffed, the Grand Cru pedigree started emerging:

Colour: Medium ruby with a fading rim

Nose: Vastly expressive aromas of red berries and pungent spice.

Palate: Dry, medium bodied with very soft tannins. A delicious palate of abundant berries and a distinctively spicy lingering finish.

Tasting after decanting for 1 hour

Nose: Aromas of cedar wood, jasmine and forest floor emerged apart from ripe red berries becoming more evident.

Palate:  A juicier palate of red berries with mineral hints, followed by a warm spicy finish going deep into the throat. Pigmented tannins could be noticed in the decanter and that explained the mellow character of the wine.

Food Accompaniments

An assortment of cheeses placed in the suite offered us an ample playing ground before the Burrah Kababs (char grilled, lightly spiced, tender lamb kababs) that I had recommended for the pairing arrived. Given the wine’s ample acidity, creamy cheeses like Brie and Smoked Gouda paired very well with it. And as expected, the Burrah Kababs were delightful, matching the savoury and spicy attributes of the wine, step by step.

We could continue for longer but a bigger gathering  awaited.  As we concluded the  surreal rendezvous, getting the bottle ready for the next stop, Gajju promised me to get some more gems like these on his next trips.

Not something I would complain-of for sure!

If you have had more than a fleeting encounter with Australian wines, chances are that  you would not have been untouched by the Hardys name. Adjudged the seventh most powerful wine brand in the world according to “The Power 100 report 2015” by Intangible Business, Hardys is Australia’s biggest wine producer identified largely with  easy drinking and affordable wines. But there’s more to Hardys than just approachable wines. It has a vast repertoire that honours their founding fathers as also the terroirs from where their wines originate. And I had a priceless opportunity to converse about these wines with none other than William (Bill) Hardy who was on his second all time  visit to India towards the end of August 2015.

Bill, a fifth generation member of this wine family arrived as Hardys Brand Ambassador to launch his eponymous “William Hardy Collection”- a range that honours his contribution towards the family business. The meeting was at the initiative of  Prarrthona Pal Chowdhury- the livewire Head Marketing, Brandy Project and International Brands at  Sula wines- Hardys importers in India.

The interview took place immediately after a wine masterclass by Bill Hardy at ITC Maurya- a premier property of the ITC conglomerate of India. We promptly took our seats within the same precincts for this stimulating conversation:

Me: Welcome to India Mr Hardy and congratulations on the launch of the William Hardy collection.

Bill Hardy (BH): Thank you! It is indeed my pleasure being here to introduce the new label here with all humility.

Me:  Hardys winemaking philosophy is generally recognized as being centered towards blending cuvées from your vineyards in different regions, does that mean that emphasis on terroir takes a back seat for you ?

BH : Not entirely ! Though our easy drinking daily wines may be inclined towards blending for the sake of a consistent wine style,  we also have certain wines that bring out respective regions quite emphatically. A classic example would be one of our top wines- the HRB (Heritage Reserve Bin) which includes cuvées from two to three distinct regions. I remember James Halliday (Australian wine writer and critic) tasting these wines for the first time and saying “I can see the exact terroirs associated with this wine!” I consider myself a champion of blending and believe that this is one of the greatest skills a winemaker can have. It often happens that once a winemaker is through with making some great wines from individual parcels, he sits back and asks himself ‘this is nice, but can I make something even better by putting some of these wines together ?’ And there comes the art of blending into play. There is a beautiful quote by Hugh Johnson-  “Dom Perignon was the first deliberate  blender. Also the first perfectionist”.

Me : With relevance to the Indian market, do you see competition coming the Aussie wines’ way in the event of the proposed Free Trade Agreement  between India and the European Union (EU) that is likely to soften trade barriers on wine from EU.

BH : Firstly I am positive that if any such agreement favourable to the wine trade is worked out, it will not be implemented selectively by the Indian government for different trading zones. But if it happens otherwise and if the same level of duty cuts are affected on high value as well as daily drinking wines from EU then it would indeed be serious competition to Aussie wines, as Australia is the biggest volume exporter of wine to India.

Me : The Hardys portfolio has a vast range of wines. How does a consumer differentiate between similar varietal blends across these ranges ? For example, how does one differentiate between Eileen Hardy Shiraz (named after Bill’s grandmother) from the now launched William Hardy Shiraz ?

BH : We have consistently made an effort towards educating the consumer on our different wines. I am quite proud of having elaborated on these wines through personal writings on the philosophy, style and characteristics of each wine. I also love to present our wines to people, highlighting the USPs of each range so that they understand as to why they should be paying more for a particular wine vis-à-vis a lower priced one.
Coming to your specific query, the essential difference between the Eileen Hardy Shiraz and the William Hardy Shiraz is that while Eileen Hardy range is an example of the very best of wines we make, William Hardy range is a more commercial wine. Both these wines are single varietal single region wines with Eileen Hardy Shiraz being produced from 2-3 selected vineyards in McLaren Vale. Compared to this, William Hardy Shiraz currently comes from vineyards in Langhorne Creek with subsequent plan to shift the sourcing for this range to McLaren Vale as well. In terms of ageing potential, while Eileen Hardy Shiraz comes from  vines upto 110 years old and has an ageing potential between 12-15 years, William Hardy Shiraz  can currently be aged upto 5-7 years. In short you can say that while Eileen Hardy is our Prestige range, William Hardy range is growing to be one.

(Prarrthona signals me to  hurry-up as Bill has to leave for the next engagement- a dinner featuring the William Hardy Collection where I am also invited).

Me : How does your marketing plan look like in India ? Specially with reference to another competing Aussie brand Jacob’s Creek  that seems to have an ostensible advantage of leveraging on the Spirits brands in the Pernod Ricard portfolio .

BH : I do agree that Pernod Ricard have managed their marketing well through well placed sports sponsorships and  leveraging their Spirits brands for wine promotion. At Hardys our focus is on spending our dollars on opening and sharing wine bottles rather than spending big time on advertisments. As for sponsorships and endorsements, we may have faltered earlier by spreading ourselves too thin, but in the present day we are very much  focussed on the subject. A good example of this is the recent launch of the Art of Cricket collection with Glenn McGrath as the brand ambassador, which has magnified awareness of our brand amongst the target consumer.

Me : A last question on the personal front. Since you are here with Mrs Hardy, are you visiting the Taj Mahal ?

BH : Certainly ! As a matter of fact we are doing a tour of the “golden triangle” (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur) starting tomorrow. We have been looking forward to it.

 

* This interview was published as a narrative in vino india.

Over the years Indians have been looking for new gifting ideas beyond the traditional sweets and dry fruits. With the overall awareness on wine going up, it is also turning out to be one of the favourite gifting ideas spelling class and sophistication. But choosing the right wine for  gifting can become a tedious issue if one is unsure about the preferences of the intended recipient. The dilemma is accentuated by a multitude of labels available on retail shelves. Then how should one go about picking the right wine?

Having received many such queries over the past years, particularly during festive occasions, I thought of coming up with a list of wines based on my personal experience. Since the  list could become humungous, I decided to stick to Indian wines on three accounts. Firstly, Indian wines have seen admirable evolution in the past few years, winning global awards and featuring in the wine lists of Michelin starred restaurants. Secondly, thanks to the absence of customs duties (as much as 160%), they invariably offer good value for money as compared to their imported counterparts. And lastly- the supply chain for these wines being much shorter, there is lesser chances of spoilage on account of improper handling/storage.

However, the number of ‘good’ Indian wines could be many more than just a list of 10. Hence I also narrowed down the focus based on the following considerations:

• I should have tasted each wine at least twice to find them consistently good.
• The wines should be available in at least two major metros of India- viz. Delhi and Mumbai.
• To include generic personality types of wine consumers.

So here is my festive pick for 2015 (wines listed category wise and not in any order of precedence):

They came, they poured and they conquered! Young suave sommeliers from India competing in the eighth edition of Indian Sommelier Championship (ISC) served the reds, whites and the sparklings with expected élan during the final round of the competition that saw the culmination of several weeks of hard work on the sommellerie front. This year too, I had the opportunity to witness the final round amidst the privilege of sipping the same wines in tandem with the finalists on stage and chatting them up while they waited their  turn on the rostrum.

An annual feature, the ISC has been  conducted since 2008 under the aegis of Wi-Not Beverage Solutions Private Ltd- a beverages consultancy based in New Delhi.  The contest involves grooming and orienting the candidates towards the championship followed by preliminary rounds and eventually the grand finale where India’s best sommeliers slug it out for the top positions. The winners, apart from getting immense recognition in the world of wine, get further opportunities in the form of visits to international vineyards,  one-on-one sessions with celebrated winemakers and likewise.

As I have already dwelled on the conduct aspects of the championship in one of my earlier posts, this time I thought it would be good idea to present a little more about the winners than meets the arclights. Hence I got in touch with them again (as winners were not announced in the finale but a separate gala dinner that  didn’t see my presence- a fact that I rued last year too) and they came out whole heartedly with the  details. So here’s introducing the mint fresh Indian Sommelier Champs: (Note- you can right click and save/share the respective images as you may please)

Prizes Won

While Harish Acharekar looks forward to an all expenses paid trip to the grand Austrian wine fair Vie Vinum 2016- an award bestowed by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB), Pratik Angre will take off for Spain to visit the Gramona Cava facility. Lalit Rane gets his share of the winners’ pie with exclusive visits and one-on-one sessions with the winemakers at the Fratelli and York wineries in India.

Here’s wishing the Champion Sommeliers joyous barrels and exulting acres in their journey of passion!

Indian wines have evoked a lot of interest worldwide of late. From being listed in Michelin starred restaurants to rubbing shoulders with international peers on retail shelves, the buzz on Indian wines continues to grow. And with that, wine events featuring Indian wines and cuisine are also being received with heightened interest.

Recently I hosted a wine dinner titled “Winesome India” offering a lowdown on the Indian wine industry highlighting its promising prospects on the international scene. We presented six wines from one of India’s prominent wine producers Grover Zampa Vineyards (GZV). Coupled with a four course spread from one of Delhi’s  rapidly emerging wine friendly Indian restaurant Gulati Spice Market (GSM), we had wine lovers enthused on Indian wine and food pairing- which is considered challenging by many folks.

 

The event though was not just about eating, drinking and making merry. It was an endeavour to present Indian wines and cuisine in the right earnest- to be served at right temperature, sequence and food affinity. And while doing so, to highlight that Indian wines hold good promise, considering their relative nascence. Given that Indian wines are increasingly being awarded at global competitions, we also wanted to dispel a common perception that they are sub-par as compared to international wines.

The evening started with rounds of Zampa Sparkling Brut, paired with a wide range of finger food, followed by the starter, main and dessert courses coupled with two wines each (see menu below). Though an Indian dinner is classically not course oriented, we managed to unobtrusively spread it so, bringing out each pairing deservedly in full glory!

The range of wines represented the diversity of GZV portfolio courtesy their large heartedness in offering their entire portfolio to pick and choose from. . Rohit Arora,Trade Marketing Manager GZV worked closely with me on selecting the wines to adequately represent the two major wine regions of India  viz. Nasik Valley and the Nandi Hills where they grow their grapes. Two of their wines that we used have also recently been included in  the wine list of L’Arpège- a 3 star Michelin Restaurant in Paris, rated amongst 25 best restaurants of the world.

Popular wines of the evening

While all wines basked in their dedicated moments of glory, there were some that were runaway hits. These were:

Art Collection Rosé
Grape: Shiraz

A fresh and fruity wine with a pleasing salmon pink colour. It paired well with the starter course of light and airy Makai Seekh (skewered kababs made with beaten minced corn) and decadent Galaouti Kabab (parboiled and pan cooked minced lamb patties) served on mini Sheermal (sweet fermented bread).

VA Collection Red
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon + Shiraz + Viognier

Launched by GZV last autumn, this wine has been generating a lot of interest having already garnered a couple of international awards. An extrovert  red, with flavours and aromas of black fruits and wild flowers, the wine has firm rounded tannins making it a good pairing with succulent Indian preparations.

La Réserve Red
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon + Shiraz

By far the most respected of GZV wines, it is more restrained than the VA Red but packs immense power, making it an alpha wine. Black fruits, chocolate and vanilla personify this wine as a bold red that can be at ease with the most robust of Indian foods .

Both, VA Collection Red and La Réserve above, came of their own with the main course of Burrah Kabab (marinated lamb chops slow cooked in a clay oven), Paneer Takatak (griddle cooked cottage cheese cubes with Indian spices) , a variety of Dals (gravied lentils), assorted Indian breads and steamed vegetable rice.

Zampa Soirée Brut Rosé
Grape: Shiraz

A creamy and delightful Rosé sparkling, this is a versatile wine that can either be enjoyed as an aperitif or with food, including dessert courses. The wine has aromas of red berries accentuated by yeasty notes and a lush palate that makes it gourmet inclined.

This sprightly Rosé harmoniously counterbalanced the creamy Gulkand Firni (Milk and rice reduction with candied rose petals) as also the more robust Moong Dal Cigar with Rabri dip (Cooked lentils in sugar syrup stuffed in filo pastry  and served with thickened milk dip). Pairing a dry sparkling wine with dessert has been successfully tried internationally and it worked well with the Indian desserts too.

The audience for Winesome India comprised of distinguished people from different vocations who share common love for wine and cuisine. Defence officers, corporate honchos, food and beverages professionals and business owners- all were there to raise the toast to the winsome proposition in Winesome India.

….and Winesome India is also the toast of leading Beverages publications in India!

Spiritz Magazine Oct 2015 issue

vino india, Oct 2015 issue

 

It is not enough to be a country’s largest wine producer. You’ve got to keep expanding the ambit to ensure a continuing customer outreach. Sula Selections, the import division of Sula wines of India seems to be following this approach by augmenting its portfolio aggressively of late. The latest in their slew of wines are two ranges- Mud House and Kumala wines from New Zealand and South Africa respectively. After eventful months with Hardys wines of Australia culminating in the launch of William Hardy and Art of Cricket collections, Sula’s  action arena has shifted to other New World regions apparently in a quest to evolve a well rounded portfolio. And with this it’s association with Accolade Wines- one of worlds largest wine enterprises delivering wine to 143 countries worldwide- goes a notch higher.

The launch of Mud House and Kumala wines was done at a dinner hosted in Lavaash- a new restaurant serving Armenian cuisine in Delhi.  Prarrthona Pal Chowdhury- Sula’s enterprising Marketing Head for Brandy Project and International Brands  invited me over for the tasting. The wines came across as refreshing and full of novelty. Here is a lowdown on the portfolio:

Mud House Wines

About

This production house has presence in three of the renowned  wine areas of  New Zealand viz. Marlborough, Waipara valley  and Central Otago. It gets its name from the house which was built by its founders from the mud excavated from the local area.

Wines tasted (Prices indicated ex Delhi/ Mumbai):

Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (₹ 2300/ ₹ 2575)

True to its provenance (of a maritime climate) the wine had expressive ripe peaches aromas going on to guavas after some time. It may be called a ‘typical Marlborough’ wine but my personal choice steers away from particularly domineering aromas. On the palate, the wine was pretty decent and refreshing with tropical fruit flavours. This wine will please those who like intensely aromatic Sauvignon Blancs as opposed to their subtler cousins.

Mud House Pinot Noir 2013 (₹ 2530/ ₹ 2830)

The light ruby colour of this wine indicated at the outset that it would be more fruity and less tannic. The wine expectedly came out juicy on the palate with abundance of red berries and soft tannins- though I felt it could have done well with a firmer structure. Notwithstanding, the wine was an excellent match for the paired food that had vegetal-fruity orientation and ample texture.

Kumala Wines

About

The winery takes great pride in being located in the surrounding areas of the iconic Table Mountain that has  rich bio diversity. Perhaps their  ‘Gecko’ motif conveys the same essence. They also source their grapes from growers spread over five prominent  South African viticultural regions viz Western Cape, Olifants River, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.

Wines tasted: (All variants ₹ 1250/ ₹ 1355)

Kumala Chardonnay

A crisp Chardonnay with aromas/flavours of apples, citrus fruits and pears. Well suited for the Indian summer conditions.

Kumala Sauvignon Blanc

A subdued variation of the Mud House Sauvignon Blanc tasted as above, this was a well balanced wine having pleasant citrus, vegetal and spicy aromatics that were accompanied by a delicious palate.

Kumala Pinotage

No SA wine talk is complete without the mention of  Pinotage- the country’s derived varietal from Pinot Noir and Hermitage (also called Cinsault) varietals. This wine had complex aromas of red fruits and fruitcake. A well rounded medium bodied delicious palate and a medium finish made it a pleasant wine to relish even without food.

Kumala Shiraz

A deep ruby wine with aromas of  ripe black fruits and black pepper.  Full bodied with round tannins and a distinct oak touch made it a good accompaniment with the robust and savoury main course dish called Chicken Kalagyosh- a chickpea and chicken stew with parsley paprika and olive oil.

To sum up the entire tasting experience, both the wine ranges have something unique to offer- coming from two distinct terroirs of the New World.The benefit-cost ratio however, works to the advantage of Kumala wines, significantly so, because Mud House may find ample number of worthy competitors for their pricing on the Indian retail shelves- including biggies from the Old World.

But then- it all depends upon catching the customer’s fancy!

 

 

Asterix fans would probably recall a particular issue of the famed comic series in which Getafix, the village druid- who makes the Gauls superhumans with his magic potion- embarks on an annual druids conference. The next few pages in the issue depict Getafix having a ball with his druid chums each of whom is accomplished in his own right. The druids also enter their inventions to compete for the coveted ‘Golden Menhir” that Getafix ultimately ends up winning.

Before you wonder if this post is about the Asterix series (which I  love to revisit endlessly) let me shift the focus back to our good old ‘magic potion’ viz. wine. Recently when a sommelier friend came visiting at Delhi, I approached a couple of close wine friends for a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) gathering and the Gaulish druids conference was the first thing that came to my mind. Only here, we had different professionals  connected to the wine trade bringing in their unique experiences- and of course a cherished wine from their respecive personal collection.

The visitor was Kamal Malik, currently the Head Sommelier of  the prestigious hotel Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. Kamal has been a close friend ever since the two of us embarked on a scholarship trip to Champagne. Hitting it off well, we kept in contact thereafter – exchanging wine notes and meeting up whenever the opportunity arose. And this was one such opportunity albeit a better planned one.

Apart from the two of us, the other vinos were Rajiv Singhal, the Ambassador of Champagne in India (under whose tutelage we had undertaken the Champagne trip),  Arjun Sachar, a young wine professional with a French cooperage and  the husband-wife team of Sumit and Chiquita Gulati  who own a wine savvy restaurant called Gulati Spice Market in the heart of New Delhi (also our venue for the evening). Our kitty for the proposed rendezvous was quite inspiring , with  a Champagne, a Burgundy Premier Cru, two Bordeaux Grands Crus and a Spanish dessert wine.

Came D day and we scrambled with pre chilled wine bottles to the venue. This was a meeting where no instructions had to be passed- the  importance of chilling, decanting and sequencing being a matter of unsaid wine propriety. The venue owners being on our side, we were good on the food front too. And so the indulgence commenced:

Champagne Alfred Gratien Cuvée Paradis

This was the first cork to be popped for the day. Being a worthy guardian of his protégé, Rajiv initially suggested that we serve the Champagne at number two after the Burgundy, but Kamal was able to convince him for serving the Champagne au début.

Alfred Gratien is an Epernay based producer widely known as an artisanal winemaker with a distinctly vinous wine style. Cuvée Paradis is their prestige offering with a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A delightful Champagne, it poured with a luxuriant mousse, thereafter retaining the visual appeal with a persistent bead of fine bubbles. Its complexity could be sensed right from the nose which expressed layered aromas of red and dried fruits. A lush and medium bodied palate followed by a lingering finish completed the experience.We were served an assortment of cheeses, dips and crackers and mildly flavoured tapas that made the match more than ideal. We couldn’t have expected lesser from an  Ambassadeur du Champagne. Could we?

Château de Blagny Meursault 2006 by Louis Latour

When Arjun Sachar discussed this wine with me before finalising it for our rendezvous, he was on better side of caution, given the wine’s vintage- being a white. However both of us decided to include it solely on its pedigree. After all it was from the famed limestone soils of  Côte  de Beaune! The wine did not disappoint either. Initially appearing as “over the hill”, it had us all discussing as to how good it must have been in its prime. The next sip and we were humbled because the aromas and flavours arrived as if from thin air. This was a delicately perfumed wine redolent of white flowers, peaches and melons. Nutty/ oxidative aromas lent it a pleasant complexity. The wine retained its acidity admirably well rendering it a good balance. Arjun received a well deserved pat on the back for deciding to open this wine just in time.

Château Giscours Grand Cru 2000 and 2009

A wine that was received by me as a gift  two years back, Giscours 2000 was preserved just for an occasion like this. What I didn’t  anticipate was that Rajiv would offer another vintage of this Troisième Grand Cru  to enable a mini vertical tasting. These two wines were undoubtedly the stars of the evening. Each of them decanted for an hour plus, they offered an entirely different spectrum of aromas/flavours that beautifully demonstrated the evolution of a high quality wine with time. While Giscours 2000 had gamey, meaty and tobacco aromas followed by a savoury palate of , bacon, chocolate and spice, Giscours 2009 was more sophisticated with characteristics of blackberries, vanilla, cassis  and berry compote.  Nothing could have matched the rustic Indian preparations of Burrah Kabab (Char grilled lamb ribs) and Galouti Kababs on Sheermal ( Finely minced pan fried lamb kababs over baked sweetened bread) better.

Torres Floralis-Moscatel Oro

Apart from playing generous hosts for this eclectic outing, Sumit and Chiquita Gulati also pitched in with this wine to round off the experience. Hence this surprise inclusion was no less than the “Golden Menhir” for all of us. Torres Floralis-Moscatel Oro  has a radiant golden colour with aromas of white flowers spice and honey. It has a luxuriant palate of honey, licorice, dried fruits and white pepper. The Moong Dal Cigar with Rabri dip (Cooked lentils in sugar syrup stuffed in filo pastry  and served with thickened milk dip) matched the voluptuous wine rather well.

Thus concluded our “druids conference” where all of us felt like winners. More than anything, this was a rendezvous  about friends meeting on a common platform of wine passion and ‘letting the hair down’ without bothering about taking notes or pouring pre defined measures.

After all  wine is no less than Getafix’s magic potion! Isn’t it?

“Masterclass” is a term we often come across in today’s wine world. It essentially denotes a deep dive familiarization with target wines, fringing on technicalities. It is also an often misused term , with innumerable instances of generic wine tastings being passed off  as “masterclasses”. But when a winemaker himself conducts such a class, its raison d’être  surpasses the realm of definitions, as was the case when William (Bill) Hardy- the fifth generation helmsman of Australia’s biggest winemaker Hardys Wines conducted a series of masterclasses in Delhi/Mumbai. Spread over two days, these masterclasses were meant primarily for the hospitality trade and selected wine media. I had the privilege of attending the one in New Delhi  at hotel ITC Maurya in the closing days of Aug 15.

Hardys has been in India since the year 2003 through their importer Sula Selections. Then why this masterclass now? Bill Hardy told me that given the positive sentiment about India as an emerging wine consuming nation, efforts to “train the trainer” are considered to be in good stead. These efforts are also necessary to  consolidate Australia’s enviable position as the largest wine exporter to India in terms of volume. According to him, the Indian wine market has been showing admirable maturity over the years and it is a must for such an emerging market to have professionals who can present a particular wine to the consumer in the right earnest.

The wines for the masterclass were from Hardys Stamp collection. Bill brought out that this range was inspired by their founder Thomas Hardy’s vision of popularizing Australian wines in the world. He highlighted that the majority of grapes for this collection are from warm, inland river regions, producing wines that are full flavoured, fruit forward and smooth- a character  preferred in everyday drinking wines.

The Delhi masterclass commenced with Bill familiarizing the audience with Australian wine producing regions and how these could be mapped to entire Europe in terms of vineyard area. He highlighted the typical characteristics of each of these regions, explaining step by step the production philosophy behind each of his presented wines, including their probable Indian food matches. The session progressed with the wines served as under:

Hardys Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV

Made from two of the Champagne grapes, this wine is a straightforward sparkling with yeasty, citrusy  and tropical fruit aromas. A refreshing spritzy palate makes it a good ‘evening starter’. Bill said that they employ both traditional and charmat methods in their sparkling wine production and this particular wine has been elaborated by using the charmat method, keeping in line with its affordability aspect.

Hardys Riesling Gewürztraminer 2014

A  popular wine in Asia, Bill informed that their Riesling-Gewürztraminer also sells well in Canada and British Columbia presumably due to a large migrant Asian population. The wine, with its honeyed, tropical fruits, and off dry (residual sugar 15 g/l) character is quite well suited to Asian cuisine. It’s lingering finish completes its profile as a gourmet wine. In addition Bill highlighted a subtle petillance (fizz) in the wine which is purposefully crafted to give it an extra refreshing character.The wine was indeed very pleasing and I thought of a shaslik of cottage cheese, pineapple, onion and bell peppers as its ideal food accompaniment.

Hardys Chardonnay Semillon 2014

A deep lemon, light bodied wine with a creamy palate and a discernibly oaky character. Bill educated us that for the Stamp range, they use an innovative and cost effective method of oaking called “plank in tank” wherein oak planks with sawed off edges are dropped into wine tanks for better surface area (six sides as opposed to four) contact. This method enables faster oaking at a relatively lower cost, which is very important for keeping the affordability aspect of the range intact. In addition, this wine is oxygenated using medical grade oxygen to impart oxidative complexity. The result is a fairly complex wine affordable as a regular indulgence.

Hardys Cabernet Sauvignon- Merlot 2014

Bill Hardy is the first Aussie winemaker to be trained in Bordeaux, that too under the famous French oenologist Émile Peynaud. His affinity to the “Bordeaux style” can be noted in this essentially Bordeaux blend with good structure as well as an intense but restrained fruity character. Bill informed that this wine is also oaked “plank in tank” for 3 months in Burgundian oak that has loose grains that promote faster ageing.

Hardys Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Shiraz- Cabernet Sauvignon blend is by far the most popular red wine blend in Asia Pacific region owing to its affinity to spicy cuisine. Aussie Shiraz  is  well known for its ripe and full bodied flavours. Bill explained that in this blend, around 30% Cabernet Sauvignon is added to  the remaining 70 % Shiraz in to balance out the voluptuousness of the wine. The result is a savoury wine well suited to rich Asian cuisine.

The masterclass concluded with young interns as well as seasoned professionals satisfying their queries from an immensely approachable Bill.

After all you don’t  come across Masters so often! Do you?