Wine dinners were probably one of the biggest casualties of the Covid era in the social context. Fortunately, the pandemic is well past us with the green shoots of social life already emerging . In India, where the consumption of wine remains significantly low as compared to distilled spirits, consumer engagements like wine dinners are highly relevant to the context. Such engagements offer a great opportunity for brand advocates to interact with the trade, consumers and media alike, in order to effectively spread their brand’s word.
Recently, I was invited to attend a spate of such engagements that indicate the revival of the market in the post pandemic era. I am recounting three such experiences where wine shone in its full glory.
A Dinner with Piccini Wines
Venue: Sorrento Italian restaurant, Shangrila-Eros New Delhi
Price: ₹ 7500 (plus taxes)
There is no better place to savour Italian wines than in an Italian restaurant. Lorenzo Beconi, Export Manager, Piccini Wines arrived in New Delhi to host this special dinner alongside Aristol, their import partner in India.
The six-course dinner started with the aperitif of Piccini Prosecco, a Spumante (fully sparkling) wine from the Prosecco D.O.C. (Controlled Denomination of Origin).
It was followed by the remaining courses, that were listed on a novel menu wrapped around an LED backlit wine bottle. The open kitchen space at the restaurant made the affairs more interesting- full marks going to its design that had adequate ventilation so as to not interfere with the wine appreciation.
The Piccini dinner pairing menu
Wines tasted at the Piccini Wine Dinner
- Piccini Prosecco DOC– A crisp wine with tree fruit aromas and a lively palate.
- Piccini Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie IGT – a refreshing wine with fruity notes that were accented by floral hints.
- Piccini Scalunera Etna Rosso DOC– a light-medium bodied wine with a juicy palate of red berries and a hint of minerality.
- Valiano Chianti Classico DOCG– A medium bodied wine with a fruity-spicy palate and rounded tannins that were grippy towards the finish.
- Piccini Brunello di Montalcino DOCG– An absolute powerhouse of a wine with its full bodied, well structured palate replete with blackberry and plum flavours ending in a long finish.
A personal connection that made the dinner even more special
For me, the Piccini dinner was even more special, due to my longstanding association with the winemaker as a wine writer. I had visited them a few moons ago in their home turf of Castellina in Chianti and Montalcino, as also partaken several meals with their wines including some with their family patriarch Mario Piccini himself. For those who can spare a little more time, do read about my earlier interview with Mario Piccini .
Images: Piccini Wine Dinner
Chef Manjunath Mural Wine Dinner
Venue: Roseate House, New Delhi
Price: ₹ 6000 (All Inclusive)
Wine dinners can be large scale too, like the one organised by All Things Nice (ATN), where Chef Manjunath Mural especially flew in from Singapore to curate a Haute Indian Cuisine menu. Manjunath holds the distinction of being the first Indian Chef to receive a Michelin Star in the entire South-East Asia.
More than 80 people were served plated courses at this dinner with some great wine pairings by Sommelier Nikhil Agarwal, the founder of All Things Nice. Agarwal also happens to be a wine and spirits importer, this event including wines imported by his company Anggels Share.
Great wine pairings with Haute Indian Cuisine
Even as the guests started assembling for the dinner, the hors d’oeuvres started conveying the essence of Indian haute cuisine. We savoured items like “Chicken Tikka Mousse with Crispy Tortilla Chips” and “Curd Rice Arancini with Curry Leaves Gel” around freely poured Villa Sandi Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG.
Chef Manjunath informed the gathering that he is consciously working towards adapting Indian cuisine on the lines of haute French dining, so as to make it as recognisable in the fine dining scenario. The dishes served at the dinner surely conveyed the success of his approach.
The Manjunath Mural dinner pairing menu
Wines tasted at the Manjunath Mural Wine Dinner
- Villa Sandi Prosecco Brut NV, Veneto, Italy– A delicious sparkler with aromas of citrus and ripe stone fruits complemented by a buoyant acidity and a mineral finish.
- Morgan Bay Cellars Chardonnay 2020, California, USA– An appetising wine with citrus and stone fruit aromas and a creamy, nutty palate with well balanced acidity.
- Domaine Mirabeau Classic Rosé 2020, Côtes du Provence, France– A blend of Grenache-Syrah-Cinsault, this wine had a beautiful Salmon Pink colour with subtle aromas of red berries, candied fruit, reaffirmed by a delicious palate of red berries and a satiating finish.
- Alta Vista Vive Malbec 2020, Mendoza, Argentina– A fun, medium bodied red wine with aromas of dark fruits and sweet spice quite representative of its provenance.
- Morgan Bay Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, California, USA– A full bodied luscious palate of dense black fruits and appetising aromas of blackberry, black plum and liquorice made this a perfect gourmet wine.
Images: Manjunath Mural Wine Dinner at Roseate House, New Delhi
Castello di Querceto wine dinner
Venue: Sorrento Italian restaurant, Shangrila-Eros New Delhi
Price: ₹ 5000 (plus taxes)
Tuscany seems to be the flavour of the season in India. A dinner hosted by the historic Tuscan winemaker Castello di Querceto had many coincidences for me in the context of this article itself. Apart from being a second dinner with Tuscan wines in the same Italian restaurant within a span of two weeks, it also featured wines from Anggel’s Share for the second time in this duration.
Experiencing the rich legacy of Castello di Querceto
Castello di Querceto was founded in 1897 by Carlo François, whose ancestors moved to Tuscany from France in 1740. The house is located in Greve in Chianti that is also considered the “capital of the Chianti Classico region”, about 31 kms south of Florence. The producer also happens to be a founding member of the Chianti Classico Consortium that was established in 1924.
Marco Fizialetti, representing the fifth generation of Castello di Querceto helmed the New Delhi dinner with elan as he described the details of his wines in their full historical perspective.
The dinner also saw two other wines from the Anggel’s Share portfolio- a Prosecco and a Bordeaux Blanc- filling up for the non availability of certain wines from Castello di Querceto due to some regulatory issues. However the French wine was surely not out of place, given the French antecedents of Castello di Querceto.
The Castello di Querceto dinner pairing menu
We started the evening with Bottega Prosecco as the guests continued to arrive. The Prosecco was repeated for pairing with the Amuse Bouche even as we settled down. The next course of Salad saw its pairing with the Bordeaux Blanc wine; thereafter the dinner progressed to the remaining courses to be paired with the Castello di Querceto wines that provided a diverse range of expressions to aptly complement the paired dishes.
You might have noticed that the food menu for this dinner was largely similar to the Piccini wine dinner described above, except a tweak here or there- but I found the pairings to be offering an interesting new perspective due to an entirely different set of wines to accompany.
Wines tasted at the Castello di Querceto Wine Dinner
- Casa Bottega Prosecco Brut 2021, Veneto, Italy– A dry-refreshing wine with white peach and citrus aromas.
- Cheval Quancard Reserve Bordeaux Blanc 2020, France– An expressive wine with ripe stone fruit, leafy aromas and a luscious palate.
- Castello Di Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2019, Tuscany, Italy– A great expression of the Chianti terroir, this wine had a dark fruit, spicy character with a woody hint. The wine is aged for one year in French oak.
- Castello Di Querceto IL Picchio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2018, Tuscany, Italy– This “top of the line” wine of the Chianti classification (only about 6% wines from Chianti fall under the “Gran Selezione” category) is made with grapes from a single vineyard. The wine had aromas of dark berry compote and a full bodied powerful palate that ended in a lingering finish.
- “Castello Di Querceto Cignale 2016, Tuscany, Italy– “Cignale” means “Wild Boar” in Tuscan. This “Super Tuscan” wine is a 90:10 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon: Merlot sourced from the higher reaches of the Castello di Querceto vineyards. The wine had blackberry, leather and dried fruit aromas, followed by a steely-structured-palate that did more than justice to its pairing with the main course of the grilled lamb-loin.
Images: Castello di Querceto Wine Dinner
Positive prospects ahead for wine dinners
The most positive point to note in all the wine dinners narrated above was that they were subscribed fully, with an enthusiastic audience eager to know more about the wines being tasted. The arrival of brand representatives only added to the charm of these wines, fulfilling their cultural context. In a long term wine market like India, engagements like wine dinners truly augur well to popularise this “nectar of Gods”.
Also read from this blog’s archive: Top 5 takeaways of pre-curated wine dinners
