In fine spirits
By Magandeep Singh

Indian Food and Wine Show, or IFOW, is an annual feature, now into its fourth year and a pretty successful year at that. This year the event came back to the Capital and was held in the banquet space of the Taj Palace Hotel on January 19-21.
Some of the highlights of the show were:

The Gourmet Safari had a decent-sized group being bussed from one food stop to another; each venue offered delectable morsels paired with wine and a brief on all that was served. Starting from the Marriott Welcomgroup and onto Olive before finishing at the Taj Palace, people had a great gastronomic ride.

The Vinitaly tasting of some of Italy’s top offerings from most respected family-owned houses was another gem. Imagine the buzz when winemakers like Mastroberardino, Lungarotti, Pio Cesare, Umani Ronchi, Alois Lageder, Rivera, Tasca D’Almerita, Gaja, Antinori, Michele Chiarlo and Masi come together under one roof to showcase their best.

Apart from the French, Italian and the South African, one more country that made its presence felt was Ireland: showcasing everything from Bushmill whisky to Bailey’s Irish Cream. The French and the Italians showcased themselves in a fairly big manner. New champagne houses like Michel Gonet, wines from Bernard Magrez of Bordeaux, brands from Alsace, Loire and Rhone made it complete.

WOSA or Wines of South Africa made their maiden debut at IFOW. One Indian producer with an impressive stand was Chateau Indage.

On the whole the fair scored high on the expectations vs effectiveness chart. Exhibitors seemed content with the quality of visitors and enquiries. One thing which the fair did highlight beyond the obvious is that wines are here to stay. Local wine bodies were luring people with the promise of good times.

Organisers Vandana and Rajiv Malhotra from Lotus Exhibitions have done a great job; learning with each year. India is all set to burn the world wine charts and will prove to be one of the most lucrative business propositions. IFOWS couldn’t have come at a better time.