Eating chocolate has been proven to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, promote blood flow and improve your mood. And now, some experts suggest that pairing wine and chocolate is both extremly enjoyable and healthy. An increasingly popular trend is to introduce chocolates as you're finishing a bottle of wine and ending your dinner. Red wine like a cabernet-sauvignon blend or a shiraz are often a good partner to dark chocolate. Always remember though, that wine and chocolate are only good for your health when consumed in moderation.
While Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa continue to be the largest markets in India, wine demand is catching on in other cities and towns like like Nagpur, Nasik, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Chennai and Hyderabad. A good example is Amritsar and Punjab. In 2005 Sula Wines doubled its sales in Punjab. Analysts believe that the tipping point will be when annual consumption crosses a million cases. Needless to say, the future growth of grape plantation is imperative for Indian wines to grow at 20%-30%.
Champagne Indage, the largest domestic wine marketer is one company that has bet heavily on the mass market by selling wines below the Rs.250 per bottle category. Vino which is priced at Rs.99 is Indage's most serious attempt to tap the mass market according to the Economic Times.
Singapore Airlines has one of the most intense training program for its flight attendants. Only 10% of the candidates survive the training program in which they must endure four months of classes including wine appreciation courses. The flight attendants are trained to advise passengers on which wines to match their meals with and how to choose a wine. The next time you're flying Singapore Airlines ask the flight attendant about wine. She'll probably impress you with her knowledge of all things wine.
It seemed like the perfect gimmick: a celebrity porn star would launch her own wine, with her alluring picture on the label. Savanna Samson did just that, but when it received a score of 90 to 91 out of 100 by wine guru Robert Parker, the project became serious. It turns out Samson, the star of "The New Devil in Miss Jones," has produced an exceptional wine, becoming the toast of two industries: wine-making and pornography. Read the Reuters India interview on the new queen of winemaking.
Torbreck's David Powell conducted a wine tasting at the ITC Maurya Sheraton & Towers in Delhi recently. Some of the wines serviced included Woodcutters Semillion 2004, Woodcutters Shiraz 2003, Cuvee Juveniles 2003, The Steading 2002 and The Struie 2002. These wines are available at all of the hotel's outlets. These wines are big, full bodied highly rated wines. Read on to learn about Torbreck and David Powell.
Summer is undoubtedly a challenging season for a wine drinker in India. As the unbearable heat of May and June gives way to clammy humidity of the monsoons, the range of wines one would drink gets limited. Arun Batra of the Financial Times, tells us what's best to drink during these hot summer months.
His recommendations include Sauvignon Blanc especially the clean, crisp un-oaked versions New Zealand produces that are available in India. In addition to that, he recommends Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, Beaujolais, Merlot and Valpolicella. Batra also recommends Cabernet-Merlot or Cabernet -Shiraz bottled by Grover and Sula and priced competitively at Rs. 500.
According to Decanter Magazine, the United States and the European Union have signed an accord to put to rest the controversy surrounding the use of semi-generic names that are locally specific geographical terms. Moving forward US producers will no longer be able to use 17 terms including Chablis, Sherry and Chianti, on their wine lables.
In return, US made wines that depend upon certain practices that are illegal in Europe can now be sold in all European Union member states. This includes wines made using woodchips, a controversial and illegal technique in Europe. Roughly 40% of EU wines are sold in Europe, making it the biggest market for European wines.
Champagne trade body the CIVC has reported that worldwide shipments increased by 2% to 307.5 million bottles in 2005. This is the second year running it has crossed 300 million bottles. One of the most popular bottles is the Moet & Chandon rosé, which is also avaliable in India. LVMH's Veuve Clicquot is launching its own rosé soon.
Mr. Christian von Guradze of Burklin Wolf was in India earlier this month and led a wine tasting at Diva restaurant. Burklin Wolf is the largest privately owned wine estate in Germany. Wine Spectator has given its wines ratings as high as 98 points in the past. Burklin Wolf is represented by Brindco in India.
According to winemaker Ted Mostero, Chile is ready to take its place in the world as an icon wine producer. Mostero, an American, is the winemaker at the Concha y Toro/Baron Philippe de Rothschild joint venture Almaviva. When asked if £300 per case was too expensive for his wines, he responded by saying that consumers were happy to pay that price. Read more at Decanter.com.
The boom in the wine business in India is causing an unsual problem - a lack of adequate grapes. According to DNA India, with companies rushing to set up wineries in the Nasik areas, which are the most suitable for growing grapes, existing firms are finding it difficult to come across the fruit. Some wine companies are evening thinking of importing grapes to meet the demand. Also, as farmers switch to growing wine grapes, table grapes are getting scarce.
Shatbhi Basu, who is an IHM graduate, is currently a consultant to Velocity, Silk Route, The Leela, Mumbai, Fashion TV Bar, Bangalore, Cidade de Goa and others. In the past she has designed and set up pubs like The Tavern & Beyond, The Fariyas Hotel, Mumbai, and the lobby bar Mattancherry, Taj Malabar, Cochin. And finally, she also conducts wine appreciation courses. Learn about Shatbhi Basu in this Financial Express article and in domain-b too.
A glass of Bordeaux may be the best thing for your teeth according to an article in The Independent, UK. Scientists have discovered that compunds in red wine play a role in preventing gum disease and tooth loss. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Association for Dental Research in Orlando, Florida recently. Polyphenois, a compound found in the skin and seeds of the grapes has a"significant inhibitory" effect on the growth of bacteria in the gums.
Alcohol in excess is known to increase the risk of mouth cancer though red wine has a number of health benefits. These include reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease among others.
Indian wines continue to reach across the globe. The latest market? Sweden. Sula Wines are available at select retail outlets across Sweden as they recently won a wine tender with Systembolaget, the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly.
Tulleeho is organizing two wine tastings in Delhi this month. The first is on March 16th for visiting students from the University of Texas at Austin while the second is for a corporate tasting on March 18th, 2006. To learn more about these events email tulleeho@tulleeho.com. If you're organizing a wine tasting event, email us and we'll publish the information on the Sommelier India Blog.
Ernest Gallo of E&J. Gallo Winery made it to the Forbes 2006 Billionaire list. He is the only winemaker to be included. Gallo's parents grew grapes for home winemakers during prohibition but went bankrupt. His father killed his mother and comitted suicide in 1933 when he went heavily into debt. Over the next fifty years, the sons fought to bring their family respect once again.
Ernest Gallo (97) and his brother Julio have certainly come a long way. Through the decades they produced wines that were never the most expensive or most refined but definitely among the most popular. With each year, they'd focus on extending their marketshare and meeting the everyday drinking needs of American consumers without bothering with wine awards. Today E&J Gallo Winery is the world's second-largest vintner.
The tariff battle over wine imports continued with the Chilean Ambassador Jorge Heine and Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath entering the fray. Kamal Nath explained that India could only reduce the tariffs on wine once Europe accepts Indian whisky. Currently, The EU doesn't treat Indian whisky as whisky because it is made from molasses. Jorge Heine urged India to reduce the tariffs as Kamal Nath asked for his help in battling Europe on the whisky issue. India is on the verge of signing a preferential trade agreement with Chile.
Keep to promote Chilean wines in India, the Chilean Embassy had organized a Chile Wine Fest in February this year. Brindco, Sonarys , Global, Sovereign Impex, Moet Hennessy India , Ace Beverages and Rhine & Raavi were the wine importers that participated. The highly successful event was organized in partnership with the Indian Wine Academy.
Grover Vineyards has a new target market in the common man. After having spent several years producing premium wines, Kapil Grover has decided that it is important to offer something to the rest of the market as well. Grover Vineyards will soon be selling low end wines that cost Rs.250 each only. According to Kapil Grover, these wines will not be made with table grapes but with economically priced grapes from Nashik.
In a recent Indian Express article about Grover Vineyards, Sanjay Menon, MD of Sansula Wines said, " There are a lot of companies in it just for the money. But wine doesn’t lie and to me there’s an honesty about the Grover business. Their business will get its first expert when Kapil’s daughter Karishma returns from her viticulture degree at UC Davis, California."
Here at Sommelier India, we want the Indian wine market to grow quickly. So expect us to be watching the Grover initiative closely.
The Indian government has proposed in its federal budget a 4% ‘special additional duty’ on imported spirits and wines over and above existing tariffs. While this is not good news for wine importers and consumers alike, domestic producers are happy with the news.
" Red wine might have always dominated perceptions about Bordeaux, but white Bordeaux was once much more of a presence. A century ago more white grapes than red grapes were planted in Bordeaux, producing wines that included the sweet whites of Sauternes and Barsac as well as the ocean of dry to semi-dry vin ordinaire that was usually labeled Bordeaux blanc, Entre-Deux-Mers or Graves." Read the feature on the demise of the white Bordeaux in the New York Times.
Our first issue of 2006 is being dispatched to subscribers. This issue includes advice on wine tasting from an expert wine maker, an Indian Consul General's experience with drinking wine, the joys of drinking single malt scotch whisky from a whisky lover, tips on storing wine and a lucid introduction to Chablis from a Master of Wine. We're happy to report that with each issue, our list of contributors grows enabling us to bring you the best wine writing from around the world. Subscribe now so that you start receiving your copies immediately.
We're conducting the first Sommelier India Reader Survey. Please help us serve you better by participating in this quick survey. Survey participants will receive two issues for free in the mail.
A report commissioned by the French trade organization Vinexpo predicts wine consumption in Asia will grow by 45.8 percent total between 2000 and 2010. However, this only translates into 4 percent of world consumption in 2010. By 2010, the region is predicted to represent about 4 percent of world consumption.
In 2004, China, including Hong Kong, consumed 3.7 million hectoliters of wine (equivalent to 500 million bottles), making it the leader in volume within Asia.
The Great Wine Festival was celebrated at the Eden Court, Metropolitan Hotel Nikko in New Delhi recently. 60 wine brands from 14 wine producing countries were on display. Needless to say, India was very well represented. Some of foreign wineries with a presence included Michel Gonet, Domaine Castel, Ernest & Julio Gallo and Turning Leaf.
Read The Hindu newspaper's coverage of the festival.
The Bangalore Wine Club held a wine dinner on Saturday 4th March at the Windsor Sheraton hotel, Bangalore where wines imported by Sovereign Impex were sampled. The wines included Moletto Prosecco Spumante 2003 (Italian sparkling), Valdivieso Chardonnay Single Vineyard Wild Fermented 2003 (Chile), Wildekrans Pinotage Barrel Selection 2003 (South Africa) and Wildekrans Warrant 2001 Bordeaux Blend (South Africa).
