At the International Wine Challenge, Château Indage won three commendations for its Chantilli Chenin Blanc, Ivy Brut and Marquise de Pompadour. No other Indian wines received recognition though we do not know which others participated. In other news, Indage gained access to UK supermarkets through its acquisition of Darlington Wines.
Brane-Cantenac wines have held an enviable position for centuries. Founded in the 18th century, this Bordeaux wine estate was ranked at the top of the second classed growths in the 1855 classification, but was producing one of the most highly regarded wines of the Médoc well before that. Archives record that over a century before the 1855 classification, the wine of the Cantenac plateau was highly prized among wine connoisseurs who were willing to pay a very good price for it.
The champagne's been fizzing at the Chelsea Flower Show in London – the traditional start of the English summer social season. The green and white garden created there for Laurent-Perrier won the top award for the best in the show, as well as a gold medal.
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The French former footballer David Ginola has won a coveted silver award for his Coste Brulade rosé at the International Wine Challenge, the world cup of wine-tasting events, at the London International Wine Fair. The judges praised its "gentle strawberry fruit flavours with a hint of minerality". They also commended two of his other bottles. Read more...
What should you keep in mind as you decide whether the Bordeaux 2007s are worth buying? Or for that matter, when you are buying any wine to grow your cellar? There are three key factors that are most important. Firstly, the wine needs to have a proven track record of holding well over time. Read more...
Did you know that there are about 400 species of oak, of which only about 20 are used in making oak barrels? Of the trees that are used, only 5% is suitable for making high grade wine barrels. And the average age of a French oak tree harvested for use in wine barrels is 170 years! Oak barrels, which may be charred before use (as shown in the picture), contribute to the color, taste and aroma, of the contents.
Asia's largest wine expo starts on May 27th in Hong Kong. The Fifth Vinexpo Asia-Pacific brings together 692 exhibitors from 32 countries as well as 7,500 professional visitors from 18 Asian countries including India. Your Sommelier India team is on the ground in Hong Kong and will bring you highlights from the expo over the next week.
BT More announced the winners of its wine competition this week. Taking top honors among the whites was the Nine Hills Chenin Blanc 2007 (12.8/20) and the Reveilo Chenin Blanc 2006 followed by the Indus Chenin Blanc 2006 (12.1/20).
Senior members of the Sommelier India team recently visited the USA on a whirlwind trip of the East Coast and are happy to report from this outpost of Sommelier India magazine that the US has a thriving wine culture of which the Indian diaspora is an integral part. What's more there is tremendous interest and curiosity about Indian wines. The only Indian wine we actually saw on the shelves, however, was from Sula.
Hurry and sign up for this very special wine trip organised by the folks at Amfora Wine, Nanda and Ranjit Gupta, who are importers of Italian wines and very familiar with the region. They are organising a vineyard and gastronomique tour of Italian vineyards and fine dining restaurants in the first week of September 2008, for a select group of 12 couples ( 24 people). Eat and drink the best at Michelin starred restaurants and buy wine at vineyard prices.
Cost: approximately Rs. 1,50,000/- (Plus taxes). Contact: + (91 11) 2923 2823 ext: 22 Miss Manailu. Email: manailu@amfora.com
New York is for wine lovers. Every hundred yards or so along the streets and avenues of Manhattan there seems to be a well stocked wine shop. And there are wine bars and restaurants galore.
Bottle Rocket is the kind of store that makes wine shopping fun and easy even if your wine knowledge is next to zero. Located between 5th Ave & Avenue Of The Americas, Bottle Rocket Wine & Spirits is bright and casual, with innovative product displays arranged according to price, style of wine, food matches, etc at stations down the central aisle as well as by country along the wall.
Robert Mondavi was a household name and news of his death around the world was met with sadness by all who knew him even remotely. That includes us here at SommelierIndia. Less than a week ago we posted a note describing his new wine Continuum (see the blog for the piece). Looking back, however, there is much to celebrate. He was a legendary figure who helped put Napa Valley on the world wine map and raised the bar for California wines.
Joseph Pereira (pictured to the left) clinked a piece of cutlery on a wine glass, drew the attention of guests at the bar of La Dolce Vita, Pune, and indicated the Château Indage wine tasting evening of 9th May had begun! Head Sommelier Trainer (certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers), Joseph was on a flying visit to Pune to host a session of food and wine tasting.
The light and flavourful meal was elegantly served at La Dolce Vita, one of Pune’s most popular Italian restaurants, and the selection of wines was courtesy Chateau Indage.
Zinzi, find any reason”, read the invitation to the Zinzi Ball, a wine party at the recently launched Hotel Le Royce, Pune, on May16. To celebrate the launch of Zinzi, the new wine from United Breweries, guests were welcomed with white wine blended with vodka shots. The evening got underway with Zinzi red and white wines and refreshing Zintails – Zinzi wine cocktails – being served along with a variety of Indian snacks to pulsating party music.
Wine is certainly the flavour of the times. Wine features of all kinds appear regularly in the mainstream media underscoring a trend and disposition for wine information that Sommelier India magazine was the first to anticipate. We came on the scene without fanfare more than three years ago, in the midst of nay sayers, doubting Thomases and publishing pundits who doubted there was a market for a publication exclusively on wine.
India's oldest and largest winemaker, Château Indage announced its third Australian acquisition today. It has bought over Australia’s VineCrest, a premium boutique winery in an all cash transaction. VineCrest is situated in the Barossa Valley which is 60km northeast of Adelaide. VineCrest has one over 100 awards, commendations and medals in the past five years. The winery specializes in premium quality Barossa Shiraz, Sparkling Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Semillon and Late Harvest (desert wine). It also has a sweet red, ruby and white ports.
Don't miss the India International Wine Fair coming to Mumbai between 11th-13th December, 2008. The business to business fair will be held at the Grand Hyatt and will feature exhibitions, tastings and keynote speeches.
Last week Sommelier India published the ratings of the white wines from Steven Spurrier. This week the ratings of the Reds are being published. Among the Cabernet Sauvignons Vins & Vouloir 2007 came in first followed by Sula Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2007 and Seagrams Nine Hills 2007. Seagrams Nine Hills was the winning red at the Indian Wine Challenge. Read on for the results.
Masala Art at The Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, is arguably the best place in town for wine enthusiasts who love Indian food. With a wine list comprising 408 labels (several available by the glass) and a light, youthful take on traditional, North Indian cuisine, it is ideal for wine matches. A bright, cheerful restaurant with 22 covers, it’s a great favourite with visiting businessmen and professionals who enjoy a glass or two of wine with a nicely presented meal.
As always the Barole of Honour Wine Tasting was meticulously organised by Sanjay Menon, along with a detailed booklet describing the extraordinary wines supported by background information and maps of the region which was of great value. The presentation was clear, punctuated by interesting anecdotes and personal commentary. The audience, in turn, was informed and appreciative.
The saga over alcohol tariffs in India continues with the Scottish Whiskey Assocation (SWA) complaining to Indian officials over the duties levied on imported spirits across India. Last year the Scottish industry, won a 20-year battle against the tariff system forcing the central government to lower taxes from 550 percent to 150 percent.
The SWA is complaining that the ruling is being flouted by new levies being imposed by individual states reports the Times of London.
The influential Bordeaux oenologist, Michel Rolland was in Bangalore recently for his annual visit to Grover Vineyards. Sommelier India interviewed Rolland and found his comments that India makes much better quality wine compared to the cheap international wines encouraging.
The Economic Times is reporting that Zampa wines from Valle de vin, Deepak Roy's 35-acre vineyard on the periphery of Nashik. are set to launch soon. Most interesting is the direct response initiative which is the first of its kind in the business. Mr. Roy picked up a select group of wine connoisseurs, about 1,000 of them and sent a miniature wooden cask filled with varietal wines from his vineyard. This followed with a couple of bottles of red and white wines. Mr Roy is heading the Kishore Chhabria group company which produces Officer’s Choice whisky.
The portfolio includes Zampa white of Chenin Blanc, Zampa Red of Shiraz, sparkling rose wine, sparkling red wine of cabernet sauvignon, etc. Prices range from Rs 600-650.Read the whole story here.
Maharashtra has recorded a 60% growth in its wine production over the last year. The state continues to dominate the country's wine industry, producing 94% of India's grape wine. According to the Times of India which reported the story, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation's (MIDC) department of wine production show that 2.11 crore litres of wine were produced across the state's 57 wineries this year, as compared to the 1.32 crore litres produced last year. This represents an annual growth rate of 40%.
The state's total investment in wine-making is around Rs. 328 crore and close to 8,000 acres of land are now under cultivation for wine production. Read the Times of India story for more information.
In a vertical tasting, different vintages of the same wine type from the same winery are tasted all at once. This emphasizes differences between various vintages. In contrast with a horizontal tasting, the wines are all from the same vintage but are from different wineries. Keeping wine variety or type and wine region the same helps emphasize differences in winery styles.
Releasing the manual “Alcohol Atlas of India” prepared by the Indian Alcohol Policy Alliance (IAPA), the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss asked the media to create awareness about the adverse social, economic and medical effects of alcohol abuse among the masses. He said the reach of media has multiplied manifold and this issue should form an important agenda of the media.
Some of the highlights - women are catching up with men in alcohol consumption and Indians have an average of five drinks per sitting. The Health Minister's speech is published in its entirety after the jump.
In the latest issue, Steven Spurrier who is a living legend in wine circles around the world, tastes and scores Indian wines. Beware, the results may surprise. Jancis Robinson tries to understand why the Chinese are so fascinated with Lafite among all the first growths. It begs the question, will India develop a special relationship with one of the first growths too? And will that be Lafite?
Inder Raj Ahluwalia takes the reader on a journey to Barossa, the famous wine region of South Australia while Alok Chandra interviews South Australia's premier in an exclusive for Sommelier India.
Raghu Bahadur shares with us his experiences in shopping for wine in the Arabian Gulf and India. Not surprisingly, he finds shopping for liquor an uphill task. Robert Joseph of the Indian Wine Challenge fame, contemplates the impact of global warming on the future of wine and Janaki Bahadur visits Madhu Jaffrey to discover her secrets of success. And if that wasn't enough to read, Brinda Gill interviews Jean-Manuel Jacquinot, food columnist Preah Narang adds flavor and Michele Shah discusses her favorite Tuscans in the new vintage.
Your issue should have reached you by now. Subscribe today if you haven't already and join the wonderful world of wine!
At a tasting of over 40 wines from 11 wineries organized by Rajeev Samant of Sula, Indian wines were rated in a first ever tasting by the famous British wine writer and taster, Steven Spurrier. “It was a unique experience for me,” writes Spurrier in the latest issue of Sommelier India, May/June 2008.
Read the whole story in print. SI is available by subscription and at select locations, including Oberoi Hotel bookshops country wide and at select Taj Hotel bookshops. Meanwhile, given below are the scores on a 20 point scale and Spurrier’s tasting notes for the white wines: 10 = bad; 11 = poor; 12 = mediocre; 13 = acceptable; 14 = fair; 15 = good; 16 = good+; 17 = very good; 18 = very good+; 19 = excellent; 20 = superb.
Watch the blog for tasting notes and scores for the red and rose wines to be published next week. Below are the tasting notes for the whites with Sula's Chenin Blanc doing the best.
Robert Parker has finally released his scores for the Bordeaux 2007 vintage. And his scores aren't going to bring much joy to the Bordeaux En Primeur community. He awarded only three wines 100 points, all of them white wines and among the reds only four got 95 points. With the whites Chateaux Pape Clement Blanc and Haut-Brion Blanc received 96-100 points while Climens was awarded 98-100 points.
Indigo, a standalone restaurant in Mumbai has been listed among the top five best restaurants in India, as part of San Pellegrino’s World’s Best restaurants 2008 New Regional Recommendations. It also won an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator, for the 8th year in a row.
Seventeen wine enthusiasts sat for an examination on Saturday, the 29th of March ’08 in Mumbai. The Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) of UK offers the world’s most comprehensive and contemporary Wine Education Programmes. The good news is that KBR School of Wine is the only wine school in the country to be affiliated and associated with WSET and they offer these courses nation wide. Currently, KBR offers two levels of the WSET courses: Foundation Level I and Intermediate Level II.
On April 30, Mr. Aman Dhall, Executive Director, Brindco, hosted a Wine Dinner at The Grill Room, Villa Medici, The Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi with some exceptional examples of Frescobaldi wine. Mr. Giuseppe Pariani, International Export Director of the Estates of Marchesi de Frescobaldi was present to introduce the wines.
Yesterday, my brother-in-law introduced me to Continuum. The new wine from Robert, Marcia and Tim Mondavi. And it was a unique experience not just because the wine was special (and rather expensive at $130 a bottle) but also because it marks a new beginning for an iconic wine family.
As many of you may know, Robert Mondavi is something of a living, albeit tragic legend in Napa Valley and wine circles around the world. The Mondavi Winery which was established in 1966 grew to be one of the biggest and most reputable of Napa Valley wine brands in a short thirty year period.
Globus Wines, Part of Globus Vision Group has taken over Haiko Supermarket’s liquor category and entered into an agreement with Hiranandani Constructions, a leading developer in India to open further such exclusive high-end Wine stores across all its locations in India.
A few days ago, 50 members of The Wine Society experienced a delectable meal accompanied by Castel's 2006 vintage of their Bordeaux Merlot, a 100% Merlot, their Sauvignon Blanc and the surprise of the evening "Halana Merlot". This is a Moroccan Merlot from the Castel stable and was very interesting. It was a beautiful garnet colour with shades of deep purple.
Time Out Delhi featured Reva Singh, publisher of Sommelier India in its latest issue. She was asked about her wine preferences, the growth of the Indian wine market and predictions for the future of the Indian wine market. Keep reading for the interview
