At a Louis Roederer Champagne Dinner on November 16, 2010, at The Imperial 1911 Brasserie, Sommelier India Wine Magazine readers and guests had the opportunity to taste some fabulous Louis Roederer Champagne imported by Brindco Limited. Champagne is synonymous with celebration and success, but what's often forgotten is that it's also a fine wine in its own right, says Reva K. Singh.

"The Roberto Cavalli Vodka is a lifestyle extension of the Roberto Cavalli brand," said soft-spoken Tommaso Cavalli, the eldest son of Roberto Cavalli, the famous Italian fashion designer. Brinda Gill met Tommaso in Pune at the launch of Cavalli's designer vodka, at Mix@36, The Westin, on November 26, 2010. Describing the vodka as very clear, smooth and sophisticated, Tommaso said it was the first ultra-premium vodka produced in Italy and was very very connected to his father, his name, his image, and to glamour.

In the latest news from the Bangalore Wine Club, members got together for a truly unique experience. Aslam Gafoor, President, Bangalore Wine Club and committee members, Nina Mohan, Krishnaswamy and Naozar Daruwala put together a sumptuous champagne breakfast on a Sunday morning at Graze, Vivanta by Taj, Bangaore. Pictured: Aslam, Kiran, Nina, Prio

For a wine fair in only its third year, the recently-concluded Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair (4th - 6th November) was very well organised: nearly 700 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions, about 14,000 trade visitors (up 19% from 2009), with some 1,300 wines entered for the Cathay Pacific HKIW&S Competition reports Sommelier India correspondent, Alok Chandra.

India has granted Geographic Indication Status (GI) to the Napa Valley Appellation thereby protecting the name "Napa Valley" from mis-descriptive labeling while protecting consumers with truth in wine labeling in that country, according to a recent announcement by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV).
Pictured Bruce Cakebread NVV Board President

Fratelli Wines launched the first vintage of their wines in Pune over a Wine and Dine evening at Le Méridien hotel on November 18, 2010 reports Brinda Gill. Fratelli, meaning `brothers' in Italian, is an Indo-Italian venture between the brothers of three families: the Secci brothers, Alessio and Andrea from Italy, the Sekhri brothers, Kapil and Gaurav from New Delhi, and the Mohite-Patil brothers, Ranjit and Arjun from Solapur where the vineyards and winery are located.

Move over, lovers of the pub crawl. The Bangalore Wine Club recently launched a first-of-its-kind food and wine event in Bangalore, the BWC Wine Crawl writes Ruma Singh.Over one entire evening, wine club members wined and dined in style across four participating restaurants at the hip and happening UB City. Pictured: Ajay Vij, Rekha Menon, Nina Mohan, Abha Bhow

New Zealand may be a long way off from India but its excellent wines have already made inroads in the Indian wine market. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has long been a favourite with Indian wine lovers and the current trend is a definite tilt towards the excellent Kiwi reds we are seeing here, writes Reva K. Singh Pictured: Christchurch Square

Travertino, the Italian restaurant at The Oberoi New Delhi is the place to wine and dine this season. Don't miss the special promotion between November 12 and 20, when Travertino's Chef Fillipo Giunta is joined by Chef Norbert Niederkofler from the well-known St. Hubertus restaurant. If you ever visit the region (see "Drinking in the Scenery with Superb Wines" on page 48 of the current issue of Sommelier India) you can look forward to eating at this double Michelin starred restaurant at the Rosa Alpina Hotel and Spa frequented by the likes of George Clooney and Prince Albert of Monaco. Pictured Chef Norbert Niederkofler

The prospect of spending an afternoon tasting with with one of the most famous palates of the wine world - Steven Spurrier - the man behind the famous Judgement of Paris in 1976, is something few wine lovers would pass up. This afternoon was extra special - for not only was Spurrier in town to lead a tasting of Four Season wines, but later that evening he was officiating at an exclusive dinner of wine paired with Indian food hosted by the Wine Society of India, writes Ruma Singh.

South Africa brings to mind memories of watching the 'Big 5' and other fascinating wildlife species at Kruger National Park, strolling through the immaculate by-lanes of Cape Town admiring beautifully designed houses inspired by Dutch architecture, enjoying international cuisine at world-class restaurants, driving past manicured vineyards with rolling hills as a backdrop in the Stellenbosch region, which is the country's most prestigious wine area, writes Sonal Holland, who met visiting South African winemaker, Guy Webber in Mumbai, on our behalf.

There was much good cheer at the Bandra Wine Tasting Festival held at D'Monte Park Recreation Centre last weekend. With more than 60 Indian and International wines from 12 wineries to sample, there wasn't a dull moment for the steady stream of visitors reports Suneeta Sodhi Kanga

The Wine Society of India, in association with Sommelier India WINE Magazine, is about to hold its 2010 Gala Wine Tasting and Celebration Dinner in honour of its Most-Preferred and Founding Members. This unique event will be hosted by Steven Spurrier - Chairman, Board of Wine Advisors of The Wine Society of India - who will be flying in from his home in London, and Reva K Singh - Publisher and Editor of Sommelier India WINE Magazine - at the Oberoi Hotel on Friday, the 12th of November.

Sommelier India WINE Magazine (November-January 2011) is a bumper issue with a focus on sparkling wines and champagne, the ultimate drink of celebration and success. Our striking cover image is a tribute to Andy Warhol by Dom Pérignon. The company commissioned Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design to redesign its bottles in honour of Warhol, 'the pope of Pop Art', who was known for his unconventional representation of icons. The limited edition bottles were released in November and are available at Airport Duty Free outlets and select hotels and restaurants across India.

It seems there is time for a last spurt of travel before Christmas and the festive season kick off. SI Publisher Reva Singh is in Christchurch for the Wine Discovery New Zealand 2010: Great Wine Capitals Global Network International Conference where unbeknown to the Kiwis, their country's wines are performing superbly at the 2nd Annual Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition, reports Harshal Shah.

The English have had a long love affair with Bordeaux's red wines, which they call Claret, (the anglicized version of the French term 'clairet' which described the pink-coloured rosé wines that the Bordeaux reds originally were) and London still remains the best place outside France to drink these wines, writes Gaurav Anand.

The folks at the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB) are right up there at the cutting edge of technology, making wine seem so cool and interesting! Most recently, they persuaded the annual European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) to hold its annual event at Vienna's elegant Schönbrunn Palace with a focus on Austria as a wine country. The event took place between October 22 and October 26 and was organised by Gabriella and Ryan Opaz of Catavino Marketing and Robert McIntosh from The Wine Conversation.