Bene, the Italian restaurant which was the venue of the dinner, has been attracting attention thanks to Executive Chef Gustavo Maurelli's impressive reputation with Italian cuisine. Adding extra flavour was the presence of Guido Vannucchi, Export Director, Marchesi Antinori, who had come down to explain a little about Antinori's history and their portfolio of wines. Antinori wines are distributed in India by Berkmann Cellars.

The evening commenced by the poolside, against a skyscape of fireworks and interesting sambuca martinis with a range of hors d'oeuvres. We then moved into Bene for dinner, which included five courses of prettily plated delicacies including poached asparagus, and roasted lamb shanks with polenta and herbs. The wines included the white blend, Villa Antinori Bianco, the accessible red blend, Santa Cristina, moving up to the popular Chianti Classico Peppoli and finally the dense, very complex Prunetto Barolo, from Antinori's Piedmont holdings.

Members listened with interest as Guido narrated the story of Piero Antinori and his contribution to modern Italian wines and the conception of his famous Super-Tuscan Tignanello.

As the evening unfolded, everyone present was in total agreement that this Italian style celebration, a far cry from the usual mithai and cards, made for a most memorable Diwali.