Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, Weissburgunder and Grüner Veltliner - names of grape varieties used for Austrian wines do not exactly roll off the tongue. The obscurity is compounded by the fact that few mainstream Indian wine drinkers associate Austria with wine. One of the first guests to arrive at the recent Sommelier India Tasting Panel dinner tellingly declared, "I never knew that Austria made wine till I was invited for this tasting."

Yet Austrian wines continue to gather momentum in India - at least a few leading Indian importers now have Austrian wines in their portfolios. This was the second tasting centered on Austrian wines organized by Sommelier India. The first tasting was held at Dum Pukht at the ITC Maurya in October last year. The effort then, as now, was to pair the wines with Indian food; both to highlight the versatility of Austrian wines, and to dispel the notion that Indian foods do not pair well with wine.

For more, read the complete article in Issue 4 (August-September) 2012 of the magazine.