On Friday evening Sommelier India hosted a wine tasting in New York. The plan was simple - introduce the guests to the world of wine in a simple, fun and yet educational way. Shiv Singh reports. Rather than choosing to do an official vertical or a horizontal tasting, I consulted my local wine retailer and bought five wines from around the world (Napa, Bordeaux, Chianti, Rioja.)

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“My couture collections being presented this evening have been inspired by the elegance, warmth and sparkle of wines,” said Mumbai-based fashion designer Salim Asgarally, as he showcased three sequences of his creations at a wine, food and fashion evening, conceptualized by Jyoti Balani, in association with Champagne India Ltd and Le Royce Hotel, Pune.

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Sunday 31st August, The Wine Society, New Delhi held its Annual General Meeting at The Park, on Parliament Street, reports K. Singh. Agenda, minutes and audited balance sheets, elections of a new committee, et al, went through without a hitch as all the 84 members present were itching to get down to the real business they were there for!

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The Pune Gourmet Club which has held a series of successful events over the last year, will be holding its 2nd Annual Meeting on September 21st, 2008. Latin cuisine will be the focus. Pictured to the right are members enjoying a Tapas evening with a selection of Revielo and Nine Hills wines in June.

Bangalore Wine Club events are becoming something to look forward to as far as its members are concerned. And the evening of Saturday 9th August named Daawat or 'grand feast', was no exception, reports Ruma Singh. Hotel Grand Ashok was the venue for an evening which saw the unusual pairing of Baluchi food with Reveilo wines' Reserve range.

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The Wine Society, New Delhi held an Expo of Award Winning Indian Wines at 'Lutyens' on Sunday night. Enthusiastic members who had registered to attend showed up despite heavy traffic congestion. A total of 18 varietals from Sula, Nine Hills, Grovers and Château Indage were showcased and members had a great opportunity to test their palates and determine what they liked.

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As interest in wine grows, Wine Clubs in the country are proliferating. The latest is Wine Club @ Gurgaon. The driving spirit behind it is the indefatigable and enthusiastic Avininder Singh. We wish it every success. The founding members hope to make it a non-commercial congenial venture.

Members will pay an annual fee of Rs. 1,000 and one time registration fee of Rs. 3,500. (Rs. 1,000 will go towards the dues and Rs. 2,500 for the first event). The club is being legally established and will abide by rules established in its charter. For more information contact Avininder Singh at WineClubGurgaon@gmail.com.

There are winemaker’s dinners and there are winemaker’s dinners. One that we found particularly worthwhile was when Riesling wines were paired with Indian food at the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi. The setting in one of the hotel’s function rooms wasn’t particularly inspiring, but the winemaker’s presentation was illuminating and the food delicious.

The meal was beautifully served on fine pottery in traditional ‘thali’ style, with each item in an individual bowl. Read more...

This September, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island will treat guests to a taste of France with a two-day event hosted by world-renowned wine-maker Grand Cru Château Palmer. Thomas Duroux, CEO of the acclaimed Bordeaux vineyard will head under-water to host a dinner in Ithaa, the resort's renowned all-glass under-sea restaurant.

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The exclusive Wine Society of Delhi is holding two events in August. The first will be a "walk around tasting" at The Lutyens where award winning wines from five different wineries will be tasted. Over 20 wines will be tasted during the event.

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It was the recreation of a historic moment in the history of the world of wine – the Wine Society of India (WSI) hosted a blind tasting of New World versus Old World wines at the Taj Residency in Bangalore, led by the inimitable wine expert, Steven Spurrier, chairman of the Board of Wine Advisors, WSI, who is otherwise famous for leading the blind tasting event in Paris in 1976. Ruma Singh reports from Bangalore

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On the occasion of Steven Spurrier’s visit to India, exclusive wine dinners were held in Mumbai and Bangalore. Read the blog write-ups contributed by Sonal Holland (below) and Ruma Singh (previous). Fine wine with great food is truly a match made in heaven. What adds to this pleasure are guide notes on the wines, including interesting stories about the history and making of the wine, with comments on why the wines matched so beautifully with the food.

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Two winemaker dinners were held in May at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai and Shangri La, New Delhi, spotlighting fine Bordeaux wines (or claret as the British call them) from the portfolio of Maison Ginestet. Founded in 1897 and now owned by the Merlaut family, Maison Ginestet is one of the largest wine merchant companies in Bordeaux.

The occasion was the visit of some of the chateaux owners to India at the invitation of Maison Ginestet’s Indian partner, Sundeep Vintners. Read more...

The Shangri-La Wine Club is hosting a tasting on June 20th, 2008 where Joseph Phelps 'Los Carneros' Chardonnay, Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay, Stag’s Leap Merlot, 2004 and Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot, 2004 will be tasted.

The Chilean Wine Festival, on 6th June, 2008, at The Oberoi, New Delhi, was like the proverbial curate’s egg – good in parts!! You certainly cannot ask for a more stylish setting than The Oberoi, New Delhi, so it was with anticipation that I made my way to the Nilgiri Room, where the Guided Wine Tasting – the start of the Festival – was being conducted by reputed Sommelier, Magandeep Singh. Avininder Singh reports.

Pictured above at the Chilean Wine Tasting: Isheeta, Nanda and Ranjit Gupta, Amfora Pvt Ltd Read more...