Brindco introduced India to Australian artisanal wines from Coonawarra. Family owned Penley Estate wines are carefully crafted by Kym Tolley, proprietor and winemaker. He and his wife, Sue, are in India with a selection of Penley Estate's exceptional wines. He spoke about his family, Penfold and Tolley, winemakers on both sides for several generations.

Kym concluded by talking about his own wine philosophy and by saying simply, "I know the wines will be fab." And indeed, they were!

Sopexa , the French Marketing and Promotion Board for French Food & Beverages with the support of Capexport and the French Ministry of Agriculture, will present in Delhi a unique French Wine Promotion : The Sopexa Try More …, French Wines by the Glass. from 15 – 30 November 2006. The programme will also be held at Bangalore (14 – 28 October 2006) and Mumbai (1-11November 2006).

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The Spanish Embassy, the House of India in Spain and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Spain invited us to a special wine tasting evening as a part of the Valladolid, First eno Tourism Initiative in India. Valladolid is in the famous Ribera del Duero wine region which consists of 175 vineyards (Bodegas), producing 760,000 hl of wine annually.

Here are snapshots from the event. Spanish Ambassador Rafael Conde and Sanjiv K Singh are in the first photograph.

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Strong participation by major wine growers from all over the world boost this year's Wine For Asia show. The region’s largest wine show, Wine For Asia 2006, is set to enter its fourth year on a high with a record 19 country pavilions.

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In Asia , wine consumption is predicted to boom by almost 16% between 2003 and 2008 to 767 million litres, worth over US$ 5 billion in 2008, according to a Vinexpo Asia-Pacific press release. The strongest growth is expected in China, where exports of Bordeaux wine have sky rocketed in the last year. The top five suppliers to the region are France, Italy, USA, Chile and Australia.

Asia is also the leading spirits market in the world, accounting for nearly 57% of global consumption. "This booming Asian market logically draws significant interest from wine and spirits companies all over the world," said Mrs. Dominique Hériard-Dubreuil, Vinexpo Asia-Pacific Chairman.

Vinexpo Asia-Pacific will return to Hong Kong again in 2008: from Tuesday May 27 to Thursday May 29.

Jean-Marie Winter of Domaine Schlumberger will be visiting India between October 9th and the 14th to present wines from the Domaine Schlumberger porfolio. Domaine Schlumberger produces classified Grand Crus in the Alsace region of France.

The Nasik Valley Wine Producers Association held the first 'Nasik Valley Food & Wine Festival' at Hotel Quality Inn Hotel from September 15 to 17, 2006. The three-day festival was supported by 15 local wineries and was an opportunity for many of the smaller wineries to showcase their wines. The current President of the association is Pradeep Pachpatil, GM (Winery) at Sula Vineyards.

Nick Breuer a winemaker from Jacob's Creek in the Barossa Valley, Australia was in Delhi on Sunday, September 18th for a tasting at the Maurya Sheraton. The wine tasting included a lunch and was by invitation only. Around 2 million glasses of Jacob Creek wine are enjoyed everyday around the world making it Australia's most popular wine. Their Shiraz South Australia Reserve 2003 is an absolute must try and has been given 91 points by Wine Spectator. It also collected a Silver medal at the Taster’s Guild International Wine Show in the U.S.A.

For wine enthusiasts in Mumbai, Sanjay Menon's wine classes at Indigo Deli are an option worth considering. For each class, he chooses a grape and discusses it. Saturday's grape was Sauvignon Blanc. The wines on the tasting menu included Paso de Luz Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre Blanc, Pascal Jolivet, Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc and Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc. For reservations call 022- 66551010.

The Rotary Club of Shillong organized a lecture titled, "The World of Wine" recently. The lecture covered viticulture, vinification and of course wine tasting. The wines were sponsored by Chateau indage. Rajesh Swarnakar who is a trained Sommelier, led the lecture and the tasting. Incidently, he has served as a Sommelier on the Queen Mary 2.

Nashik has 23 wineries alone and this weekend's Nashik Wine Festival was an opportunity for many of the smaller wineries to showcase their wines. The farmers were at the stalls discussing and promoting their own wines.

The 8th Lianhe Zaobao Wine Review Challenge 2006 which saw 350 wines entered from around the world was just completed. The event was founded in 1999 by Ch’ng Poh Tiong and each year, three judges taste all the wines blind. This year's panel included Magandeep Singh, Ignatius Chan and Suzanne Brocklehurst. Both Magandeep Singh and Ch’ng Poh Tiong are Sommelier India contributors.

This year the Montenisa Franciacorta Brut NV was judged the best sparkling wine, Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaïque the best non vintage Champagne and Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru 1996 the best vintage Champagne. Over the next few weeks, the winners in the other categories will be listed on the blog.

Marquis Ferdinando De' Frescobaldi of the Frescobaldi family was in India recently to promote his wines. Frescobaldi is known for its Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, Castel Giocondo and Luce della Vite wine holdings. The Frescobaldi family began producing Tuscan wine in 1308 and developed a notable client base. In exchange for exclusive paintings, the Frescobaldis traded their wine with the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo.

The family also supplied wine to Henry VIII and have contracts in their family archives signed by the English King. Their wine Ornellaia was rated Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator in 2001. Pictured above is the Marquis, Aman Dhall of Brindco Ltd and Reva Singh of Sommelier India.

The Wine Society based in Delhi held its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, August 28th. The event was held at the Ashoka Hotel and served as the culmination of a series of wine events organized over the last year for its members. A large majortiy of the 220 society members were present for the annual general meeting.

The minutes of the meeting was approved at the start of the meeting. Society finances, past activities and new initiatives were discussed. A new executive committee was also voted in. The committee will be choosing the Society's officers over the next few weeks. E&J Gallo wine accompanied a five course meal. The wine was provided by the Radico group who import E&J Gallo wine into India.

Last year Tyeb Mehta's Maishasura made history when it was auctioned off at Christie's in New York for a record price of $1,584,000. Who knows what is going to happen this year. But if Christie's preview of its Modern and Contemporary Indian art sale held in Delhi on August 22nd, 2006 is anything to go by expect more history to be made. The event was held at the Royal Ballroom of the The Imperial Hotel in New Delhi.

Some of the artists on display included Tyeb Mehta, Francis Newton Souza, Syed Haider Raza and Subodh Gupta. The Sommelier India editors who were invited noticed that the city’s who’s who was in attendance chatting over wine and hors d’oeuvres. The wines served included Bollinger's Grande Annee 1997 Champagne, a Capitellie Croce 2003 white wine and a Chateau Le Fleur de Quinault 1999 red wine.