If you are in Pune on Wednesday, 24 June 2009 you can look forward to a very special Pan-Asian dinner at Silk Route, Brinda Gill writes. Rita and Nainpal Sawhney, owners of Silk Route, Pune's popular Oriental restaurant, are hosting a wine dinner on 24 June 2009 with an elaborate menu.

It was a champagne and foie gras experience for the Bangalore Wine Club at L'Experience du Vin, their sit-down dinner at the Taj Residency on Saturday, 13 June 2009. The dinner which combined fine dining in a candlelit ambience with a comparison of New World and Old World wines, proved to be enjoyable as well as educational.

Vishal Kadakia of Wine Park, Martin Kronenberg of Casa Brancaia and Antonio Colaianni of the Michelin starred restaurant, Il Casale were in New Delhi to talk about and introduce their wines and food to the Indian palate. Rahoul Singh was present at the tasting at Rick's Bar at The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi.

"Cosmetics to make people beautiful, Wine to make them seem even more so and Food to help absorb and refine your senses greatly." - This was the message from His Excellency Mr. Jérôme Bonnafont, Ambassador of France in India - and was the package that the French were looking to present to India. And what a presentation it was! writes Sommelier India's Suneeta Sodhi Kanga from Mumbai. Pictured is Doctor Vijay Mallya & H.E. Mr. Jérôme Bonnafont.

At the Sommelier India-Brindco Vertical on 3 June 2009, members of the press and hospitality trade were treated to seven vintages of Château Brane-Cantenac, Second Grand Cru Classé from Margaux. A handsome, hardbound booklet inscribed in gold lettering gave a historical background of the estate and provided tasting notes from 2000 to 2006, reports Reva K Singh.

On 3 June, Sommelier India and Brindco organized an exclusive dinner at threesixty° in the Oberoi to coincide with the first visit of Henri Lurton of Château Brane-Cantenac, to India, reports IP Singh. Henri is the fourth generation owner of the Château Brane-Cantenac, Second Growth, Cru Classé, Margaux, in the Bordeaux region of France. Mr. Henri Lurton at the Wine Appreciation dinner with invited guests on either side of him.

The Leela Kempinsky, Mumbai along with Prestige Wines and Spirits, hosted an exquisite winemaker's buffet dinner to present the Torres wines from Spain, writes Suneeta Kanga. The grand Leela ballroom was primped for this special occasion. Christopher Newbery, the General Manager, Leela and Mark Perello from Prestige, extended a warm welcome to guests who had the privilege of meeting Miguel A. Torres, president of Torres S.A.

It was a special evening to remember for lovers of French wine. Finewinesnmore, the Mumbai-based wine import company presented French champagnes from the house of Canard-Duchene and a selection of wines from French winemaker M Chapoutier to wine lovers of Bangalore over a sumptuous sit-down dinner at the Grand Ballroom of the Leela Palace, Bangalore on Friday 29th May. By Ruma Singh.

Pictured above are Priyanka Mehra, FineWinesnMore, Ruma Singh of Sommelier India and President, Bangalore Wine Club, and Craig Wedge, Sr VP FineWinesnMore.

A Second Growth from Margaux, Brane has been regarded as one of the top Bordeaux estates for centuries, writes Reva K Singh. Known originally as Château de Gorce, after the family who founded it in the 18th century, this great wine estate was producing excellent wines from the Médoc region of Bordeaux long before the 1855 classification. On June 3rd an exclusive vertical tasting of Brane-Cantenac wines from 2000 to 2007 will be held at The Oberoi, New Delhi. Leading the tasting will be the Château owner, Mr Henri Lurton. The tasting is organized by Brindco and Sommelier India with support from The Oberoi Group.

As part of a whirlwind tour of southeast Asia, Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle spent two precious days in New Delhi, where amongst numerous other things she hosted a delightful dinner at the Manor hotel's restaurant, Indian Accent, writes Rahoul Singh.

Last week, wine and food lovers in Bangalore got the opportunity to taste some top-rated Italian wines, cheeses and pasta in a specially arranged series of events organized by EAT (European Art of Taste), a programme supported by the European Union and Italian Government that aims to present and promote the best of food and wine from Europe, writes Ruma Singh.

The enthusiasm for the Tasting Panel continued with the second tasting in what looks to become a popular feature of Sommelier India. Our regular panelists, Reva Singh, Rukn Luthra, Andrew Steele and Harshal Shah were joined by the very able Australian sommelier, Kavita Faiella, formerly with the impressive Conrad Resort in the Maldives and now Cellar Master at the Aman New Delhi. Among the range of Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs available in India, we were fortunate to taste eight, thanks to the various importers.

The drive was long - and tedious towards the end, but my flagging spirit picked up on arrival at Amanbagh. So beautiful and peaceful were the surroundings of this Aman bagh or, literally, garden of peace, writes Reva Singh

Calcutta Wine Club was set up on 16th July 2008 with 12 founder members from diverse walks of life. They were a mixed group, constituting people from the hospitality sector and liquour industry, media and marketing professionals, a film maker and a professional tea-taster - the common link being a genuine interest and passion for wine.

Calcutta Wine Club in association with UB Wines hosted an exclusive evening of Wine Appreciation, marking the launch of its Four Seasons Wine in Kolkata on the 20th of March at The Park. Abhay Kewadkar, Chief Wine Maker and Business Head (USL Wines) who graced the occasion, participated in a freewheeling tête-à-tête with the members of the Club and other wine afficionados present at the event.