Wine and fashion are natural partners, so it should please both fashionistas and wine lovers that Global Wines & Spirits and Kimaya have joined forces to sell a premium range of Australian wines under the Kimaya brand. The wine is to be produced in Australia and then imported to India. It is crafted by Australian winemaker Ben Riggs in partnership with Galvanized Wine Group and are priced between Rs 1200 and Rs 1500. The prices will vary from state to state. We look forward to tasting Kimaya!

From local fare to international cuisine, Sommelier India brings you a list of our favorite restaurants for wine enthusiasts. Pay particular attention to the wine pairing recommendations and tell us what you think of the food in the comments. View the listings from the print edition.

Good news for Moet Chandon's Indian lovers - we may soon be able to
raise a toast with our own bubbly from the same stable. Moet Hennessy,
makers of Moet Chandon and Dom Perignon champagne, have bought 150
tonnes of grapes in Nashik and are likely to come out with locally
produced sparkling wines. Though confirmations of a date-line are
awaited, speculation is that by 2012 we may have our very own 'Nashik
Chandon'.

Read more here-

Kris and David Banford have spent five eventful years in India and are now preparing to leave for their home in Stellenbosch, writes Reva K. Singh. I first met David nearly six years ago at the London International Wines and Spirits Fair. Sommelier India was at the time a fledgling newsletter.

For a wine fair in only its third year, the recently-concluded Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair (4th - 6th November) was very well organised: nearly 700 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions, about 14,000 trade visitors (up 19% from 2009), with some 1,300 wines entered for the Cathay Pacific HKIW&S Competition reports Sommelier India correspondent, Alok Chandra.

Fratelli Wines launched the first vintage of their wines in Pune over a Wine and Dine evening at Le Méridien hotel on November 18, 2010 reports Brinda Gill. Fratelli, meaning `brothers' in Italian, is an Indo-Italian venture between the brothers of three families: the Secci brothers, Alessio and Andrea from Italy, the Sekhri brothers, Kapil and Gaurav from New Delhi, and the Mohite-Patil brothers, Ranjit and Arjun from Solapur where the vineyards and winery are located.

Sommelier India WINE Magazine (November-January 2011) is a bumper issue with a focus on sparkling wines and champagne, the ultimate drink of celebration and success. Our striking cover image is a tribute to Andy Warhol by Dom Pérignon. The company commissioned Central Saint Martins School of Art & Design to redesign its bottles in honour of Warhol, 'the pope of Pop Art', who was known for his unconventional representation of icons. The limited edition bottles were released in November and are available at Airport Duty Free outlets and select hotels and restaurants across India.

Nestled in a remote valley of the Aravalli Hills, 270 km from Delhi and a four-and-a-half hour drive off National Highway 8, lies the dream destination of Amanbagh. We were met on arrival by the charming and ever smiling, Robyn Bickford and Manav Garewal, Joint General Managers of the property. At the entrance two hostesses clad in orange sarees sang a hymn to Lord Vishnu asking for his blessings on our stay and accorded us a traditional welcome writes Bunty Singh.

The organizers of the Sommelier India WINE Competition (SIWC) are happy to announce that the wine competition will be held every alternate year, as is Vinexpo, France's biggest wine fair. This decision has been made after careful consideration of the wine market in India and abroad in the past year. The organizers who are committed to the growth of wine culture in India believe the Indian wine industry, as well as the wine consumer in India, would be best served by a bi-annual event.

A new issue of Sommelier India Wine Magazine is out! July/August 2010 is another content rich edition covering a host of subjects to inform and entertain the reader. Along with our regular sections like On the Grapevine, Restaurants That Love Wine, Wine Basics, Partners in Wine and SI Tasting Panel Recommendations, we've added a new series called Ask Our Expert in which Dr Ariff Jamal will take questions on matters pertaining to wine. With his vast knowledge of wine and firsthand experience of life in India, Dr Jamal is particularly well-equipped to provide you with the best answers and clear your doubts. Write to us at info@sommelierindia.com and we'll pass the questions on to him. Finally, the current issue also includes the SIWC award-winning wines, the best wines to drink in India, listed by grape for easy selection. The magazine is available for sale via subscription and is stocked at high-end retail outlets across the country. Don't miss it.

The Wine Society recently took its much anticipated day-trip up to Nashik, to wander around a few of its finer vineyards, and learn more about the winemaking process. The four-hour journey to Nashik from Mumbai is best covered by train, being more reliable than the roads, which are prone to accidents, traffic jams and delays, writes Piyush Gadkari.
Above:The Wine Society of India team

Sommelier India Wine Magazine Co-Publisher based in New York, Shiv Singh, makes a career shift run digital marketing for PepsiCo NA Beverages. A consummate digital social media strategist and author of Social Media Marketing for Dummies, Shiv remains committed to the development of India's first magazine on wine. Read more about his move in Advertising Age and Adweek. In addition to co-publishing Sommelier India, Shiv had been an executive at Razorfish Inc., part of the Publicis Groupe.

If you miss your Indian wines with Indian food when travelling overseas, here's good news for you. One of India's premier wine producers, Grover Vineyards, has joined forces with Bibendum, UK's foremost wine company, to distribute their wines on an exclusive basis in the UK. Initially, three wines will be represented - Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet-Shiraz and the award-winning La Reserve.

Just in the mood for a cup of coffee? Or would you prefer a glass of wine as you chat with friends or talk business with colleagues? Now you can have either, or even both, at your friendly neighbourhood coffee bar, says Ruma Singh. Left: Sanjay Coutinho of Barista with Abhay Kewadkar of UB at the launch

The night of June 3 saw the seventh edition of Apèritif à la Française, a celebration of the French heritage of food and drink, lifestyle and culture. The theme for this year's festival was 'Celebrating Conoisseurship' and by the spread of quality cheese, chocolate, pastries and wines, it seemed that no expense had been spared to ensure that everyone who attended did indeed celebrate. Harshal Shah has the story.