"The Roberto Cavalli Vodka is a lifestyle extension of the Roberto Cavalli brand," said soft-spoken Tommaso Cavalli, the eldest son of Roberto Cavalli, the famous Italian fashion designer. Brinda Gill met Tommaso in Pune at the launch of Cavalli's designer vodka, at Mix@36, The Westin, on November 26, 2010. Describing the vodka as very clear, smooth and sophisticated, Tommaso said it was the first ultra-premium vodka produced in Italy and was very very connected to his father, his name, his image, and to glamour.

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.

There are two new premium wines to try this summer. Big Banyan (owned by John Distilleries Limited) has recently launched Rosa Rossa (which means "pink rose" in Italian) and Bellissima (meaning "beautiful"). The first is a Zinfandel Rosé and the latter a Late Harvest Muscat Dessert wine. The launches are timed for the summer. In fact, Rosé was recently declared the official wine of summer according to Bon Appétit magazine.

Good Earth Winery recently launched a Cabernet-Shiraz blend, Antaraa, to their portfolio of wines. "We wanted to include a red wine to the easy drinking Raga Collection," Girish Mhatre told Sommelier India correspondent, Brinda Gill. Good Earth already has the Concerto Collection comprising the reserve wines, Basso which is a Cabernet Sauvignon and Brio, a Shiraz, while the Raga Collection has Aarohi, a Sauvignon Blanc.

A recent wine tasting at The Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon, arranged by Gianander Dua, Director De Vine and Hops Marketing, saw the launch of a range of red and white wines from Château St. Jacques d'Albas and Ferrandière Estate in the south of France. Not having been to The Leela for a wine tasting before this event, I was impressed by the wine service and quality of glasses, writes Isheeta Gupta who was present at the Tasting. Unsuitable stemware being one of my pet peeves, it put me in a good mood even before I tasted the wine.
Above: Jacques Gau, Gyanendra Dua and Graham Nutter

Elizabetta Nonino, third generation of the Nonino family, was recently in India to launch her family's eponymous grappa and introduce us to this alcoholic by-product of wine. Grappa is an Italian alcohol which is made by distilling pomace, a by-product of the winemaking process. Suneeta Sodhi Kanga has a grip on grappa, in case you are wondering what it is. Left: Elisabetta Nonino, daughter of Giannola Nonino, founder of Orazio Nonino

In what was one of the most elegant and well put together wine evenings the city of Bangalore has seen, Marilisa Allegrini of Italy's famous Allegrini family introduced a handpicked range of Allegrini wines to the city's wine cognoscenti, writes Ruma Singh. The summer evening, all the more memorable for its lovely serene setting at the Manwaring home on the outskirts of the city, was an exclusive one, co-hosted by Olive Beach's Chef de Cuisine Manu Chandra.

De Bortoli Noble One Australian Botrytis Semillon is one of the world's best among sweet wines. In 1982 Darren De Bortoli, who had just graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College, Adelaide, created a path breaking Sauternes-style sweet wine at the family winery in Bilbul in New South Wales from botrytis grapes and called it, 'Noble One'.

Recently Gurgaon opened its doors to a new wine club. Promoted by Deepak Jain, Ajay Taneja, Vandanaa Taneja and Ragini Jain, the Gurgaon Wine club was launched in May at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Gurgaon, states a media release. Right: Founders Deepak Jain and Ajay Taneja

This Friday, The Wine Society of India will throw open the doors to its Wine Warehouse, the first of its kind in India. Inspired by the popular warehouses set up by Majestic Wines across the UK (now numbering 150), this temperature-controlled warehouse will showcase wine chosen by a panel of experts, chaired by Steven Spurrier.

We, in the wine industry as part of our daily rituals in prayer and salutation to the gods of excise and customs, say a word of thanks to the slowly developing core of wine drinkers who, along with our tireless attitudes and optimistic energies, help propel this industry forward to the dizzy heights we know it can achieve. Cleve Washington, both surprised and gratified, reports on the launch of the FWM Club in Lucknow.

The fine dining Indian restaurant, Nawab Saheb, at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Center celebrated the month of love in a very unique manner with the Kamasutra Food Festival, writes Suneeta Sodhi Kanga. From 14th to 21st February, Chef Bhairav Singh, Master Indian Chef created the choicest, authentic Indian food preparations inspired by the ancient texts. Adding to the romance were heady wines from the Nandi hills. Right: Nawab Saheb restaurant

"As we are five cousins, of the third generation of the Dal Cero family, involved with wine production at our family winery, we are sure about the quality of our wines", said Francesca Dal Cero, Export Manager, Dal Cero F.lli Società Agricola, at an informal and enjoyable wine tasting evening on 4th March 2010 at Taj Blue Diamond, Pune, writes Brinda Gill.
Right: Nico Dal Cero, Sneha Chavan (Kiara Wines), Sandip Mukherjee (General Manager, Taj Blue Diamond Hotel), Francesca Dal Cero, Ravish Ahuja (Kiara Wines), and Shonal and Sajjid Chinoy.

So here we all were. Gathered by the pool at "The Club", that veritable private oasis in the midst of the cacophony of sight and sound of downtown Andheri. The wine brains trust of Mumbai town, were gathered on this particular Sunday in celebration of what else but Vino, Wein Vin..Wine!! What other reason is there to get out of bed on a Sunday?? A visitor's report.