Mumbai, India My tryst with Gruner Veltliner fondly called GruVee began in 2008 while I was working in beverages in London; it was supposed to be the next big thing to happen after Pinot Grigio in the market then. I moved to India shortly after and GruVee had not reached the Indian shores, sometime in 2011 is when we had the Schloss Gobelsburger Gruner Veltliner. I have been happily using the wine for many of my tastings since however anything beyond 2 years old was a strict no-no, until the Austrian wine Summit 2015 happened for us. I was in Austria exploring its wines and also tasted a GruVee from 1983. Gruner Veltliner is a white grape variety; a factor that one cannot miss about this grape is its bracing acidity. A high yielding variety it can be spicy and peppery or can be laden with stone fruits depending from where it comes from. It is known to come from North-east and east of Austria, generic regions being the Niederosterreich (Lower Austria) and Burgenland. 29.5% of Austria’s vineyard area is planted with Gruvee, 13518 hectares to be precise a big cut given a total of 35 grape varieties, 22 white and 13 red are used to make quality wines in the country. Niederosterreich is the most important regions for the grape and around 44% of the area has GruVee vines. Specific regions within Lower Austria are Traisental, Kremstal, Weinviertel, Wien (Vienna), Wachau, Wagram and Kamptal, the last one is where the Schloss Gobelsburger available in the country comes from. Weinvartel the northern most wine growing area is known for the most peppery and sharp Gruners. GruVees could either be in its ‘Klassik’ version showing pure fruit and a minimum of 12% alcohol or it could be a ‘Reserve’ showing subtle botrytis or oak notes in addition and contains a minimum of 13 % alcohol. Both these versions come dry with a maximum of 6 grams/litre of sugar. If a mention of botrytis (a fungus which concentrates grape sugars and affects taste) did not ring a bell yet, it should have or perhaps you knew it already! Botrytis and dry white wines are not often spoken of in the same breath as the former is associated with sweet wines; however most of GruVee areas are located near tributaries of the Danube and are thus prone to Botrytis. Vineyard management is done to avoid growth for dry wine making however in reserve wines some of it is allowed to grow for added complexity. Lastly the epic tasting of 100 wines by over 150 wine professionals from across the globe at the Palais Niederosterreich, Vienna was an eye-opener for me; needless to say I was a part of the tasting. We tasted wines from 2014 all the way back to 1983 and it was quite overwhelming. Based on the tasting, below is a list of wines which stood out for your perusal. Kremstal:
2014 Stift Gottweig, Gottweiger Berg 2012 Josef Schmid GMBH, Kremser Gebling, Reserve 1985 MantlerHof, Gedersdorf (Herbacoeus, Mineral, medium body, high acidity) Wachau: 2013 Hirtzberger, Federspiel 2012 Pichler Krutzler, Durnsteiner Wnderberg 2010 Tegernseerhof, Smaragd Weinviertel: 2014 Bauer Norbert, Diermannsee 2013 Pfaffl, Grossebersdorfer Kirchenberg, Reserve 1983 Malteser Ritterorden, Hundschupfen ( Pale gold, feminine, elegant incredible for its age) Kamptal: 2014 Kirchmayr, Strasser Stangl 2013, Topf, Heiligenstein, Reserve 2010 Topf Johann, Ofenberg, Reserve Traisental: 2014 Neumayer, Engelberg 2013 Siedler, Reserve 2013 Huber, reserve Wagram: 2014 Josef Bauer 2013 Leth, Gigama, reserve 2012 Wimmer Czerny , Unfiltered Austrian exports have gone up 100% to approx 150 Mn Euros in the last decade and Gruvee certainly has a role to play here. I don’t care as much if GruVee is already a ‘big thing’ as long as I get a zingy glass of it with a blob of fresh sheep cheese and a piece of laugenstang. P.S: For those interesting in sparkling wines or Sekt as they are called, Steininger or Szigeti should be worthy choice. Prost!
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Mumbai, India Marsala after being declared the Pantone colour of the year is already in vogue for the upcoming spring collection. What’s more to Marsala than its allure?? Did you know you know the colour got its name from Marsala a fortified wine made in the city of Marsala in Sicily, Italy? It is used in a lot of Italian cooking and it’s famous for its use in the popular Zabaglione. However Marsala is not the first colour inspired by an alcoholic beverage, with Holi, the festival of colors coming up let us look at some more colours that are just not warm to the eyes but can also get you the happy high. Mimosa: It was the 2009 colour of the year from Pantone, was inspired from the flowers of the Mimosa and the sparkle of the cocktail Mimosa. The cocktail is as fresh as the colour, with Triple Sec and orange Juice topped with Champagne. Sauterne: The region on the southern end of Bordeaux, it’s known for its sweet luscious wines which command a fortune and age for decades. And this enchanting colour gets its name from the elixir made from the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grape. Chateau D’Yquem has led the pack here for more than a century. Champagne/Pink Champagne: When I-Phone came in its gold variant, people and the press called it the Champagne colour, haven’t researched enough but perhaps for convenience Apple still mentions it as gold. Champagne the epitome of sparkling or fizzy wines can only be made in Champagne a region in France using the methode Champenoise way of production which outside the regions is called the methode traditionelle or the traditional method. And the pink variant of it find place in the Pantone’s list. Burgundy: Not very far from Champagne is the region of Burgundy in the north-east of France. The colour Burgundy gets its name from the perfumed red wines the region produces from the Pinot Noir grapes. These wines can fetch astronomical prices and very often goes in to lakhs for a bottle. Chartreuse : After all the grape ferments above this one is a liqueur made by steeping more than 130 plants and flowers and is the world’s only naturally green coloured liqueur. Made by monks, this French product still uses the recipe from the 17th century and only two monks at the distillery know of it. At 55% alcohol, this ‘elixir of long life’ as the original manuscript read is best enjoyed cold; people have it on ice or in long drinks these days too. Cheers!!! I was in Bengaluru recently and met a finance honcho at his home. Knowing my background, he instantly let me see his collection of wine bottles, all Indian which he had bought at a ‘shut down’ sale. The collection included everything from a shiraz to a merlot to a cabernet sauvignon, all grape varieties and even a Goan port wine which is overwhelmingly sweet unlike all others which were dry (not sweet).I asked him his favorites and he said he like them all, his said his work involved a lot of stress and the customary glass of wine with dinner gave him a good night sleep and he also cited the health benefits from the red. In this case the wine was more therapeutic and the finance man he was, he just spent wisely!! Another therapeutic use of a wine I stumbled upon with good evidence was when businessman at a plush Delhi hotel ordered a 12 liter bottle of sparkling wine. This therapy was psychological, he asked the server to get the bottle with all pomp and show to his table and then take it to his car, yeah he did not open it since he knew he couldn’t finish it between two of them, all he got was the eyeballs from fellow diners and he left a happy man after paying close to a million rupees in cash!! As most of you would think, I am trying to pass some judgement about the people in contention above!! No, what I am trying to do here is to demystify wines and want to tell you that people won’t be passing judgments about you when you did not know your wines!! Did you know about hops in a beer when you had your first or did you know about peat when you really liked your first Scotch whisky, you perhaps still do not know about them; then why does wine come with such a halo that people almost take wine drinking like an examination!!! Please stop believing that people around are sitting to test you on wine jargons, they are there to enjoy their tipples and so are you. Your wine drinking should start with a random bottle of wine; the price would depend on your propensity to pay but ideally; start lower. Savour the wine and pass your judgement, you liked it or you didn’t; to begin with and as you gain more experience with them; you can create your own scale. Wine becomes complex as there are close to 5000 grape varieties and all are distinct in their flavor profiles, the more you taste the more you know. Hence making small notes of the wine you have had becomes imperative as it is easy to forget and you could someday go back and pick the same bottle of wine you did not like!! Wine expert reviews are only good to begin with as you would eventually understand if or not your tastes match. Lastly try to pick up a short course on wines, well it surely can help you impress people if that’s your agenda but importantly it will help you drink better. Like someone has said, life is too short to drink bad wine.. “ Give me a sweet wine’ asked a seemingly well heeled customer at a prominent South Mumbai wine store and the store associate handed him a bottle of ‘port no X’ without even a blink. The customer left happy but not before confirming, ‘Pakka meethi hai na’ he said. Well sweetness could be one of the factors that influences and perhaps the reason why a group of mid-management executives whom I ringed in the New Year with, drank sweet fizzy wine worth 350 a bottle and also declared their love for port. Is it that simple when it comes to people’s buying behavior in the country which consumes around 10 ml of wine per capita as opposed to France’ 40 litres!!
Bengaluru, India The private dining room at Riwaz at the Ritz Carlton was set-up to co-host this #happyhigh wine tasting held in association with the Food Lovers Magazine. All of us were excited for this exclusive tasting because this was unheard of!! The tasting comprised 4 sparklings, 2 reds and a white and what made them special was that they were stored in the Bengaluru weather for over 6 years and many of them were meant for drinking young!! Le Chablisienne, Chablis 2001 Made from Chardonnay grapes, this wine is known to be lean and crisp with citrus, green fruit and mineral aromas, more importantly Chablis of this stature is meant to be drunk young. 2001 vintage should have been drunk latest by 2006 if not younger, we had no hope but this wine surprised us! It was bright gold and complex on the nose with some bready notes to begin with, followed by honey and apricot. The palate did not confirm the nose however it had an amazing long toasty finish. The wine continued to evolve in the glass with time and ended up with aromas almost reminiscent of a Riesling. As Ruma put it ‘Couldn’t have judged it to be Chablis if it were to be tasted blind’. This wines behavior certainly brings in hope to those who have some old stock up their cellar!! Present for the tasting were Ruma Singh – Journalist and Wine writer, Kripal Amanna – Editor; Food Lovers Magazine, Heemanshu Ashar – Ex- President; Bangalore Wine Club, Mohit Nischol –Business Head; SDU wines, Nilesh Singh – Food and Beverage Manager; Ritz Carlton, Manu Manikandan – Beverage Manager; Ritz Carlton, two consumers; both IT professionals, Sandesh Kamat and MK Kulandhaisamy and lastly Ajit Balgi – Founder; The Happy High who led the tasting. Kulandhaisamy who owned the wines was noble enough to store them and then let them be uncorked for this; one of its kind wine experiment! The wines weren’t tasted blind and every member on the panel cited their opinions freely and discussed the wine and its nuances. So following were the wines: Chapel Down, Non Vintage, English Sparkling This produce from Kent in Southern England with its bracing acidity and fruit is slated to be a worthy competitor to the French heavy weight Champagne. Again meant for early drinking and this one gave away in 6 years or may be much earlier, however the aromas were hinting of cork contamination and had little to do with age. Naphthalene, Moth balls, wet rug, wet socks etc were some of the descriptors used by the panel. One thing that was noteworthy was the mousse; it was the finest amongst all and very persistent. It went on for more than an hour!! Oudinot NV Champagne The label said ‘consume within a year of purchase’, we managed just to break some rules here and it did not pay off. The panel unanimously declared the wine oxidized and it was flat on the palate too. Moet Chandon NV Champagne This needs no introduction, but you may not have tasted a one aged in the cool Bangalore climate for 6 years. This one stood the test of time and came out clean. It had a youthful colour was pleasant to drink. A younger one would have been more exuberant though. Nonetheless this was a thumbs up!! Gerard Seguin Gevrey Chambertin 2002 A village wine from Burgundy and made of Pinot Noir grapes,this one has the potential to age and it proved to be right. We decanted the wine an hour before and it had very fine sedimentation. Pale Garnet in colour, this pour was a treat on the nose with notes of Coffee, Cocoa, Spice, leather with little underlying fruit. On the palate it was easy with mature tannins and bursting with flavours just like it did on the nose. The wine with a medium finish was the highlight of the tasting. Domaine Dubois Nuits St Georges 1er Cru 2002 One of the 3500 bottles from the vintage and with a premier cru classification, we expected a mouthful. We decanted it and it was heavily sedimented. It however struggled on the nose and ditto on the palate; it had big tannins and was drinkable as a wine but maybe we could have got the better of it a few years earlier. The Gevrey Chambertin would come at a much lesser price than this one thus giving us a good evidence to reinstate that price and quality cannot be equated. Dom Perignon 1995 We saved this big daddy of Champagnes for the end. This one takes 7 years to be released post harvest and this must have been in 2002. It was deep gold in colour with heavy oxidative; honey and nut aromas and was lackluster on the palate. This again came as a surprise since this wine has an ageing potential of a couple of decades at least. At the moment hotels in the country would be selling you a 2002 or a 2004 vintage of the wine. This wine tasting may not have been a delight for ones palate but for a couple of wines, what it surely did was give a perspective on aging with samples that were meant to age and those that weren’t. It was a well spent Saturday afternoon indeed! Now go back to your wine collection and see if you can make anything interesting out of it.... Mumbai, India ‘Economy forced me to become a vegetarian, but I finally starting liking it’ admitted Mr. A P J Abdul Kalam, ex-president of India, John Cleese the famous British author once questioned ‘If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?’ and Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles fame declared ‘If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.’ Well I am not here to debate about food choices but this topic of vegetarianism or consumption of meat is in contention many a times, with both parties trying to convert each other with the odd Vegan scorning at both of them. I am a vegetarian and strongly believe in eat and let eat. We vegetarians would inadvertently choose a paneer or a mushroom considering them being ‘celebratory’ or ‘ exotic’ from a menu and when it comes to choosing a wine from a list to match with our vegetarian food, you memory goes for a spin as nothing much is spoken about vegetarian food and wine pairing. Well it is difficult to pair specific vegetables to specific wines but we shall some broad principles for food and wine pairing whilst witnessing some pairings done by the Sommelier and Chefs from leading hotels in the country. Rich and Oily: Any food preparation which is creamy or fried will require a wine high in acidity, the acidity helps to wash down the fat on your palate to make the food experience better. For e.g.: the humble Indian samosa could be paired well with an Indian Chenin Blanc, a grape which is naturally high in acidity. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Burgundy Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Dolcetto are some wine grapes known for its refreshing acidity. Tangy and tart: Tomato, tamarind, vinegar etc are ingredients which bring the acidity in your food and when pairing a wine with food high in acidity like a tomato pasta or a salad with lemon dressing one should pair it with wines with good acidity, the ones which an stand and shine through the food. Sparkling wines like Champagne, Prosecco or even local produce have mouth watering acidity. Note: Acidity should not be confused with the medical term; it refers to the mouth-watering element in food and beverage. Chef Debdash Balaga and Sommelier Madhu Sudhanan from Jamavar – Signature Indian restaurant at the Leela Palace, Chennai with their pairing Gucchi Makkai Mushrooms Kashmiri morels with golden corn and mushrooms in a creamy tomato sauce Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Morgeot, Louis Jadot, 1999 The heavy duty Chardonnay from Burgundy, France Why does the pairing go well? This golden Chardonnay laden with ripe apple and almond aromas and juicy acidity, complements the opulent sauce and the earthy mushrooms very well whilst allowing one another to unleash themselves to the end. Truly a Royal affair! Sweets and desserts: The thumb rule is that the wine should be at least as sweet as the food. Indian gulab jamuns, considering their sweetness are a difficult bet however to put a figure to sweetness in wines, it could be as low as 50 gms of sugar per litre and can go as high as 400. I am sure the jamuns have their soul mate somewhere. The easiest available sweet/dessert wines in India are from local producers like Reveilo, they label it as the ‘late harvest’. Also in contrast; a salt and sweet pairing works well too, a salty cheese and a sweet wine, it pairs just like goat cheese and honey, like it; don’t you!! Lastly, people also say when in doubt, crack open a bottle of sparkling, see if it works for you!!! Spicy and hot: Spice in the food flares up our palate and the wine has to refresh it with every sip. In my opinion for the wine to do its job well, it has to either be sweet on the palate or at least smell sweet. Grapes like Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Merlot do good justice, also bold juicy reds like Shiraz from hot climates like India, Chile or California fit in well. Albeit when we are speaking of very hot Indian Cuisine, it is very difficult to pair a wine, I would go with a glass of water. Chef Deepak Dange and Sommelier Manoj Jangid from Tuskers the pure vegetarian Indian restaurant at Sofitel, BKC, Mumbai with their match Sangri ke kofte Cottage cheese dumpling, stuffed with pickled Ker Sangri cooked in tomato and yogurt gravy Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand A wine with good body, oak nuances and excellent finish. Why does the pairing work well? Sangri ke Kofte in sharp and mildly spiced gravy receives the refreshing element in the pairing from Nobilo Pinot Noir, bursting with dark berry fruits and spice from the oak, it is well rounded with soft tannins only to leave one amazed after every morsel. Proteins and Soya: Dishes high in protein should be matched with wines high in tannins. Tannins which dry your mouth out and are only present in red wines soften the proteins and thus making both the wine and food more enjoyable. Aged cheeses like Cheddar work very well with heavy red wines. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Barolos are example of some heavy red. Umami: The fifth sensory element, which really heightens one's gourmet experience and one, cannot really stop at one!! Mono Sodium Glutamate also called ajinomoto is the artificial form but there are natural glutamates which are not harmful present in fermented products like Soya sauce, aged products like parmesan cheese, also in ripe tomatoes, mushrooms etc. Care must be taken while paring a wine high in tannins as the combination feels only bitter and less fruity. Crisp and juicy aromatic white varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Arneis etc work very well. Chef Ramandeep Kukreja and Sommelier Manu Manikandan from Riwaz, the Indian restaurant at the Ritz Carlton, Bengaluru with their match Subz aur Gucchi di Galouti
Cardamom and saffron scented ‘melt in mouth’ dumplings prepared with seasonal vegetables and morels, pan seared. Dr. Burklin-Wolf a German Riesling A perfectly balanced wine with fresh pineapple, pear and spicy aromas rounded off with balanced mouthwatering acidity. Why does the pairing work well? The vegetarian Galouti kebab is made with seasonal vegetables and edible mushrooms, morels. In this preparation the mushrooms dominate the flavour of the kebab. A dry Riesling wine balances the rich flavours and goes well with Indian cuisine. Last but not the least, every palate is different and food pairing principles are for giving you a head start into the intriguing world of wine and food. Sooner than later you should call the shots, you make your rules, remember you are the consumer! Mumbai,India
Many foreign wineries now want to rise with the Indian wine tide; a market which is growing by close to 20% y-o-y as some reports say has caught global attention over the last few years. France and Italy were go to nations a decade back and now Spain,Australia, Chile, New Zealand , South Africa , Argentina, California have also made their presence felt in the entry level segment. Georgian wines too found their way to the shelves of the Indian modern retail but failed to woo the not so knowledgeable audience. The discerning Indian consumer; a fractional percentage of the population is making an effort to wake up to the wine phenomenon by knowing his Cabs from the Pinots. The picture looks rosy and I am Gung-ho about it too in the long run. I would however play a devil’s advocate when it comes to the imported wine scene in the country. India imports around 500k cases of wine per year however those many cases comprise, conservatively speaking at least 1000 labels. If you do the math, it is 500 cases a label. If you are still optimistic, great! I am too. Let us look at a few points to consider before you enter India: Taxes and regulations: By the time your wines reach India, they go to 8-10 times of your ex-cellar price in retail and sold at almost 3 times the retail price in institutions. Also every state in the country operates with its own set of taxes and regulations making it a hurdle in interstate supply chain both financially and in terms of logistics. Do you have a portfolio across price ranges? You can do with expensive ones if you are French or Italian. Lastly with FSSAI (Food safety and standards authority of India) being active, lot of customization with respect to labeling etc may be required, ingredients, additives etc on the label have become a mandate. Are you ready to customize the label? Importer: Interstate regulations can be a roadblock for distribution impacting successful reach. A well entrenched importer with a good distribution network is essential. With around 5-6 major importers in the country, it becomes essential to go through their portfolio to confirm your interests do not clash with the brands they already hold. Lastly Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Bengaluru account for 80% of wine sales in the country; you know where to look now. Storage: With hot and humid conditions in most parts of India it is essential to have air-conditioned wine warehouses. Ensure this part is covered or be happy to see your young whites being served deep gold and oxidized. Also most of wine retail is not air-conditioned, a major concern in my opinion. Things have improved over the last 5 years though with modern retail. Marketing: If your aim is to dump your first order, make money and get out then the following does not apply to you. For the rest, the importers have limited resources and a big portfolio of brands. Human tendency of getting the maximum out of least effort applies and the importers focus on brands which support them with marketing to push their brands in the trade. It may be in the form of winemaker dinners, communication materials and memorabilia, stocks for sampling in private tastings and shows, sponsorship for winery tours for trade and media etc. It is completely your call albeit in alliance with your importer, but do ensure you budget for it in the ex-winery costs. Remember alcohol advertisements are not allowed in the country so experiential marketing works best and your presence once in a while is solicited. Credit: In typical transactions, the time taken for the wine consignment to be shipped, received and released from the bond houses is around 40 days. Then the distribution in trade and their credit period especially with a product like wine is many a time 2 months and this leads to working capital lock-in period of at least 4 months for the importers. Are you willing to extend credit!!! Lastly Indian habits are certainly evolving in terms of wine; knowledge and pricing are the crux to expand the wine market in the country (read more about it here). List of active wine importers in India Sonarys VBev Sula Selections Chenab Impex Ace Beveragez Flipsydee Monika Enterprise Wine Park Aspri Brindco Ixora Vineyards Hema Connoisseur Santé Mumbai, India
People including me are optimistic about the wine market in India; the growth figures say so too. A two million case (9 litre) market with around 25 % of it being for imported wines, it is growing at almost 19% CAGR year on year. However when we look at the Indian beer scene standing at 275 million cases and the spirits at well over 300 million cases we know that wines have a long way to go. India by the turn of this decade will turn into the youngest nation of the world with an average age of 29; this demographic dividend gives India the opportunity to let its market grow not by one or two but three digits. In my opinion two factors can lead to exponential growth; pricing and knowledge. Pricing: I strongly feel the day we can buy a good bottle of table wine for less than 250 Rs, a price equaling two 650 ml bottles of beer, wine trade can flourish and capitalize on the growing middle class and urbanization in the country. Currently most recognized or rather acceptable quality of Indian wines start at Rs 500; even higher in Maharashtra because of the taxes and go up to Rs 1700. Grover Zampa which sells its Chene at Rs 1700 also sell Sante a sub-brand at around Rs 400 and many other prominent wineries like Sula and Charosa have sub-brands at a lower price. What distinguishes Santé from many other sub-brands is that it comes in single varietals like Chenin and Shiraz than ambiguous blends and secondly it has a story to tell on its label and also otherwise. A good part about these sub-brands is that it helps narrow the gap between a 330ml pint of beer and a 150 ml glass of wine in a restaurant but at most restaurants the latter if twice the former. Lastly the SKUs are mostly 750ml, we need more of 375ml and also 175ml bottles in retail firstly to get consumers to try wines and secondly to cater to a large population who do not drink at home and like to buy drinks for the evening. Indian wines are selling in the UK at 7 pounds including costs of export and margins; I do not see a reason why a winery can’t reach the said disruptive price point back home. Knowledge: The price without knowledge would be a half hearted effort. ATL marketing of any kind is banned for liquor in India and what works best is experiential marketing to get to know the product better. Sula wines pioneered the wine trail in Nasik, people got acquainted to wines through experiencing the vineyards, wine festivals and events across metros have got people the first hand experience to taste wines in the guise of a fun weekend afternoon or an employee engagement session at work. For a serious wine drinker lot of structured courses from WSET-London and the like are being offered in the country. But what will make sell wine more in a nascent wine market like ours is when the custodians, people at the consumer point of contact are trained well to share their opinions on wine. Restaurant servers, floor staff in retail and the wine buying authority need to be well versed with what they sell,sadly most of them especially in wine retail are lagging significantly. In a recent wine buying episode of mine, I was being upsold a rose wine at around Rs 3000 from the year 2004, this wine perhaps would have shown at its acceptable best in 2007 and I was being sold one in 2014. The retail employee from that very popular retail brand wasn’t trying to fleece but he was completely ignorant and went by the adage “Older the wine the better it is”. Knowledge is the crux to people coming back to drink more wine after the first trial, I perhaps would never had gone to buy wine after drinking that 2004 rose. Assuming quality and proper storage of wines is in order; the above two factors should be the calling for wine business’ in the country. Santé Selecting a wine can be a real challenge for most, especially if they are facing 100 labels or brands in a store; a high number in the Indian scenario! Some can get spoilt for choice in such a situation, some settle for a wine recommended by the store chap who does not understand a word of wines, but most will succumb and bring back home a bottle of their favourite spirit and guzzle down a beer on their way to celebrate their “wine failure” yet again! So how can you have a more informed wine shopping experience? If you can “phone a wine friend”, nothing like it…..if not then some broad guidelines as below
It will be my endeavour to keep the description as crisp as possible, the idea here is to empower you with enough information to choose and savour wines. Wine is a fermented beverage made out of grapes. Well it can be made from anything that has sugars but for anything other than grapes, the ingredient goes as a prefix. For e.g Plum wine, Pineapple wine, Rice wine. So when we just say wine it is understood that it is made from grapes. Types of Wine: 1. Red/Rosso/Rouge Made out of black grapes; these wines can come in a spectrum from very light bodied to highly robust wines. These wines are consumed between 12-18 degrees celsius. This is the European room temperature. So always leave your reds in the refrigerator for some time in India. 2. White/Blanco/Bianco These can be made out of white or black grapes. A white wine from a Black grape? Yes because in a black grape only the skin is coloured but the juice is not. So how does a Red wine get its colour? The skins are soaked in the juice for a day or two to extract colour and that is how.White wines are consumed at temperature ranging from 8-12 degree celsius, based on the style of wine. 3. Rose/Blush/Rosado These are in-between whites and reds; the pink colour is obtained by soaking the skins for some hours. These wines are again are consumed at 8-10 degree celsius. 4. Sparkling/Fizzy The above three types are together called as still wines as these wines do not have trapped carbon-di-oxide and the fizzy wine does. C02 is a by-product of fermentation in still wines it is released and in sparkling it is not. When poured in a glass it the bubbles or the mousse give it a sparkling appearance. You can easily distinguish these wine bottles by their shape which is distinctly different from still wines. Have them chilled; if you want a number then it is 4-6 degrees. Champagne is the most famous sparkling wine. 5. Fortified Fortified because these wines are fortified with spirit and hence the alcoholic percentage of these is anywhere from 16-22 % v/v. They may or may not be sweet, but all of those readily available over the counter in India are sweet ones. The famous ones are Port from Portugal (Port from Goa is an Irony!), Sherry from Spain. Let us look at some popular grape varieties and their pronounciations Red Cabernet Sauvignon Ca-bur-neh So-vi-ni-yon Red Merlot Mer-lo Red Shiraz or Syrah Shiraz…no complications White Sauvignon Blanc So-vi-ni-yon Blon White Chenin Blanc Che-nin Blon White Viognier Vi-yo-ni-eh White Semillon Se-me-yon Common wine terms to begin with: A dry wine: Wine with very less sugar, to put a number; it is less than 6gms per litre of wine as opposed to a sweet which is more than 50 gms. The ones between the ends are called off-dry, semi-dry. Many time people get awestruck by the sweet-smelling aromas from the wine and call it sweet when in fact the residual sugar in the wine is hardly any. Body of a wine: The body of a wine is essentially its weight on ones palate. For E.g. If you compare Water, Milk and Slice (The seductive mango drink), Water is lightest and Slice the heaviest. Acidity: It is the one which causes the mouth to water. The next time you sip a wine, take notice of how profusely or not does your mouth water the more it waters the high is the acidity. Tannins: These are elements in a red wine which makes your mouth go dry, the same feeling like when you have black tea. Tannins give structure to a red wine. They come from the grape skins and oak barrels Reserve: This term in India is predominantly used for wines to indicate their aging over a longer period in Oakwood. Oak gives certain characters like vanilla etc which makes the wine more complex. But this term is not legally governed and hence does not have the same meaning across wineries when you see it on the label. Reserve wines are more expensive for sure. |
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The Happy High is a Mumbai based beverage consulting co founded in 2014 with a vision to raise the bars of the wine and dine scene in the country. Read more.
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