Beverage Blog India

​Mumbai, India
It welcomed us with a vegetal note and the Indian ‘terroir’ and then as it spent more time in the glass it starting unfurling itself and blazoned its fruit, mostly ripe whilst playing with very soft hands on the tannins. Ladies and Gentlemen, India sees yet another addition to its wine portfolio, The Daily Dose; a Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Daily Dose (TDD), is a brainchild of Vishal Kadakia who runs the Wine Park a co which imports premium imported wines. Made at Oakwood winery in Ahmednagar with organic grapes from a 2 acre plot in Solapur, TDD will release 12000 bottles of its 2015 vintage. In course of the wine soiree Vishal beamed, ‘We have been working on it for 2 years. We aimed for a wine that would appeal to the Indian palate, a simple no-fuss fruity wine with easy tannins and I am glad we finally made it.’  We indeed loved the wine and the label which has an infographic on the wine making process however the thing that played on our mind was the price, at Rs 750 a bottle, could it be the daily dose of an Indian consumer!
Indian wine and spirit distribution goes through three tiers and with the kind of margins that the tertiary level is what forces most wine cos to hike up their MRP  to make up for schemes and margins. Nonetheless with Wine Park’s penetration in the Indian hotels and restaurants we sincerely wish that this wine becomes the daily dose for consumers albeit at a price which is lower than other Indian brands on the menus thus justifying the apparent brand philosophy!
 

Mumbai, India
One of the most trusted wine brands in the world; Torres has always fascinated me with their consistency in doling out great value for money wines. It was only in late 2014 when I got to taste many from their range, Vina Esmeralda, Mas Rabell series, Gran Vinasol, Gran Coronas and the gran papa; Riserva Real from 2001, and I had my vote for Torres.
Prestige Spirits who imports Torres wines organized a wine dinner last weekend presided over by Josep Plana, Area Manager, Torres and Siddhartha Tandon General Manager, Prestige at the Vetro, Oberoi Hotel. The soiree began with a perfumed Vina Esmeralda and then arrived a host of labels from their portfolio, Milmanda; a French barrel fermented Chardonnay, Mas La Plana; a big but rounded Cabernet Sauvignon, Altos Ibericos; a 100% Tempranillo from Rioja and lastly  the aromatic and sweet Floralis Muscatel Oro. The wines were paired with some exquisite dishes from Adriano’s Kitchen and the whole experience went into Cinderella’s hour.
Torres as Josep Plana put is known for its ‘value for money’ philosophy and they will continue their march in India. When probed about a Cava from the house of Torres, a wine yet eluding them given that they are from Penedes the heart of Cava, Spain’s Sparkling wine, ‘ May be end of this year, we have been talking about it and we shall release it once we get the desired results in the wine.’ said Plana
India is now seeing entry of Spanish wines and Torres has surely paved the path! 

​I always knew the importance of glassware when it came to appreciating a wine; it makes a world of difference. My knowledge got reinstated and I understood glasses better at the Riedel glass tasting organized by Aspri Spirits who also deal in Riedel glassware.
Riedel an Austrian brand has been in the business of production of glassware and for 260 years and spanning 11 generations and is renowned and established worldwide for designing and producing the highest quality glasses and decanters for the enjoyment of wine and spirits. In the late 1950’s Claus J. Riedel was the first person ever in history to introduce and develop wine friendly stemware which delivers the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of a wine to the senses. He also introduced the concept of grape specific glassware. A glass consists of three parts- the bowl, the stem and the base, Riedel works on the different dimensions of these to create distinct glassware for a range of grape varieties.
We tasted a Sauvignon blanc out of the right glass and subsequently in glasses designed for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet, all in the room could tell why the Sauvignon Blanc glass was worth all the halo. And we repeated the same with a Pinot Noir, a chardonnay and Bordeaux.  Riedel goes by the saying that ‘The content commands the shape’ and with the tasting we could see why!
Many hotels in the country use Riedel stemware to give you a good wine experience however none may offer you a glass typical for every varietal. So it up to wine lovers to slowly build a collection of glassware in their home bar, you will tell the difference!
Clink Clink!