Celebrate with wine

THE WINE CLUB

Diwali is a good time for wine in many ways. The grape harvest is done in Europe and North America and, soon, winemakers from these will be winging their way to warmer parts of the globe to participate in dinners and tastings. In India, wines from the reds harvested in February-April are finally ready to drink, and one gets to see how this year’s vintage stacks up against last year’s. And all over the land, dedicated groups of punters gather to celebrate the year’s passing with cards and (increasingly) with wine.

While no doubt some of the fire has fizzled out of this year’s Diwali with the stock market and general economic situation, few Indians can resist letting loose this time of the year — and celebrations seem to continue right into the New Year. When it comes to celebrating, there’s nothing quite like champagne or a good red to do so.

There has been a rash of articles about champagne in the print media of late, the result of trips to La Champagne organised by the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, the PR body set up by the big champagne houses (no, I wasn’t one of those invited), so I’m not going to bash on about the stuff. Suffice it to say that, while always expensive, good champagne is an incredibly drinkable drink: light, bubbly, aromatic, crisp and refreshing —all at the same time.

The official website of the big champagne houses, www.maisons-champagne.com , lists 75 members, of which quite a few wines are already available in India — generally in five-star hotels: Dom Perignon, Krug, Veuve Cliquot, Moet & Chandon, Louis Roederer, Tattinger, Bollinger, Pommery and Pol Roger, to name just a few. Of these, Bollinger seems to have become the champagne of choice in Bond movies, and when it features in the latest Quantum of Solace, it will be the eleventh time the brand features in a Bond film.

Of course, there’s stuff like Freixenet, Deinhart, Henkell Trocken or Bouvet-Ladubay from elsewhere, or even Indian “Sampoo” (read Amitava Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies yet?), but most red-blooded punters (male or female) probably would not bother with such plebian stuff — not this time of the year.

Fortunately, when it comes to red wine the choice is far broader, so we’ll not beggar all the hosts in Delhi as yet — and, as some may have observed, our red-blooded denizens tend to drink red wine. While space constraints inhibit me from pursuing this line of inquiry, suffice it to say that for this time of the year, I would go mid-range (below Rs 1,500 per bottle) rather than cast the likes of Bordeaux before the hoards.

Wines I’ve been drinking Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits continues to bring wines from around the world to us thirsty people, and this time, it was Chapter & Verse from South Africa. The 10 Chapters Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Rs 1,300) took time to open but was clean and crisp; the Gervino Blanc 2007 (blend of Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc, at about Rs 1,000) was unpretentious and more approachable, and hence more enjoyable, with guava and pineapple aromas.

The Gervino Rouge 2007 (Cab 55 per cent and Shiraz 45 per cent) was also quite good, with all the characteristic aromas and tastes of its constituents; lastly came the 10 Chapters Shiraz 2007 (also Rs 1,300) — a lovely wine with berry, mint and spice aromas, firm tannins and a long finish. Jonty Rhodes is part of the exporting firm and was on hand to field any googlies or leg breaks that got past their winemaker Stefan Gerber, and I found him approachable, friendly, and likeable — just like the wines.

(al.chandra@gmail.com)