Celebrating the harvest

The Sula Wine Fair 2011 that took place last Saturday (February 5) was by all accounts a thumping success: wine, women and song is a powerful combination anywhere, there was plenty of all three at the fest — and no silly 11.30 pm deadlines either!

Wine fairs have been held at wineries since time immemorial, a celebration of a task finished. Picking grapes was an arduous task, and one never knew whether the vintage would be good or be affected by rain, sleet or frost till the last of the harvest was in. The end of the work was a time of feasting and celebration and, in the northern hemisphere, autumn is always a good time to party.

About six months later, when the wine was just ready, fairs would be held to showcase the young wines — these would be larger events, and today, tend to culminate in state and national-level exhibitions that offer local producers a platform to showcase their wares to buyers from all over the world.

In India, winery-level fairs (like Sula's fest) are really PR exercises, coming at the beginning (rather than the end) of the grape-harvesting season. But the timing is great for consumers as in February the vineyards are heavy with grapes ripe for the pickin’, while later in the year the weather makes it too hot to be enjoyable.

In Europe all the major wine fairs happen in the next few months. These are:

Prowein (March 27 - 29), Düsseldorf : The first, and one of the largest wine fairs, with over 3,000 exhibitors and 36,000 international visitors.

Vinitaly (April 7 - 11), Verona: The wine show of Italy, with 4,000 exhibitors and over 150,000 visitors, showcasing not only wines but Italian olive oils, balsamic vinegar, foods, and machinery.

London International Wine & Spirits Fair ( May 17-19), London: The UK is the world's largest importer of wine (125 million cases in 2010) and this fair has representation from every wine-producing country.

Vinexpo (June 19 - 23), Shanghai: Held in Bordeaux every alternate year, that this fair has moved to China in 2011 indicates the role being played by that country in boosting the consumption of the top French wines.

Of course, there are wine festivals in Australia, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand — but all the major wine producers from these countries participate in the five big festivals above.

So, if you want to import wine and are looking for a producer, or are a wine lover who wants to taste some of the best, start making plans to visit one of these events.

Wines I've been drinking: MAN Vintners is a company started by three leading wine makers from South Africa, who produce the eponymous wine at one of their wineries, and have named the company (and the brand) after their three wives: Marie, Anette, and Nicky. The Chardonnay 2009 was fruity and medium-bodied and very nice, while the Shiraz 2009 was also fruity but with some spicy notes, quite full-bodied, and yummy. Rated 85 and 89 points respectively by Wine Spectators, both wines are about Rs 1,500 in Bangalore and give terrific value.

Cheers!

Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant