The Indian Wine Day

The 16th of November has been set as “Indian Wine Day” when selected Indian wines are paired with Indian cuisine at a sit-down dinner at the LaLit group hotels worldwide.

This was the brainchild of Delhi-based wine advocate and international judge Subhash Arora, who asked, “Why can we not promote Indian wines on this day and eschew Beaujolais Nouveau (which is promoted worldwide on the third weekend of November every year)?”

Subhash roped in the LaLit Suri Hospitality Group’s executive director, Keshav Suri, and their executive sommelier, Charles Donnadieu, and together organised the first such event on 16 November 2017 at six LaLit properties in India and London.

This year, the second Indian Wine Day was held on Friday, 16 November, at all the nine LaLit hotels worldwide: eight in India (New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Jaipur, Udaipur, Chandigarh, Goa and Kolkata) and The LaLit London. At each location, a gourmet five-course menu provided by Baluchi (the signature Indian restaurant of the group) was paired with select Indian wines; and the grand finale was a showcase of sparkling Indian wines with desserts at the nightclubs (Kitty Su/Kitty Ko) in the cities where they operate.

Interestingly this year, the event was supported by some wine clubs: the Bangalore Wine Club (BWC) and the Chandigarh Wine Club were joined by the Calcutta Wine Club, while members of Subhash’s own Delhi Wine Club were, of course, in attendance there.

In Bengaluru (where I was present), the dinner was preceded by an “Indian Wine Village” where participating wineries showcased selected wines for tasting free of cost — this drew about 100 members from both the BWC and the public.

Participating wineries here were the well-known Sula, Grover Zampa and Fratelli, as well as regional players KRSMA, SDU and Big Banyan, wines from whom are not available outside South India.

It’s worth providing brief notes about the wines sampled:

Sula Brut Tropicale NV: Gentle mousse, passion fruit and peach aromas; rich finish (MRP Karnataka Rs 1,250).

Zampa Soirée Brut: Dry, citrus and floral, with notes of brioche and apricots (Rs 1,100).

Fratelli NOI Sparkling: Off-dry, vibrant, fruity and flowery (Rs 850 — a favourite with the ladies!).

Sula Brut Rosé: Creamy, smooth and well-balanced (Rs 1,200).

KRSMA Sauvignon Blanc 2018: Good fruit and oak aroma, very lush and dry palate, long finish (Rs 1,200).

SDU Reserve Chardonnay 2015: Citrus and tropical fruit aromas; medium-bodied, and smooth (Rs 1,000).

Big Banyan Rosa Rossa 2016: Berries and cherries nose. Light, balanced, smooth, off-dry. Yum! (Rs 625)

KRSMA K2 2017: Elegant red berry and vanilla aroma; medium-bodied, oaky finish (Rs 780).

Fratelli Sette 2013 (60 per cent Cab, 40 per cent Sangiovese): A reserve wine — complex aroma of red fruit, vanilla, chocolate and leather. Full-bodied with supple tannins, still fresh and persistent finish (Rs 2,000).

There’s no doubt that the quality of Indian wines is improving every year, and it’s high time that both vendors and consumers got over their xenomania and recognised this fact.

In particular, we need to support the regional players — as they say, “You’ve come a long way, baby!”

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant