Wines for Christmas

Bangalore has the perfect wine weather, but Delhi and Mumbai can also find the right spirit.

The range of wines now available in our key cities is so large that it confuses, even intimidates, most consumers, so a small guide may help.

Selecting wines to buy and drink at this time of the year in India could be termed a ‘Goldilocks’ exercise because our climate is so different in the key cities: Delhi is too cold, Bombay/Mumbai too hot, and only Bangalore/Bengaluru is just right. Ergo, the wines chosen, need to be appropriate to not just the occasion but also the weather.

Wines for Delhi
In deference to the cold I would eschew whites, Rose’s and even Sparklers, and go for full-bodied reds and perhaps even mulled wines (just for X’mas evening).

Full-bodied reds would include French Bordeaux, wines from the Rhone valley, Spanish Rioja, Italian Barolo and Chianti Classico, as well as Cab-Shiraz blends from most other countries — including the Sula Dindori Shiraz Reserve, Grover’s la Reserve, Four Seasons Barrique Reserves, and even the new Luca Cabernet Sauvignon.

For mulled wine, use an inexpensive red and heat in a carafe with some citrus (orange or mosambi) and crushed spices and sugar — check out various recipes on the Internet.

Wines for Mumbai
There’s nothing like a chilled white, Rose’ or Sparkling wine to ‘beat the heat’, and everything is available in Mumbai. My favourite white is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc — Cloudy Bay is expensive, the Saint Clair much better priced. Other current favourites are Italian Pinot Grigio, Spanish Cava (sparkling wine), and almost any Indian Rose (served chilled). For Sparkling Wines try the new Sula Pink — guaranteed to ‘knock your socks off’!

There are also several wines from local wineries available mostly within the state: Red Wings, Vallonne, Reveilo, and York — all making quite decent whites, well worth trying.

Wines for Bangalore
There’s a world of wines available in Bangalore — over 600 brands registered from all over the world, and the problem is, the weather’s perfect to quaff any and all of them.

Australian wines seem to be favourites here — fruit forward, easy drinking, and not too expensive: Hardys, Yellowtail, and Jacob’s Creek rule! There is a slew of entry-level Frenchies here too: Gerard Bertrand, Paul Mas, Albert Bichot, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Barton & Guestier, JP Chenet, Bouvet Ladubay, as well as the ubiquitous Torres from Spain and Nederburg and Kingfisher Bohemia from South Africa. Then there’s the local Grover, and the new kids on the block: Kinvah and Yaana. So much wine to drink, so little time!

So here I have a Sauvignon Blanc or a Rose’ during those sybaritic afternoons, but prefer reds during the evenings: Grenache-Syrah blends do just fine for me, as does a Cabernet-Merlot — wines of substance, perhaps.

Wines I’ve been drinking
Some lovely wines from the Margaret River area of Western Australia — the iconic Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay and a lovely Pinot Noir from Thomson Estate — with the winemakers presiding!

Whatever your preference, here’s wishing everybody a Merry Christmas!

Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant