Gôut de France at Leela Palace New Delhi

The week gone by was  an unforgettable culinary voyage for me. It began with lunch with a sommelier from Italy, and culminated in two very special events related to Gôut de France- a culinary extravaganza that unfolded across the world to promote French cuisine.

Gôut de France meaning “Taste of France”  was a program launched this January by Laurent Fabius, the French Minister for Foreign affairs  and Alain Ducasse, the world renowned 3-Michelin-starred chef,  to celebrate French gastronomy worldwide. 

The program envisaged over 1300 chefs serving a “French-style dinner” on 19 March 2015,  on all five continents. The menu for these dinners  incorporated  a  traditional French aperitif, a cold starter, a hot starter, fish or shellfish, meat or poultry, a French cheese (or cheeseboard) and a chocolate dessert with each course accompanied by French wines and digestifs. In this whole ambit, respective chefs had the flexibility to  highlight their own culinary traditions and cultures.

The Qube at Leela Palace Delhi
(Pic:  Leela Hotels)

I was privileged to attend two events pertaining to Gôut de France. The first  was a curtain raiser dinner on 17 March 15 at the enchantingly beautiful residence of H.E. François Richier, the Ambassador of France in India. The other one was Gôut de France dinner itself, at the resplendent Qube restaurant at Hotel Leela Palace, New Delhi. 

Wine regions of France

My focus understandably being wine, the first thing I noticed from the menu at The Qube, was that it represented wines from literally all corners of France- be it the North East (Champagne), North West (The Loire Valley), South West(Bordeaux) or South East (The Rhone Valley). Christophe Gillino- the Chef de Cuisine at Qube had obviously done his homework well and that was no surprise, knowing of his work-experience with Alain Ducasse himself at  the three Michelin starred "Le Louis XV" in Monaco.

Coming to the dinner, eight exotic courses were spread over two hours with well synchronised beverage pairings. Since Christophe comes from Aix-en-Provence, a  touch of Provençale cuisine could be noticed in the overall ensemble.  The  experience went thus:

(L-R) Course-wise  wine line up 

Hors d’œuvre

Assorted gougères pass around with Champagne 

Wine: GH MUMM Cordon Rouge Brut

The gougères  sandwiched an assortment of  goat cheese, tapenade and anchoïade, served with pesto sauce. These offered an excellent repertoire of flavours in small measures. All of them worked  well with the refreshing and autolytic Champagne.

Entrée

Chilled lobster consommé with black truffle, artichoke mousseline with green lemon

Wine: Paul Jaboulet Aîné Côtes du Rhône “Parallèle 45” Blanc 2006

Côtes du Rhône Blanc is one of my favourites when it comes to a white wine with food because it invariably has voluptuous and aromatic traits rendered often by Grenache blanc and  Viognier varietals. 
I found the “Paralelle 45” Blanc 2006 to be a complex wine with floral and stone fruit characteristics accompanied by a surprisingly good level of acidity- given its vintage. This complexity was essential for the equally complex repas having the subtlety of lobster and an ample body imparted by the artichoke mousse.

Roasted sweetbread with orange and carrot reduction, mustard seeds and parsley

 Wine: Henri Bourgeois Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie 2011

The nomenclature “sweetbread” can be quite confusing for the uninitiated since it is not a bread in the classical sense. However its French equivalent terminology as Ris d’agneau implied thyroid gland of lamb as I confirmed from the chef. The dish was a riot of flavours/ textures with the creamy Ris supplemented the savoury orange and carrot reduction well. The mustard seeds and parsley lent it additional dimensions in terms of sharpness and aromatics. All this worked in sync with the wine that had tropical, citrus fruits, toasty aromas/flavours and a peppery finish.

Main Course

Steamed sea bass with herb coulis,ginger, compressed tomato, asparagus and coconut milk 

Wine: Baron Philippe de Rothschild Mouton Cadet 2013 (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle)

By far the most successful generic Bordeaux brand, the Mouton Cadet range has consistently delivered high value to wine lovers everywhere. The wine was dry and light bodied with a refreshing acidity and aromas/flavours of tropical fruits, noticeably melons and lychees. On the food part, the tender and creamy sea bass worked in contrast with the acidic compressed tomatoes, the pea-puree stuffed morel mushrooms, the coconut milk and asparagus  sauce, to offer a multi dimensional taste palette worthy of the wine.

Grilled Charolais or Chicken with liquorices jus, celeriac ravioli with saffron, aragula and         dandelion, coffee foam

Wine: Baron Philippe de Rothschild Cadet d’Oc 2013 (Cabernet Sauvignon)

Cadet d'Oc is an easy going delicious wine with intense red fruit aromas and  red cherries, oak, spice on the palate. For food, I went for the  chicken option (with skin) and it had a wonderful crunch leading to decadence. The celeriac purée stuffed ravioli and the floral, spicy characteristics of the other constituents added to the flavour profile. The wine had plenty of traits to identify with this dish.

Assiette de Fromage (Cheese Course)    

Grilled Roquefort toast with banana and salad leaves

Wine: Le St Émilion d’Adet Seward 2011

The banana sliver on the toast beneath the melted Roquefort  was very innovative as it lent just the right amount of sweetness to the sharp and salty cheese. The greens brought in the freshness element. This dish proved that the most beautiful things are often the simplest.  The wine was very approachable and anticipatedly fruity- being from the  right bank of Bordeaux. With rounded tannins, a medium body and good acidity, it blended well with the course.

 Dessert Course

Chocolate sphere with grilled coffee, vanilla and ginger emulsion

Liqueur: Cointreau

The arrival of this course was a treat to watch as a  diligent serving staff poured a stream of hot chocolate over the soft chocolate sphere- which started melting to reveal the ice cream and brownie inside. Complemented with the vanilla and ginger emulsion, it justified the Cointreau pairing not only for the matching sweetness but also for the additional orange flavour dimension.

Mignardises & Chocolats

My dinner concluded with  green tea and delectable Mignardises & Chocolats (bite sized dessert served at the end of a meal) around a passionate discussion with Chef  Gillino on the making of this memorable menu. I departed with a lingering Gôut de France.

I'm sure many others around the globe would also have.

Mignardises & Chocolats

Chef Christophe Gillino in action

The Menu

Reveling in the Chef's company

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Summarising the three Austrian wine Masterclasses in India

Last year was the year of impetus for Austrian wines in India. With three masterclasses spread over 8 months, the Austrians treated the Indian palate to a finish that is bound to linger for a long time. I was privileged to be a part of all the three masterclasses and the regulars with Guns to Gewürztraminer would recall my coverage of these. If this sounds alien, and you can spare some time, please go through the individual  links given within this post. If not, then this post is  just right for you.

Labels that stood out during the masterclasses.
To read tasting notes, visit the individual stories given as links as under:
Masterclass #1          Masterclass #2          Masterclass #3

Recently I wrote an overview of all three of these masterclasses for vino india. The aim was to give a bird's eye view of  what the Austrians achieved and what are their further plans. To ascertain the details, I got in touch with the stakeholders on the Austrian side  and found that they are mighty pleased at the outcome. It should suffice to say that  Indian wine lovers can expect to find lot many Austrian wines to explore in the coming times. 

Here is a fast track account of all the masterclasses and an insight into the road ahead:

Masterclass # 1

The first Austrian wines masterclass in progress

Aim: Introduction of wines from different regions of Austria.

Wine statistics: 58 wines from 13 wineries. 14 wines in the masterclass, the rest were available at the walk-around tasting.

Flying in from Austria: Rudolf Trischler from Sunny Grapes, the marketing agency for the wines represented.

About the session: An emphasis on the terroir, typical grape varietals and pronunciation. Departing from the conventional ‘Whites first, Reds after’, the wines were presented region-wise. This allowed a better understanding of the Loess (calcerous clay and silt soil with fossil fragments) influenced minerally wines from Lower Austria and the ripe full bodied reds as well as the noble rot driven sweet wines from the sunny and marshy Burgenland.

Wine regions of Austria

For details on the session # 1 click here to read my earlier post

Masterclass # 2

A sea of glasses at the tasting

(L-R) Christian Dworan, Shanay Hubmann, Sommelier Gurjit Singh Barry and Dr. Wolfram Moritz

Aim: Showcasing the entire Austrian quality pyramid.

Wine statistics: 81 wines from 12 wineries. 17 wines in the masterclass, the rest were available at the walk-around tasting.

Flying in from Austria: Christian Dworan, Marketing Manager from the Austrian Wine Marketing Board

About the session: The wines presented a good mix of international as well as Austrian native varietals. The aim of showcasing the Austrian wine classification system was well served by enabling sampling in a vertical graduation of the quality pyramid starting from a Kabinett, Spätlese and finishing with a Trockenbeerenauslese.

For details on the session # 2 click here to read my earlier post

Masterclass # 3

A stall for walkaround tasting

Aim: Summing up the three master classes and highlighting DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus).

Wine statistics: 63 wines from 8 wineries. 17 wines in the masterclass, the rest were available at the walk-around tasting.

Flying in from Austria: Michael Thurner, former Director of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board could not arrive from Singapore due to a cancelled flight. Represented by the Austrian Trade Commissioner, Dr Wolfram Moritz.

About the session:  A diverse range of wines were included in the familiar but fine tuned format. The highlight of the session was a deep insight into the DAC – the  specified quality wines producing regions of Austria, similar to the French AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée). Austria has eight specific districts that permit wine to be produced only from the specified varietal(s). These are:

1. Eisenberg (Bläufrankisch)

2. Kamptal (Grüner Veltliner, Riesling)

3. Kremstal (Grüner Veltliner, Riesling)

4. Leithaberg (Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, Chardonnay, Neuberger, Bläufrankisch)

5. Mittelburgenland (Bläufrankisch)

6. Neusiedlersee (Zweigelt)

7. Traisental (Grüner Veltliner, Riesling)

8. Weinviertel (Grüner Veltliner)

I was able to evaluate similar wines from different regions, draw comparisons between native Austrian and international varietals and taste wine verticals from the same winery. A dégustation menu by the Lemon Tree, Delhi kept the wines in good company.

For details on the session # 3 click here to read my earlier post

The Results

In conclusion, did the trilogy of master classes yield desirable results? Dr. Wolfram Moritz, Trade Commissioner & Commercial Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi, believes that they did. The response has been extremely positive and encouraging. “Through these events, a wide range of Austrian wines – white, red and sweet – were introduced to the relevant people in the wine business, who were pleasantly surprised with the quality of Austrian wines. We received a lot of commercial queries on bringing these wines to the market”, elaborated Dr. Moritz.

The same sentiment is echoed by Christian Dworan, who feels that the primary aim of the AWMB to connect with a lot of enthusiastic wine people and wine specialists in India was well served with these master classes. The elements of uniqueness (climate, land, grapes, culture, people & nature, value for money, food pairing) for Austrian Wine were highlighted. Mr. Dworan is also pleased with the ‘media echo’ of these events that have created the right atmosphere for awareness on Austrian wines in India.

Next Steps

Mr. Dworan shared with me that in 2015, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board would monitor the market closely to consolidate the gains already made. Dr. Moritz hopes to see more Austrian wines available in the Indian market in the near future, despite the cumbersome tax regime. The Austrian Trade Commission plans a series of smaller events to promote Austrian wines.

The Austrians are clearly in the "Exploit" phase. In the interest of getting more opportunities to explore these fascinating wines, I wish them well.

(Published in vino india)