'Pigeon's' wine flight

Odds are high that a cricket lover in India will not be aware of a wine brand, but flip this and any Indian wine lover will surely know who Glenn McGrath is. The Aussie cricketer has a universal charm and is idolized by zillions of fans in  cricketing nations . But what does an iconic cricketer have to do with a wine brand? Same as Sachin Tendulkar  with a Cola or  Virat Kohli with an Anti Dandruff Shampoo. Being celebrity consumers, they instil a certain confidence amongst  the general consumer about quality of the product that they endorse.

Hardys, the Aussie wine giant, have appointed McGrath as their Brand Ambassador and dedicated a special label to him called "Hardys Art of Cricket" . The label carries  'Pigeon's' (McGrath's popular nick name)  photo and signature,with an obvious intent of  catching the wine  fancy of the Indian cricketing  buff.

Hardys Art of Cricket Collection with McGrath's photo and signature

I had the privilege of being invited to a special event called "Hardys fine Australian wine and True Aussie Lamb"  hosted by the Australian High Commissioner in India, H.E. Patrick Suckling at his residence in New Delhi this May. The highlight of the evening was  McGrath's towering persona- staturewise as well as literally (at 6 ft 4 in tall).  The icon mixed freely with wine lovers patiently addressing all their cricket and wine queries. The wines for the evening though, were Hardys already  available "Stamp Collection"  as the "Art of Cricket" collection will hit the Indian market only by August this year as intimated by Sula Selections- Hardys' importers in India.

Glenn McGrath with Ann-Marie Battista presenting an autographed English willow to H.E. Patrick Suckling
Pic: Australian High Commission, New Delhi

Hardys is a well recognized wine brand synonymous with 'value for money' wines. It all started in  1857, when Thomas Hardy bottled his first vintage and became one of the first exporters of Australian wines. In India, their wines have been available since 2003. In Asia, Japan is the largest market for Hardys wines with India ranking an impressive eighth – very encouraging for a country with per capita consumption of just a few milliliters of wine.

Random glimpses of Hardys "Art of Cricket" launch function in New Delhi

The evening at New Delhi started with rounds of Hardy's Pinot Noir Chardonnay followed by other variants of the Stamp Collection. To accompany the wines, there was a delightful dégustation menu put together by Chef Justin Zammit of Epicure (Brisbane) where  Aussie lamb in different preparations was the highlight. Pairings were as under:

(prices of wines are indicated ex Delhi/ Mumbai):

Hardys Pinot Noir Chardonnay Sparkling (₹ 1320/1755) 

A balanced and fruity sparkling wine. 

Served with corn fed chicken liver terrine with raisin chutney and rosemary brioche.

Hardys Riesling-Gewurztraminer (₹ 960/1390)

An aromatic wine with abundance of tropical fruits and an off-dry inclination. 

Served with homemade duck prosciutto, honey black pepper glaze, rye bread crouton.

Hardys Chardonnay-Semillon (₹ 1060/1390) 

A light and refreshing wine with stone fruit flavours. 

Served with poached green asparagus, extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried heirloom tomatoes and herbal buffalo mozzarella (served warm in petit jars).

Hardys Cabernet-Merlot (₹ 820/1390)

An expressive wine, showing red berries and oak aromas accompanied by a fruity palate.

Served with charred yoghurt marinated Australian lamb, salad of baby cos and pomegranate, toum and za atar flat bread; Spring Australian lamb confit, potato mousseline and jus; Roasted Australian lamb loin, butternut pumpkin,smoked eggplant and semolina fondant.

Hardys Shiraz-Cabernet (₹ 1080/1390)

A robust wine with aromas of blackberries, dark cherries and spice with a complementing palate and an oaky finish. 

Served with salt water Australian lamb, smoked carrot shavings and crisp ancient grains; Slow poached Australian lamb loin, coconut green curry.

Ann-Marie Battista, Hardys representative, told me that the brand is steeped in tradition and has won more than 9000 international wine awards. Hardys is largely recognised for being approachable, consistent, fun and dependable. Cricket mirrors these exact sentiments – technique, consistency, knowledge and years of hard work and perseverance. Hardys are honoured to introduce Glenn as their Brand Ambassador to India. "We believe our partnership with Glenn is perfect to raise Hardys brand awareness with wine consumers and become the Australian brand of choice in India", added Ann-Marie.

"Both cricket and wine are pursuits of passion and it is my pleasure to bring these two together", McGrath said. He claims that he lives to eat and does not eat to live. This association with Hardys will give him more chances to visit India, a country that he thinks of as his second home. In lighter vein, he also said that as a Brand Ambassador, he finds more acceptability amongst Indians since he is no longer bowling to Sachin Tendulkar!

McGrath was candid enough in sharing that he is not a wine expert but someone who is interested in good wines. Before his new role as Hardys brand ambassador, he spent time at the Hardys facility in Adelaide, understanding the intricacies of winemaking in order to be conversant with the winemaking philosophy of the brand.

The 'pigeon' looks set to fly the long haul.

P.S. I did manage to get an autograph as well!

This article is an adaptation from my original piece in  vino india

Lunch with an Italian Sommelier

Avant garde food and wine pairings are a foregone conclusion when you break bread with a sommelier, specially one with a strong pedigree. Alessandro Nesi works for the Tuscany based Piccini – wines since 1882, and was in India for a 5 month stint with the Piccini’s importers, Prestige Wines and Spirits Pvt Ltd. Alessandro’s brief was simple – to disseminate the essence of Italian wine and food in India – and he travelled from Delhi & Gurgaon to Chennai, Goa and Mumbai leaving the fine dine loving Indian in awe.

I was invited to share a meal with Alessandro by Sumit Sehgal,CEO Prestige.  I readily accepted in anticipation of the opportunity to exchange notes with a professional from the land of pastas, tomatoes, herbs and fromaggio- all very discreet ingredients for pairing with wines that he perhaps understood the best.

An Italian speciality restaurant in New Delhi - 28 The Capri was the venue for our rendezvous where Alessandro arrived with Sumit and his Marketing Manager, Sarang Kumar. We started off  like a Golf "fourball" – goblets and plates substituting the tees.

Inside '28 The Capri'

The wines

Given our time constraints, Alessandro selected two wines from the Piccini portfolio. We warmed up with a customary standalone tasting, as we browsed through the menu.

Piccini Pinot Grigio 2013

Pinot Grigio is known for its light but refined temperament and Piccini has preserved this essence. The varietal grows mostly in the cooler regions of North-eastern Italy, most prominently in Veneto. This wine has been produced with an affiliated winery in Veneto, to save the significant logistical challenge of transporting the fragile berries. With floral and subtle stone-fruit notes, the wine is all about freshness, whilst maintaining its easy going demeanour. This wine can be enjoyed even subconsciously while poring over a book or amid intense discussions at a working lunch.

The wines

Piccini Toscana Rosso

Alessandro suggested that this could be Chianti’s younger sibling owing to its Sangiovese dominated character in the blend of Malvasia Nera and Cillegiolo. The wine had delicious red fruit aromas, earthy undertones, a medium body and very supple tannins. A hard core red wine lover would desire more structure, if enjoyed on its own. But exploring it with food could reveal its dexterity to match its cousins in Chianti with equal aplomb.

Our lunch

We 'teed off' and ordered what each one of us thought would be probable matches from the menu. With the crisp Pinot Grigio, I chose the Caesar Salad with Bacon and Parmesan, while Alessandro preferred the Greek Salad with Feta, and Sumit and Sarang went for Grilled Chicken Bruschetta. Each of these dishes had some connect with the wine, and I discovered that good pairings can be bettered too, as the tangy and creamy character of the feta on Alessandro’s plate matched far better with the wine, than the bacon and parmesan on mine.

Caesar Salad with Bacon and Parmesan

Clockwise from top: Grilled Chicken Bruschetta, Pasta Primavera and All Chicken Pizza

Next up, the pastas and pizza with the red. Alessandro ordered Pasta Barberesco and I went neck in neck with a Pasta Primavera. Sumit and Sarang provided a different dimension with the savoury All Chicken Pizza. The texture of the pastas being the same, the flavours ranged from vegetal to herbal and spice. And both pastas were equally good with the wine. The thin crust pizza with its savoury topping providing a nice angle to the overall meal that we all shared.

Wine is my calling

As the conversation winded through the meal, Alessandro’s wine story came across as absolute passion personified. I felt more to his personality than classic Italian charm. Inspite of clocking 20 years in the trade, he showed great composure despite his deceptive youthful appearance. He started in the trade without formal education, and studied at the prestigious FISAR Sommelier School after realizing his true calling. His approach towards wine changed and he transcended from mere technicalities to a deeper focus on appreciation, with a special focus on the consumer. And that, he believes, has made him relate to his wine customer better.

Across the glass with Alessandro

In Italy, Alessandro’s typical workday involves travelling to the various estates of the company, helping the wine maker choose blends and contributing to winery works. He also takes care of the promotion of the Piccini portfolio at tasting events and international fairs. His favourite wines from Italy are Chianti and Franciacorta. From outside of home, he has several favourites but bets strongly on Porto wines. Considering how young the Indian wine industry is, Alessandro feels that Indian wines are pretty decent, but has not tried enough to have a favourite.

On the Indian wine landscape

Speaking about his Indian séjour, he found the restaurants that were on his itinerary well prepared and very interested in continuous learning. On the wine storage front, he believes that a lot needs to be done. “I found very different situations regarding storage. Wine requires specific storage conditions viz. no light, temperature control, horizontal storage for cork closed bottles etc. As this represents high costs, many businesses are unable absorb them." But he is optimistic though, and feels that as the wine culture grows in India, people will get more and more particular about their wines and things will be better.

I asked him the burning question, what about his best pairings with Indian food. He believes that spiciness is the main challenge, and wines that are rich in perfume, with low acidity and soft or no tannins would pair well. He vouches strongly for an extra dry Prosecco or an ‘appassimento’ (high residual sugar wine made from shriveled grapes) as complementary to Indian food. 

The course 'played', and all players scoring well, it was time to pose for the 'clubhouse' photos. I insisted that Alessandro put on the elegant stole around his neck that he entered with, rather than his Sommelier’s jacket. Sure enough, the classic Italian charm reflected on the photo too!

Alessandro and me posing for the 'clubhouse' photo

(This writing has been adapted from my original work in vino india- news views and reviews from the market for wine in India)

How to customize Ready To Drink (RTD) Cocktails

The scorching Indian summer is at its worst and it’s time for thirst quenchers. Purists would argue that the best possible way to do so is like God intended it - with simple aqua. No disputing that, except if life were so simple then we’d still probably be eating raw vegetables! A change beyond the humdrum is what we often seek and in the beverages context, cocktails embody the spirit of innovation.

However,  preparing a cocktail from the scratch is not everybody's chalice of wine and this is where RTDs or Ready to Drink cocktails score.

Recently I gave a closer look to some of the RTDs  available in the Indian market. Not being a particular fan of RTDs-  believing that there is no substitute to freshly made drinks- I also acknowledge  RTDs for the convenience they carry, especially when you are pressed for time or do not have the inclination to assemble the requisite paraphernalia.

A nagging problem with RTDs though, is that they are formulated on the  “one size fits all” approach. This brought me to ponder about customizing them to individual requirements. Some trials in my newly created "Colonel Joe Labs"  and the results have me excited enough to share these here.

But before that, let's have a quick look at some simple steps to customise a cocktail :

Adhering to the above guidelines, I tweaked the following RTDs (Prices indicated are ex Delhi).

Cocktail Genre # 1: Sangria

General facts: The drink owes its name to the word 'Sangre' which is Spanish for 'blood'. It is a red wine based cocktail added with a little bit of alcohol and other mixers, thereafter steeped with fruit chunks and chilled for several hours.

Cocktail Genre # 2: Carbonated (Bacardi Breezers)

General facts: Carbonated cocktails are fun and facile particularly with the younger crowd. They are a good alcoholic option to Coke, Fanta and the ilk. Mostly with lower alcoholic content (close to regular beers) , they are a good proposition for people new to alcoholic beverages. Plus there is always the option to fortify the drink with more alcohol if required.

Cocktail Genre #3: International Classics

General Facts: International classics like Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Margarita etc. have been around as RTDs since decades and are preferred the world over for their connaissance amongst cocktail lovers. However, the taste differs from brand to brand and a person who has experienced the real mojo will instantly separate the chalk from cheese.

The following cocktails are from the brand William Pitterson which is owned by the iconic French liqueur producer Marie Brizard. When I first presented William Pitterson (WP) cocktails at a Cocktail and Food pairing to an agog audience, I was surprised at the level of freshness they carried. 

All the WP variants were so delightful that had they been served blind, I could have mistaken them coming from ingredients fresh from garden. 

However that does not imply that you cannot improvise on them to suit your taste, or more importantly, serve them optimally.