The festive season in India is on its way to reach a crescendo with Diwali- the festival of lights- being just a few days away. With that, the scurry to plan celebrations and scout for gifts has also started. Traditionally on Diwali, Indians clean their homes elaborately, light them up with diyas (earthen lamps), and perform pooja (prayers) to invoke Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi- the Hindu deities considered as harbingers of good luck and prosperity respectively. Diwali is also the occasion to exchange gifts with near and dear ones, as well as professional associates. And this brings us to our favourite topic- wine.
Over the years Indians have been looking for new gifting ideas beyond the traditional sweets and dry fruits. With the overall awareness on wine going up, it is also turning out to be one of the favourite gifting ideas spelling class and sophistication. But choosing the right wine for gifting can become a tedious issue if one is unsure about the preferences of the intended recipient. The dilemma is accentuated by a multitude of labels available on retail shelves. Then how should one go about picking the right wine?
Having received many such queries over the past years, particularly during festive occasions, I thought of coming up with a list of wines based on my personal experience. Since the list could become humungous, I decided to stick to Indian wines on three accounts. Firstly, Indian wines have seen admirable evolution in the past few years, winning global awards and featuring in the wine lists of Michelin starred restaurants. Secondly, thanks to the absence of customs duties (as much as 160%), they invariably offer good value for money as compared to their imported counterparts. And lastly- the supply chain for these wines being much shorter, there is lesser chances of spoilage on account of improper handling/storage.
Over the years Indians have been looking for new gifting ideas beyond the traditional sweets and dry fruits. With the overall awareness on wine going up, it is also turning out to be one of the favourite gifting ideas spelling class and sophistication. But choosing the right wine for gifting can become a tedious issue if one is unsure about the preferences of the intended recipient. The dilemma is accentuated by a multitude of labels available on retail shelves. Then how should one go about picking the right wine?
Having received many such queries over the past years, particularly during festive occasions, I thought of coming up with a list of wines based on my personal experience. Since the list could become humungous, I decided to stick to Indian wines on three accounts. Firstly, Indian wines have seen admirable evolution in the past few years, winning global awards and featuring in the wine lists of Michelin starred restaurants. Secondly, thanks to the absence of customs duties (as much as 160%), they invariably offer good value for money as compared to their imported counterparts. And lastly- the supply chain for these wines being much shorter, there is lesser chances of spoilage on account of improper handling/storage.
However, the number of 'good' Indian wines could be many more than just a list of 10. Hence I also narrowed down the focus based on the following considerations:
- I should have tasted each wine at least twice to find them consistently good.
- The wines should be available in at least two major metros of India- viz. Delhi and Mumbai.
- To include generic personality types of wine consumers.
So here is my festive pick for 2015 (wines listed category wise and not in any order of precedence):
