Introducing vino india- news, views and reviews from the market for wine in India

One fine day  in  2010 when I was still in my Army uniform, I received an e- mail from Wine and

My "Guns" days

Spirit education Trust, London. The mail communicated that I was being considered for the Champagne Scholarship courtesy my distinguished performance in their curriculum; and that  I would be interviewed by the ambassador of Champagne in India to take the process forward.

My excitement was but naturally, a foregone conclusion. The first question that came to my mind was- “Who was the ambassador of Champagne in India and what possibly would he speak to me about?" Ringing up a couple of friends in the wine industry I was updated that  the ambassador of Champagne in India was a certain Mr. Rajiv Singhal, a pioneering personality in the Indian wine scenario. None of my friends however, had an inkling of what could be the interview like.

Circa 2015 and as if steered by destiny, I have teamed up with the same gentleman i.e. Mr Rajiv Singhal,  to launch  vino india- a new initiative in the Indian wine space. Much wine has obviously flown through the barrels ever since I received that  coveted interview call.  It is  therefore incumbent upon me to share this news with the esteemed readers of Guns to Gewürztraminer-  my  raison d’être  in the  vinous cyber space .

So what is vino india ?

 vino india is an e-newsletter that has been founded to create a digital experience for trade professionals as well as consumers - both in India and overseas. It aims to provide updates from the Indian wine scenario in an unbiased manner while shunning ‘patronage’ driven content.

My role in vino india

I am the Managing Editor of vino india. Rajiv is the Chief Executive. But more importantly we are partners in wine passion, with our individual capabilities harnessed for the wine cause.

The relation between Guns to Gewürztraminer and vino india 

First the differences between the two.  The former is a blog while the latter is a newsletter. The former is an individual sharing of wine passion while the latter has- as the tagline says-  news, views and reviews from the market for wine in India. 

As individual entities Guns to Gewürztraminer and vino india are unrelated in purpose and function. But by virtue of my being the Managing Editor, there will be some content from vino india authored by me, that I would like the readers of Guns to Gewürztraminer not to miss out on .  Such shared posts will be acknowledged  with a simple statement in italicised blue colour as “Published in vino india” towards the end of the respective posts.

I am sure this would give you a fair idea on vino india . If interested in knowing more, do take some time off to visit www.vinoindia.in where you will also find the inaugural issue. Subscription to vino india is monetarily free . So do also bless it by subscribing if you like what you see.

Santé, Salud and Cheers!

What they teach you in a Champagne Masterclass

Having six Champagne glasses in   front of you with  corresponding bottles to be poured in distant vision is a proposition most of us would call fit for a dream. Add a tasting sheet in the foreground and the context changes from pure indulgence to a surrounding rim of onerous responsibility - a responsibility to objectively and platonically dwell into the virtues of Champagne- a fine beverage, subordinate only to the life sustaining aqua.

My side of the table 

The tasting line up

As Thibaut Le Mailloux, Director of Communication at Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC)  gave finishing touches to his Champagne Masterclass presentation and  the perfectionist Rajiv Singhal, Ambassador of Champagne in India  deftly stroked the final touches at JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi this November, I greeted them with “Bonjour- Vous allez bien?” and saw Thibaut’s face light up with instant recognition. I had met Thibaut  in Epernay, in 2012 during my scholarship trip to CIVC in Rajiv’s company and it looked that the bond had just rekindled.

(L-R) Thibaut, self, Rajiv and Ankur Chawla (Beverages Manager JW Marriott)

The Champagne Masterclass, which is held regularly across the globe by CIVC aims at reinforcing the simple fact- that Champagne comes only from Champagne, with the historical perspective thrown in to emphasize the beverage’s centuries old tradition through the crests and troughs of  time. But besides the veritable history, it  dives deep  into various styles of Champagnes, peculiarities of different regions within the arrondissement  (department) and different styles of Champagne – to name a few.

The Masterclass in progress

 Beverages managers from different star properties (for whom the masterclass was meant) had their skills polished by Thibaut in this rendezvous, and their exuberance was quite palpable by the type of questions coming in- from dosage issues to simple but relevant ones like which Champagne out of the six for the day was Thibaut’s favourite? The seasoned professional but naturally, handled all the volleys with élan.

Coming to the Champagnes, these depicted the amount of brain racking that must have gone into their selection to emphasize each style. The table below amplifies the sequence:

The beauty  of the session was that it did not solely depend on sampling wines but to create the right perspective before the first verre was lifted. For hospitality industry it becomes absolutely essential to understand the evolution of iconic beverages like Champagne, to be able to present them better to their valuable clients for driving home the value derived. To that effect I think that the session achieved that and much more within a third of a day’s proceedings.

Some random  ‘ Pearls of Wisdom’ gathered from the session were :

• The Champagne viticultural practices are  highly environment focused with advanced R&D being incorporated at all stages of production. One  such measure is ‘Sexual Confusion’ wherein plastic capsules containing phermones are located strategically within vineyards. These phermones emit same sex perfume for pests, deterring them from reproducing and hence pesticides are not required for their control.

• The Champagne Appellation has faced brand infringement issues not only for sparkling wine producers but also global luxury brands making perfumes, shampoos, cigarettes  et al. It has successfully contested many such cases in the courts. 14 Champagne Bureaus located in top 10 export markets as well as BRIC countries  act as Champagne’s vanguards. In India the bureau  is headed by Rajiv Singhal.

•  No Champagne bottle across the world  is available without a proper label indicating its provenance. If one is lured by a purported Champagne without label  at a bargain price- it would most certainly be a fake.

• 83% of Champagne sales are consumed within 10000 km radius of the region. This is due to ease of geographical access as well as taxation issues.

• Out of the 11 mn € of wine and spirits exports of France, two thirds is wine and out of this, two thirds is Champagne.

•  Many Champagne houses have interesting stories  to their names. For example, Drappier Champagne comes from a family enterprise, which started its business with bed linen several centuries back and switched over to Champagne production when it started becoming popular in early nineteenth century. In French language Draps means Bed sheets and hence the name. 

The session concluded with a photo for posterity

Un Chevalier et l'Honneur de voir une Cérémonie (A Knight and the Honour of witnessing a Ceremony)

Chevalier de l'Ordre
National du Merite

It was literally a "Guns to Gewürztraminer" moment for me as I stood in rapt attention during the investiture ceremony of Mr Rajiv Singhal, Ambassador of Champagne in India,  at the French Ambassador’s residence in New Delhi. Having witnessed numerous investiture ceremonies during my career with the Armed Forces (of handling Guns of course) - here was one ceremony that was similar in soul but  with a distinctly different execution.

To speak about the occasion first. Rajiv Singhal is no alien name to the World Wine Web ( my  interpretation of WWW as  the global wine community), when any mention of India is made in the vinous context. A graduate in economics from the prestigious Yale University, Rajiv chose to go the entrepreneurial way two decades back, after politely declining hot shot financial assignments. But apart from his urge to be professionally independent, there was a lurking wine passionate in him that blossomed soon after, making him silently promote the cause of wine- particularly French wines- with the sole aim of educating and delighting the Indians on this potion of Gods. 20 years later, as we stand witness  to the Sommelier phenomenon, Wine Flights  and ever increasing availability of Fine Wines in India,  Rajiv’s services towards promoting the cause of  French wines has been deservedly acknolwledged by the award of France’s second highest civilian honor viz. Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite (Knight in the National Order of Merit) by the President of France . The award is made in exceptional cases to foreign citizens and it was indeed a  privilege for me to witness it's bestowal on a mentor and a friend.

Coming to the ceremony- as compared to investiture ceremonies in the Armed Forces where protocol, ceremonial accoutrements, fanfare and Standard Operating Procedures are de rigueur, here we had only subtle formalities in the form of a dress code (business formals) and  having to carry the invite for security reasons. Thereafter it was the unsaid decorum that came naturally to the select group of guests befitting the occasion to the tee.  There was no earmarked seating here- in fact no chairs at all- that made it convenient for the guests to mingle around some wine. To summarise, while the investiture ceremonies in the Armed Forces could be called Strictly Formal, here it was ‘Casually Formal’ but the essence remained the same- of pride, elegance and celebration.




H.E. François Richier, Ambassador of France in India, delivering his speech

The glorious moment of bestowal

Celebration Time!

As the coveted medal was brought pinned on a red silken cushion, the Ambassador of France in India

Champagne ready to be uncorked

H.E. François Richier rendered a short and humorous speech putting the guests further at ease followed by reading of the citation and  pinning of the medal on Rajiv’s jacket lapel. This was followed by a short speech by Chevalier Rajiv taking the guests down the memory lane when he embarked on his dream of making wine approachable to Indian enthusiasts and at the same time making the Indian market more accessible to passionate wine producers .  A magnum each of Champagne was opened by the Ambassador and Rajiv and thereafter it was congratulations galore with free flowing wine and exotic finger food.


The Gewürztraminer part of my Guns to Gewürztraminer journey had just witnessed a familiar pasture with a different  chemin.

With the Chevalier