Unwined-ing around Castello Banfi Wines

Innovation and enthusiasm go hand in hand. It is only the enthused who innovate. Conversely, innovation  generates further enthusiasm. 

Over the past one month I attended a series of innovative wine sessions called 'unwined' which look at breaking the stereotypes often associated with wine tastings. The sessions were hosted by Madhulika Bhattacharya a.k.a. Madame La Cave, the prolific owner of La Cave - the best wine store of current times  in New Delhi. Just a day back I attended an 'unwined' dinner with wines from Castello Banfi - the famed producer from Tuscany. (If you would like to know more about La Cave, click here to read my article on the store, published in vino india)

As the name suggests, 'Unwined by La Cave' are wine tastings/dinners that urge wine lovers to approach the tastings in a care-free manner with the sole focus of unwinding around wine. Hence there is no dress code, expectations of  technical jargon or anybody treated more equal than others. 

But the most appealing aspect of these sessions is Madhulika's endeavour to time them with the visits of respective winery representatives, resulting in first hand interaction between producers and end consumers. For the Banfi dinner, Guillaume Blanchard,Regional Manager Banfi, South East Asia did the honours.

Upping the fun quotient at 'unwined' sessions:
(L-R) Guillaume Blanchard, myself and Sagar Nath, Marketing Manager, Brindco Sales

Coming back to the innovation theme, while I was sharing a pictorial of the Banfi dinner on my official Facebook page 'Colonel Joe' , I realised that we keep duplicating content on the World Wide Web on different platforms to reach different sets of audience. What if the same content could be reused across platforms with a little context tailoring relevant to each? It would  result not only  in a faster dissemination of information but also spare the planet some unnecessary carbon emissions arising from data duplication and computing resources. The idea of "Quick Posts" on Guns 2 Gewurztraminer was born.

In this inaugural quick post, I am sharing below, the aforesaid  FB pictorial of the Banfi dinner. Hope it will convey the essence of the event aptly. For later quick posts, I visualise having feed from multiple channels in a single blog post.

Enjoy and do share your feedback in the comments space below. 

Cheers, Santé and Salud!

(P.S. Click here if the pictorial does not load or is taking too long to load)

La Cave- the most talked about wine store in Delhi has been conducting innovative wine sessions called 'unwined' that...
Posted by Colonel Joe on Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Bienvenue- A French Wine and Cuisine Experience on the French National Day

You need good reason to celebrate another country’s independence day. If that reason hinges on wine and food, all the better. This July, it was the third year in a row that I conducted a French wine and cuisine experience titled Bienvenue (meaning “Welcome” in English). The occasion was the eve of the French national day, also called La Fête Nationale, Jour de Bastille or Quatorze Juillet. The event saw participation of the who’s who of Delhi’s wine circuit, with ardent support by wine importers as well as the Embassy of France in India. France being a major hub of wine and cuisine,it is quite logical that any French celebration cannot be devoid of these two  fascinating aspects of their culture. Not something that revelers would complain-of course!

Celebrated every 14th July, Jour de Bastille  signifies the onset of French revolution when revolutionaries stormed the  Bastille prison to free-up scores of their compatriots. This incident heralded the overthrowing of an oppressive monarchy and transfer of power to the French people. In terms of wine and spirits it meant transfer of ownership to common citizens and opening up of the markets that were erstwhile restricted to the royals and aristocrats.

The venue for this year's soirée was Rara Avis – one of the few French  restaurants in the capital. Jerome Cousin, who comes from Alsace, is the chef and partner of the restaurant that is recognised for its avant garde cuisine. Together, with his oenophile Indian partner Rajiv Aneja, he makes a "Champagne and shellfish" team . With the authentic French touch on the plate, I could cover most French wine regions armed with a non-vintage Champagne, a red and a white Burgundy, a Rhône Red, two Bordeaux Reds, a Cognac and a liqueur from the Loire valley. The prices could be kept at sane levels courtesy the beverage sponsorships from Sula Selections, Prestige Wines and Spirits Pvt Ltd. and vino india.

Brands at Bienvenue

Generous support by  the Embassy of France in India and particularly the Ambassador H.E. François Richier (we received three exclusive wines from his private cellar) saw that the attendees had pleasant surprises in store too!

From the French Ambassador's cellars

 Speaking of the food and wines, the effort was to incorporate a traditional French meal with all courses listed out in proper nomenclature. It afforded the opportunity to acquaint everyone on common French terms including their literal meaning and pronunciation. A quiz on wine and food  with an attractive Bordeaux Red up for grabs saw everyone labour to get it right. But eventually the prized wine was everybody's delight since the winning lady  shared it magnanimously with all during the dinner. The pairings are self explanatory from the menu given below:

Top: Terrine de Jerome, Middle (L): Goat Cheese Salad, Middle (R):  Sweet Potato and Ricotta Ravioli
and Bottom: Crêpes Epinard Gratinée 

Different moods of the soirée 

As mentioned above, the wines presented a virtually 360° glimpse of France. Here is how they worked out.

The beverages  line up

Champagne Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut - A Pinot Noir dominated champagne with excellent structure as well as freshness.

Joseph Drouhin La Foret Bourgogne Blanc 2010- A crisp light Chardonnay with mineral undertones.

Domaine Boisson Cotes du Rhone 2012- A mouth filling juicy and spicy wine.

Ormes de Pez, St Estephe 2009- A Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. True to its pedigree, the wine was robust, fleshy and a worthy companion to the powerful main course. The star of the evening.

Chateau La Lauzette, Haut Medoc 2010 - A medium bodied wine with rounded tannins and black fruit flavours.

Joseph Drouhin La Foret Bourgogne Rouge 2009- A light bodied fruity-vegetal wine that went hand in glove with the assorted French cheeses.

Cointreau- The iconic and intense orange liqueur from Angers (Loire Valley).

Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac- A fine eau de vie aged for 4 years in French oak barrels.

The team at Rara Avis handled the wine service deftly with exact pours and optimal serving temperatures. They bust the myth that only five star properties in India are capable of immaculate wine service. I  now know which place to go for a quiet sip when in the writing mood!

With more such engagements planned, I share the sentiments of oenophiles with the French saying- La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvaise vin- meaning- Life is too short to drink bad wine!

Sante, Salud and Cheers!

Related Article: Bienvenue- A  French Indulgence

Jacob's Creek Longest Reserve Table: Fine dining à la style grande

Jacob's Creek is India's best known Australian wine. The brand that came into being in 1976, is owned by the multi-national wine and spirits giant Pernod-Ricard and is named after a place in South Australia where a gentleman called Johann Gramp planted his first vines on the banks of the Jacob’s Creek in 1847. 

Recently, Jacob's Creek launched a unique event, “The Longest Reserve Table”, for the first time in India on the 1st of March at hotel JW Marriott, New Delhi where I was invited to take a seat. Notching up a century of wine and food enthusiasts at one single table, the concept brings together people who love gourmet cuisine and good wines.

Being a Sunday, a relaxed mood amongst the attendees facilitated the right atmosphere for the rendezvous. However, the plans did go into a spin- albeit temporarily- due to an unforeseen wet spell in Delhi that necessitated the event to be shifted indoors. But thanks to the super efficient team at JW Marriott led by Ankur Chawla, the Beverages Manager, the transition was seamless (even if I was envious of fellow wine lovers in Bangalore, who were blessed with a lovely sunny day at the outdoors session).

The engagement started with a refreshing sparkling as Jacob’s Creek Pinot-Chardonnay  as the guests assembled. Made from two of the Champagne varietals, the wine is an easy going sparkling ideal as an aperitif and an excellent conversation starter.

As we sat down, a five course continental menu  crafted for this special table by Chef Pavan Kumar Chennam, Executive Sous Chef of the JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity, was presented. The level of deliberation and understanding of the nuances was evident in the pairings. 

My gauche et droite were occupied by my chosen wine friends, and we ordered different options from the menu so that we could get a panoramic view of the dining experience. We might have earned the ire of some fellow diners, as we did get quite excited at times as we exchanged notes.

Thus it went:

Course 1: Sous vide chicken with roasted pears and crispy frisée (NV) or Goat cheese and beetroot coulis with apricot chutney (V).

Wine pairing: Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay.

The sous vide chicken was tender and mild flavoured with the roasted pears and the frisée (a leafy
vegetable) adding dimension to the flavour and texture. It worked well with the classic Australian oaked Chardonnay having stone fruits and creamy disposition. My vegetarian neighbour felt similarly, even if his tangy chutney spiced it up a bit more for him.

Course 2: Spiced root soup with sour cream and onion crisps.

Wine Pairing: Continue with Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay.

This was a delectable soup - creamy, nutty and toasty. It was quite engaging with the continuing wine, shoulder to shoulder with the refreshing acidity, and the toastiness of oak. Defying conventional wisdom, soup is not a waste of time with wine.

Course 3: Salad of white asparagus, green asparagus, toasted mustard, extra virgin olive oil and greens.

Wine Pairing: Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay.

Justifying its Reserve status, the wine had more complexity while retaining the common attributes of the previous one. It was a fuller wine with a honeyed feel and a softer demeanour. All this worked well with the varying textures of the salad components.

Course 4: Red Snapper with brown butter, celeriac purée and caper crumbs (NV) or Corn Fed Chicken with parsley, cous cous, country style potatoes, eryngii and enoki (NV) or Ravioli with zucchini caponata, four cheese and cured artichoke (V).

Wine Pairing: Jacob’s Creek Shiraz Cabernet and Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz.

Curious to try two robust red varietals with fish – which is a tough pairing according to conventional wisdom – I ordered the red snapper. Had it not been for the accompaniments, the pairing would have fallen flat. But, in the overall scheme it did sail through. Both my wine buddies who had ordered the corn fed chicken and the vegetarian option seemed quite happy.
The Shiraz Cabernet was very expressive on the nose with red fruits and spice accompanied by a rounded luscious palate. It is a supple wine, effortlessly elegant on the palate. The Reserve Shiraz was the big brother with ripe black fruit flavours, pronounced oak overtones and a firmer structure.

Course 5: Cherry, Lemon and Mascarpone Tart with mulled Jacob’s Creek ice cream.

Wine Pairing: Jacob’s Creek Rose Sparkling.

The salmon-pink wine had aromas of fresh red cherries, strawberries and sliced baguette. On the palate, it was refreshing as well as creamy with mixed berry flavours. A dry wine with dessert always remains a challenge, but the fruity nature can pull it off. In my opinion, the chef approached the pairing with a great deal of insight by incorporating a wide flavour profile (sweet, sour and umami) so that it worked for the majority in some way or the other.

My biggest anticipated challenge was the service. I wondered if so many people could be taken care of at one go – one single table added one extra level of unforgiving complexity. But, the service was immaculate and extremely precise throughout.

Commenting on the launch of the series, Jacob’s Creek Reserve Table, Kartik Mohindra, Business Head – International Brands at Pernod Ricard India said, “The Jacob’s Creek Longest Reserve Table offers consumers a unique dining experience, showcasing our range of very expressive varietal wines and their versatility with various cuisines.”

It’s community dining of gastronomy enthusiasts – with the fine dining flair. If you are wondering how this might be, then the closest you can possibly get is by booking a place online at the next "Longest Reserve Table" in your city in April or book your very own ‘Reserve Table’ by making an online reservation at www.reservetableindia.com. Priced at  ₹2500 to Rs. ₹3000 per person  it promises to be good value for your money.

Buoyed by the success of the program, Kartik shared with me that following this launch, the hotels will be offering 3 course meals paired with Jacob’s Creek wines in four leading restaurants of each city. The focus will be to pair the wines with the culinary expertise of the respective chefs.

It's fine dining - la style grande!

(Published in vino india)

Interview with Miguel A Torres

Miguel Torres is a name that requires no introduction to the wine world. The Spanish winemaker that exports wine to more than 150 countries, making wines across numerous wine estates in Spain, Chile and the USA, is known for its high quality and value for money wines. I had the exclusive opportunity to interview one of my icons in the wine world, Miguel A Torres, President of Miguel Torres S.A. during a leisurely lunch at their 14th century traditional Catalan country house restored to a restaurant on the Mas Rabell estate of Torres. The chat became progressively interesting as the courses that had been exotically paired with the wines came to the table. 

It is my pleasure to share this conversation with the esteemed  readers of Guns to Gewurztraminer.

Sharing lunch with the man himself: raising a toast with Mr. Miguel A Torres

Q: Congratulations on Torres being adjudged the Most Admired Wine Brand of the World for 2014 by Drinks International magazine. What is your next milestone?

A: Thank you, any recognition coming our way is obviously delightful but we have consciously never been vying for titles. It also remains a fact that in the previous years, somebody else received this honour, and in the coming years, it may well belong to someone else. What is important for us is to sincerely keep doing what we are best at and that will be our effort.

Q: I have seen the "holy trinity" of Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel lo grapes in your estates. Yet, I am intrigued why Torres has not thought of producing Cava?

One of the expansive cellars at the Torres main winery at Pacs del Penedès

A: To tell you frankly, the first batch of Cava is ageing in our cellars as we talk. The project is being closely supervised by my daughter, Mireia, who is crafting a super-premium wine that will be released in the 1st half of 2016. We have waited all these years, as we wanted to adequately research the optimum production methods, even though we have already gained quite some experience in Chile, making the rosé sparkling "Santa Digna Estelado" from the País varietal.

Q: We are in the Mas Rabell estate, and in the vineyards I saw some varietals that do not have a name but a number. Could you please elaborate on this?

A: We have been consciously trying to revive many of the native Catalan grape varietals that have been lost into oblivion over a period of time on various accounts. They have a number, because they most probably never had a name. The collection you saw forms part of a project that we started in the eighties to recuperate “disappeared” Catalan grape varietals, some of which have their provenance in the nineteenth century.

These “disappeared” varietals were actually more or less hidden in nature, often in the middle of nowhere. Mostly, natural barriers like mountains protected them from being attacked by phylloxera for more than a century.

To identify them, we worked together with the Universities in Tarragona and Montpellier to determine whether a “lost” varietal was really unique because sometimes, it could well be that it already existed elsewhere in the world. Until today, we have discovered 32 “lost” varietals in Catalonia, but we have registered only 8 of them, because we believe that these have the potential to make a top quality wine. The latest “lost” varietal, “Querol”, was named after the municipality where it was found.

'Lost' grape varietals under revival at Torres' Mas Rabell estate

The interiors of Mas Rabell restaurant

Q: International grape varietals being increasingly cultivated in many world regions, including your own vineyards, are these native grape varietals under a threat of extinction?

A: Not at all! On the contrary, since the last thirty years, our priority has been to nurture the native grape varietals irrespective of the international varietals plantings that we also have. The aim is to protect our patrimoine (heritage) which is centuries old and I am determined to see that it is handed down to the next generations.

Q: Torres seems to emphasize sustainability. What is your vision on this and how is it implemented?

A: (Gestures the Maitre to fetch something) The whole idea is to be a nurturing custodian to the valuable resources at our disposal. We want to pass these on to the next generations - if not augmented then at least in an undepleted state. At the same time we need to be compassionate enough to give something back to the society in the present day.

(The Maitre arrives with a mounted graphic) This is our company’s DNA, describing what makes us tick as a winery, as a company. The 8 core elements are People – Ecology – Fair Trade – Giving Back to Society – Clients – R&D – Closeness to End Consumers and a Close Knit Family Company, which are self-explanatory.

You might have noticed these in some form or the other during your visit, but "Giving Back to Society" is something that I will explain. Each year we are participating in numerous social projects around the world to create better living conditions for underprivileged women and children in our society. This is through the Miguel Torres Foundation which was created in 1986 and is presided my wife, Waltraud Maczassek Torres.

In Guadalajara, Mexico we just laid the first stone for a refuge home for neglected and "at risk" girls, with a contribution of €275,000. In Anantpur, India we have contributed towards education and housing for children, and created a home for abandoned women.

Q: The Torres family revived the wine fortunes of Penedès, post phylloxera and the world wars. And boldly grew their footprint into other Spanish wine regions and overseas. Can we expect to see more expansion?

A: Internationally we have had vineyards in Chile and the US since long. In Chile, we have recently expanded to the southern part with a 200 hectare estate with a nearby river assuring water supply in Itata, which is very well suited to Cabernet Sauvignon. Chile has a favourable climate for producing organic wines as the region does not get rains in the summer, hence the absence of many vine diseases. So we are betting very strongly on Chile, and the project is being overseen by my son, Miguel Torres Maczassek.

Speaking of Spain, we have vineyards in the Denominación de Origen (denominated origins) of Penedès, Conca de Barbera, Priorat, Jumilla and Costers del Segre. Our idea is to represent the best wine areas of Spain, bringing out the uniqueness of each region. We have just bought the winery which we had hired to produce our Verdeo wine from Verdejo varietal in Rueda. In Rias Baixas in the Galicia region, my daughter Mireia, is progressing very well with our project of Albariño wine called "Pazo das Bruxas".

Q: You have been doing business in India since 2001 and have a unique partnership with Prestige Wines & Spirits. The Indian wine industry has recently seen some international giants like Moët Hennessey set up local ventures. Could we possibly expect to see a Torres footprint in India?

A: The fact that every state of India has different rules related to the alcohol trade is a major hindrance, and maybe it is time to change to promote healthy competition that will eventually benefit the local wine industry. It is difficult to make long-term predictions, but the basic premise of our production philosophy is "Focus". We prefer to stay committed to the regions where we are already present. We would not want to start producing wines in every possible region of the world. Even within Spain, we will not venture into the most famous fortified wine, Sherry.

(This interview has been published as lead story in the inaugural issue of wine newsletter vino india - news views and reviews from the market for wine in India -launched this month)

Wines sampled in the luncheon  with Mr. Miguel A Torres (laid out in the sequence of food courses from L-R)

(Main Course) Iberian pork tenderloin with plum sauce served with Cordillera Cariñena 2009  wine was a gourmet delight