What: The Taj International Vine and Food Experience
When: March 4, 12.30pm to 4pm for lunch and the masterclasses; 7.30pm onwards for the grand dinner
Where: Taj Bengal
Entry: The limited seats can be booked by emailing afzal.khan@tajhotels.com and vikram.chaudhuri@tajhotels.com. 
Pocket pinch: Rs 2,200 per person for lunch and four masterclasses, Rs 3,000-plus per person and Rs 5,000-plus per couple for the grand dinner.

Taj Bengal Kolkata is back with its fifth edition of The Taj International Vine and Food Experience with almost 20 wines covering around 10 wine-producing regions of the world. This year, the Calcutta-bred event will also visit Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.  

“Taj Bengal has pioneered this event, which has been warmly accepted across several cities over the years. It is a festival of wine and food to savour and also to learn from. While we shall have expert wine-makers and sommeliers taking sessions on interesting wine subjects, we shall also showcase the best of international cuisine coupled with wines that complement them,” said Samrat Datta, general manager, Taj Bengal.

“The sessions and the wines that we are serving are all very different from the last four years and there’s something to learn for everyone. We have tried to cover the old wines as well as the new world ones — a mix of new and old,” said sommelier Keith W. Edgar, curator of the event. 

With wines from countries like France, Italy, New Zealand, India and Argentina, there’s something for everyone!

 

The low-down

LUNCH: The day kicks off with a scrumptious lunch at the Crystal Hall, featuring a specially-crafted menu. Load up on the food before diving into the wine world with a live counter for salads and gnocchi. The pasta fare includes Camembert and Roasted Garlic Tortellini and Whole Wheat Conchiglie with Saffron Cheese Sauce, Basil Pesto, Pilati Tomato and Sage Brown Butter. Non-vegetarian mains include Garlic-flavoured Char Grilled Chicken Morsels with Harissa Aioli; English Fish and Chips, Malted Vinegar and Lemon Wedges Tartare Sauce; and Gremolata-crusted Braised Lamb Shanks and Creamed Polenta. Vegetarian mains include Roasted Baby Root Vegetable, Toasted Cumin, Parmesan Shavings; Spinach and Ricotta Multigrain Crepselle, Chunky Pomodoro Sauce and Philadelphia Cream. Finish off on a sweet note with desserts such as Alphonso Baked Cheese Cake and Chocolate Pecan Pie with Hazelnut Ice Cream and exotic fruits. 

Lunch is followed by four masterclasses on wine:

1 New World vs Old by Count John Salvi, master of wine, and Keith W. Edgar where they will discuss the differences between new and old world wines using Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and France to explore the variations of style. 

2 Indigenous Grape Varieties by Vishal Kadakia of The Wine Park, Mumbai, where three white indigenous grapes — Vermentino from Tuscany, Torrontes from Argentina and Garganega from Italy — will be tasted. 

3 Pink is the New Black by third-generation wine-maker with Grover Zampa, Karishma Grover, where she will discuss the rise of the rose and the popularity and versatility of rose wines. 

4 Bordeaux, Left vs Right with Count John Salvi where the tastes from the left and right banks of Bordeaux — one of the most famous wine regions of the world — will be compared.  

GRAND DINNER: The grand dinner starts at 7.30pm at the Taj poolside lawn, where you can expect a champagne reception with a multi-course dinner paired with some of the best wines from the visiting wineries. Champagne will do the rounds that can be enjoyed with small bites such as Tandoori Baby Potatoes, Canadian Seared Scallop and South-western Veal Tacos. The sit-down dinner will start with Heirloom Beet Tartare as amuse-bouche before the wine-pairings begin. A buffet-spread of sweet notes include Sea Salt Caramel Mille Feuille, Apple Cinnamon Pie, Tiramisu Nostrano and Chocolate Chilli Parfait, washed down with a Late Harvest wine. Cognac and Andre Garcia cigars will also be a part of the evening.  

The pairings include:

1 Smoked Chevre with a Sauvignon Blanc.
2 Roasted Squash, Provolone and Pine Nut Cannelloni or Lobster Ravioli with a Chardonnay.
3 Cottage Cheese Roulade or Gandharaj Fish Tikka with a Rose.
4 Marinated Eggplant Loaded with Vegetable Ratatouille or Lavender Honey-glazed Duck Breast with a Syrah.
5 Duo Asparagus Charlotte or Grass-fed Lamb Loin with an IGT Red.

Masterclasses

Looking forward to visiting Calcutta for the first time, helping to promote wines and the knowledge of wines. I will discuss the iconic region of Bordeaux, which has been making wines for over 2,000 years and today, making wines better than they ever have been before — Count John Salvi, master of wine.

The wine world has thousands of grape varietals in both white and red wines grown across several countries and subregions of the world. Still the wine world is ruled by a handful of grape varietals, which are drunk again and again leaving exploration of some great wines of indigenous grapes a distant dream. The will to experiment comes with a bit of knowledge. I look forward to the masterclass where I get an opportunity to expose three locals grapes from Italy and Argentina to the Indian palate — Vishal Kadakia, proprietor, The Wine Park, Mumbai.

We are excited to be a part of the International Food and Vine Experience. As we celebrate 25 years of wine-making, the masterclass will showcase our award-winning Shiraz Rose, which we were the first in India to produce 
— Karishma Grover of Grover Zampa.