At Soak in south Delhi, Ravi Bajaj has attempted to create a bar with a traditional Parisian feel Pix: Jagan Negi

Are you a wine-lover in search of a new experience? Would you like to step into a bar and be confronted by a head-swirling choice of reds and whites or even champagne that has a mean sparkle to it?

Walk into Soak, the smart new watering-hole, launched by ace designer Ravi Bajaj. Quietly classy is the watchword here from the dim lighting to the wooden floors. If you’d like to take a comfortable seat, settle into the claret-red high-back sofa. Or, if you’d rather be closer to the action hop onto the bar stools lined up alongside the granite counter or gather around at one of the tables.

“You have to talk to people in a language that they understand. And nothing does it better than a wine bar,” says Bajaj, who has opened the new bar in the space between his café and his flagship store in New Delhi’s happening Greater Kailash market.

If you’re in search of a similar wine-loving experience in Mumbai beat a path to the newly-opened The Den in Bandra, which has been decked up to resemble a traditional wine bar with wooden interiors and wooden cask tables. Ornamental barrels are even carved in its walls.

Wine-drinking is still in its infancy in this country and the average Indian is happier with whiskys or vodkas. But as wine drinking catches on amongst the smart set, a clutch of wine bars is opening to cater to their sophisticated tastes.

The Ivy Wine Cafe and Bistro in Worli and Versova serves only wines from the Chateau Indage vineyards Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

They are not your average watering holes, filled to bursting point with a boisterous crowd and reverberating to the beat of over-loud music. Here you can expect an evening of mellow music and conversations punctuated by sips of wine.

“We’re hoping to attract women to come to the bar,” says Gaurish Rangnekar, who started The Den with partner Santosh Mayeker early this year in February.

Bajaj also hopes to attract a smart clientele and more than a smattering of women. So far he has deliberately kept the bar low-profile and not publicised it heavily. And he has attempted to give the 45-seater bar, which opened to wine lovers in December, a traditional Parisian feel — and to promote the concept that wine is an any-time-of-the-day drink.

Promoting the culture of wine-drinking was one key reason why the Chateau Indage group opened its Ivy Wine Café and Bistro at Worli and Versova in Mumbai. On the ceiling are maps with the best wine producing regions of the world marked boldly. And in one corner there’s something called a Wine Aroma Wheel that aims to help novice drinkers to identify the flavours they are sipping.

Enoteca, the wine library, at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai offers 350 carefully selected labels for its guests Pix: Gajanan Dqudhalkar

The wine cocktails at The Den in Bandra, started by co-owners Santosh Mayekar (left) and Gaurish Rangnekar, are a must-try

Chateau Indage, which is in financial trouble, also runs slightly different family-oriented format bar-cum-restaurants — the Ivy Family Restaurant and Wine Bar in Pune, Narayangaon, Solapur and Nasik. “The urban and rural formats allow us to reach across to a wide audience but what differs at the café and the rural bars are the kind of food we offer to pair with the wines,” says Amogh Aundhekar, manager, operations, Ivy.

At a much more upmarket level, there’s The Bar, a wine and single malt bar, at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. Meanwhile at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai, there’s Enoteca — the name is Italian for a wine library or repository. “Enoteca is an interactive space really where we let guests browse through the selection of wines and choose their wine of choice by grape, region, or country,” says Kaustuv Roy, assistant food and beverage manager.

One advantage for a wine-lover or even a novice, of stepping inside a wine bar is that there are obviously plenty of labels to choose from. At the 5-star hotels you are spoilt for choice — The Bar at the Grand Hyatt offers 250 labels. “Our extensive wine menu boasts of French and Italian wines as well as new world wines from Australia and New Zealand,” says Ojas Vagal, bar manager at The Bar.

By contrast, at Soak, Bajaj is starting slow with 40-odd labels including several Indian ones. He plans to pick up more exclusive bottles from wine auctions in the near future. Bajaj is focusing more on the New World wines as they pair well with the kind of food he offers at Le Café.

At the top of the house at Soak, some wines like the 2008-vintage Wildekrans Pinotage from South Africa priced at Rs 4,800 and the well-known Pol Roger Brut Champagne at Rs 12,500 are sold only by the bottle. But if you’re geared up for wine by the glass, you can have a Grover Cabernet Shiraz at Rs 300 or try sips of the Santa Rita Cabernet from Chile, pegged at Rs 800.

And The Den with its oak cask tables, brickwork and wooden wine cellars in Bandra is stocked up by owner Rangnekar who acquired knowledge about wines while spending time in South Africa. He offers 65 labels including expensive wines like Bon Terra (California), Hill and Dale (South Africa), Dorres (Spain) and Gabriel Mersse (France) that come for around Rs 4,000 per bottle and on the other hand there are Indian Sulas at Rs 900.

Affordability is also the mantra at The Den where you can get a bottle of Moet Chandon Champagne for Rs 6,500, which might cost you upto Rs 8,000 elsewhere. At a slightly more down-to-earth level, a glass of Californian white wine might cost Rs 380 and a French white wine could come for just Rs 300.

But The Den’s forte are its wine and champagne cocktails. Its signature cocktail is the Lion’s Favourite (a gorgeous-maned lion is The Den’s mascot) that is whisked together with a mix of champagne, hazelnuts and vanilla.

The Ivy Wine Cafe and Bistro in Worli and Versova serves only wines from the Chateau Indage vineyards Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

The wine bars are different from most regular pubs and bars in that they also offer a small selection of food. Bajaj has a tapas menu which is prepared at his own restaurant Le Café which is on the floor above the bar. Other light bites that are served up include Parma ham served with Ciabatta bread and fish cubes with mango and coriander salsa. “I want to make wine drinking a fun affair,” says Bajaj.

The Den offers more elaborate fare. A full five-course of European cuisine —including the best of steaks, pork chops and cheese platter — is available to match the wines it stocks.

At the Enoteca — which offers about 350 wines — the menu card offers a spectacular fine dining experience that was put together after intensive research and several visits to Italy by chefs Hemant Oberoi and Nabhojit Ghosh. You could try the squid ink spaghetti served with mixed seafood or at a more mundane level, the fried mini pizzas. “There are tasting menus to go with the finest of Italian, French and New World wines,” says Kaustuv Roy, assistant food and beverage manager.

Should these bars serve more than just wine? Sommelier Magandeep Singh reckons that wine bars should limit themselves and go exclusively with wines. But, in practice, both Soak and The Bar have discovered that they have to serve a limited selection of other spirits.

“Look at it this way. A group of friends come in and some of them want a beer or a vodka to start off the evening. If they do not get what they want, they will go to another bar. Who loses?” points out Bajaj. He say that the other spirits help revenues and enable him to offer some wines at a reduced price.

Indians being relatively new to wines, these bars have to occasionally throw in the educational element. The Ivy Wine Café has its Aroma Wheel and its maps and The Den is planning to bring in a sommelier from the Cape Wine Academy in South Africa in June to offer tasting lessons.

Bajaj is also planning to bring sommeliers for two-day wine appreciation sessions. “If you don’t offer education I do not think you are a wine bar,” says Bajaj. “Imagine what a fascinating study it is to tell one wine from another, to know the notes. Wine is about indulgence and has its nuances just like fashion or anything good does,” he adds.

The idea is not to be pedantic about wine, but yet spread know-how of wine. At the Grand Hyatt, Vagal offers 30ml tasters of the wine one chooses. Says Vagal: “If you do not like that particular wine then we offer you an alternative. Of course we cannot do the same with outrageously expensive wines.”

Since the Indian public is still uneducated about wines the bartender is often asked for words of advice. Magandeep Singh’s reckons that the bartender or the sommelier plays a crucial role in the choice of wine bars. “Just make sure you go where you can trust the in-house sommelier and where you can trust the prices,” is his most crucial tip.

Drinking wine is still a minority taste in India. But the new bars are offering a combination of good wine, good food and a smart sophisticated ambience. Surely, that’s a good reason to raise your glass, take a sip and offer a toast to the new culture in the making.