If you are interested in wine, prepare yourself for a world of confusing terms, an unbelievable number of wines and glasses — and a certain amount of snobbery. It’s like the culinary equivalent of golf. It is an infectious, all-consuming passion, which can turn into an expensive habit!
Wine is becoming increasingly popular the world over. In countries like France and Italy, wine is as much a part of the culture as good food. It is second nature. It is talked about and sipped with all meals (except, maybe, breakfast!). These wines are identified by the region rather than the grape. Much fuss is made about the bouquet, the vintage, the finish, the palate, the nose and the body with notes of fruit, flowers and things which are supposed to make us understand the wine better. Countries relatively new to wine drinking and wine making have equipped themselves with more savvy marketing sense and have made their wines more approachable in terms of styles and names, putting the name of the grape boldly on the label. A smart move that has worked to sell volumes and gain popularity the world over.
A spirited step
In Asia, wine is neither cheap nor easily accessible nor part of our culture; neither is whisky, brandy or beer, but we drink plenty of those! Today, the Japanese are welcoming Beaujolais Nouveau and the Singaporeans are tucking into Chilli Crab with champagne. In India, we have a huge advantage. We actually grow our own grapes and produce our own wines with the help of experts from Italy and France. With time and experience, many of our homegrown wineries are producing world-class wines today.
Ours is a new industry, a 35-year-old baby compared to European countries where wine has been produced for hundreds of years. Although the vines have been imported from Europe, wine grapes grown in the tropics have different characteristics than their old-world counterparts. Our wines made from grapes grown in the sun have a light, fruity suppleness and persistent finish which pair effortlessly with our food, unless it is very spicy, when nothing pairs except water!
The best of 2017
I am constantly on the lookout for good Indian wines. I like to support our own wine industry and the efforts of our winemakers and, as a member of the former Indian Grape Processing Board, it is also something about which I am passionate. The trouble with Indian wines is consistency. You taste something great one day and the next bottle you buy is quite different. I have been drinking Indian wines for over 25 years and they have really come of age. From Bosca in the ’80s to many more-than-drinkable wines from Nashik, Akluj and Bangalore, it’s been a stunning journey. Here’s my pick of the best for 2017.
Reveilo: Managed by Yatin and Kiran Patil with the help of Italian know-how and technology, and an Italian winemaker, Andrea Valentinuzzi. They produce an army of red and white wines that are young and tropical in nature and an excellent representation of the new generation’s aspirations. Two of my favourite wines from their stables are their white Grillo made from a Sicilian grape grown by them in Nashik and their red Nero d’Avola, another Sicilian grape.
Grover: One of the earliest players in India, Kanwal Grover had told me how he showed his first wine samples made from French vines in Bangalore to the famous oenologist Michel Rolland in the washroom of a three-star Michelin restaurant in Paris! He dared not open the samples on the dining table and so had to take the mystified Rolland to the men’s room! Known internationally as “the flying winemaker”, Rolland approved and has since then been advising Grover and coming to India every year. La Reserve from Grover was path-breaking for its time. Their young whites, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc, are great with Indian seafood. Grover has now teamed up with Zampa in Maharashtra for distribution.
Chateau Indage: Started by Shamrao Chougule in the ’70s with vines planted on the slopes of Narayangaon in Maharashtra. They have a state-of-the-art winery with a French winemaker, and barrels of promise. Their wines were everywhere 10 years ago and anyone over 40 will remember their amazing Marquise de Pompadour bubbly as much for the quality as the name, and the lovely sparkling rosé Millennium created in 2000. What happened? They stopped production for a few years because of various financial issues but I hear they are back in business with Shamrao’s son Ranjit at the helm and will be relaunching this year.
Sula: I was at one of the earliest tastings of Sula whites when Kerry Damskey, their American winemaker, showed off his early trials along with founder Rajeev Samant at the family home in Mumbai. Nearly 20 years later, the Stanford graduate has taken the company to another level and is said to have 70 per cent market share in India. They have a huge portfolio of wines produced on their estates in Nashik. They can be credited with making Dindori famous and introducing the Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Riesling varieties to the area. They also distribute an impressive range of imported wines and Remy Cointreau spirits. They have an iconic festival in Nashik held once a year and were the forerunners in wine tourism in Nashik. Their bubby — classic and rosé — are lovely any time of the day.
Rio: Unpretentious and with a clear business strategy, Ashwin Rodrigues came back from studying winemaking in Adelaide to create Good Drop Wine Cellars in Nashik. His mission was clear — to produce reasonable quality, reasonably priced, fruity, sparkling wine, comparable with Babycham, popular in the UK in the ’60s and ’70s as a “glamorous drink for women”. Rio’s aim is more “party than posh” and hopes to become the easy drinking solution for today’s party girls. He has also bought over a premium wine brand called Good Earth wine.
KRSMA: A boutique winery started by Hyderabadis Uma Chigurupati and Krishna Prasad who had a pharmaceutical company. Their estates are in Hampi, otherwise famous as a heritage site. Like Fratelli and Reveilo, they also produce a stunning Sangiovese. These wines are only available in the South as of now. Look out for their distinctive, heavy reserve-shaped bottles.
Charosa: Started in 2013, the Nashik winery floored me with its excellent wines as soon as they hit the market. Sad to say that they are less visible today. They produce a superb Sauvignon Blanc as well as a Reserve Tempranillo. If you can find a bottle of either or both, my advice is to stock up.
Fratelli: Fratelli means ‘brothers’ in Italian and was started in 2006 by two Indian families and an Italian family. I met Kapil Sekhri and Alessio Secci, the two working arms of the business, recently at their 240-acre estate in Akluj near Solapur in Maharashtra. Why Akluj? Their Tuscan winemaker, Piero Masi, studied the soil and weather and decided that the conditions at Akluj were most favourable for grape growing and mostly resembled his native Chianti. They also own their vineyards and don’t believe in contract farming, a model most Nashik winemakers follow. This gives them greater control of the grapes, when to pick and what kind of wine to make every year. When Fratelli wines first launched, I must say I wasn’t impressed. Just nine years later, they are producing some of the best wines in the country.
At the top of their stable is a powerful Tuscan-style red called Sette, conceived and made by their winemaker Piero Masi. Steven Spurrier, international wine expert and consulting editor of Decanter magazine, calls it the first iconic wine of India comparable with Opus One in California.
What I also love about Fratelli wines is their range. From the Rs 270, easy-drinking white Sidus, through to the mid-range crispy Chardonnays to more sophisticated and higher range M/S white, a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc aimed at the feminine palate... they all work. Their Cabernet Franc-Shiraz and delicious blended M/S Red have no smoky ‘Nashik nose’. They taste and behave like international wines.
Sekhri says his aim was to make “disruptive”, not mainstream, wines and I think, in a short 10 years, they have certainly achieved that. The Indian wine producer to look out for in 2017.
Big Banyan: Produced by John Distilleries group, a big name in spirits from the South. Big Banyan are easy drinking wines made in Goa with Nashik grapes and sold mainly in Goa and South India. Easy to drink and easy on the pocket.
Vallonne: The Maharashtra-based winemaker’s late harvest dessert wine, Vin de Passerillage, made with sun-dried Chenin Blanc grapes, is the one to go for.
Myra: It hit the Bombay market with a bang a few years ago, especially when Nikhil Agarwal of All Things Nice was behind their promotions. However, I haven’t seen them around for a while. Their reds, in particular the Reserve Shiraz, is an excellent buy at Rs 800.
York: The Gurnani brothers have a beautiful wine estate in Nashik. They produce a wide range of easy drinking wines. However, their sparkling Cuvee Brut is the one to go for.
FAQS FOR THE BUDDING WINE DRINKER
What should I serve wine in?
Glass is best. This is because glass is odourless, taking away nothing from the aroma and the bouquet of the wine. Glass, also being clear, allows us to properly determine the true colour of the wine. The glass should have a reasonably long stem to allow you to comfortably hold it and twirl it. The twirling movement excites the wine to active life, opening up its bouquet, thereby revealing its personality. Always hold the glass from the base or the stem.
How should I store a bottle of wine?
Whether it be a white, red, rosé, even sparkling wine, always store a bottle lying down, horizontally. This ensures the wine stays in contact with the cork, keeping it moist rather than dry. Otherwise, air will penetrate the bottle and prematurely age the wine. Nowadays with screw caps this seems to matter less.
Must I finish the whole bottle once it is opened?
Only if you are very thirsty. Otherwise wines, once opened, can go back to the fridge very happily for a couple of days. Bubbly, of course, loses some sparkle, but wine stoppers do work. Once you open a screw-capped wine bottle, you can empty leftover wine into a well-washed small glass bottle with a tight screw cap leaving no gap for any air. The wine generally lasts a week or so like this in a fridge. With a traditional cork bottle, you will have to consume the wine very quickly after opening.
What is ‘room temperature’?
We often hear that wines should be served at ‘room temperature’. To find out more about what this blessed ‘room temperature’ is, we have to first locate the room! The room in question is Europe some 300 years ago, during winter, without modern electric heating except for a log fire blazing away. The temperature would have been around 16 to 20 degrees Celsius in that dining room. Accordingly, red wines should be served cool, not in our tropical room temperature, which is around 30 degrees Celsius. To coax the red wine down to this temperature, simply put it in the lower part of the fridge for an hour; or if you have left it there overnight take the bottle out and stand it for an hour before serving.
What kind of glasses should I serve different wines in?
Generally, bigger glasses for reds and tulips (standard wine glasses) for whites. Champagnes can be served in flutes (tall, long, thin wine glasses) or tulips. Never serve champagne in champagne saucers. This is completely outdated and does nothing for the champagne. Cut glass and cut crystal are not for real wine drinkers.
Where should I store a bottle of wine?
Try and store in a cool, dark place (like the bottom of a cupboard) wrapped in newspaper to keep the temperature constant, without moving them around too much. If they have corks, lie them down horizontally. A huge asset if you intend to buy expensive wines is a temperature and humidity-controlled wine cooler or wine conditioner, both now available in India.
What does a good vintage mean?
A vintage where wine is concerned means production in one particular year and usually bottled in a single batch so that each bottle has a similar taste. Climate affects wine-producing areas enormously to the extent that wines are occasionally not made in certain areas if the producer feels that the vintage won’t be good. Wine from a good vintage can fetch much higher prices than the same wine from the same area or even the same producer another year.
How do you know when a wine has gone off?
Many first-time wine drinkers are put off drinking wine for life by bad wine. Wine is a living thing. There are several things which can make a bottle of wine go bad. The most common problem is a “corked wine”. This results in a musty, mildew smell and is often caused by compounds in the cork which react with compounds in the wine. It often also occurs with poorly made corks. Oxidisation is another common fault. Your white wine will change to amber in colour and the wine will smell like a bad dry sherry. This is often caused by bad handling and poor storage. The first thing to look out for when tasting a wine is the colour — the hue and intensity. Then smell it. This requires some amount of experience. If at this initial stage you feel something is wrong and you are not enjoying the experience, don’t drink it.
Karen Anand is a culinary consultant, food writer and entrepreneur.
In recent times her name has been synonymous with farmers’ markets.
Follow her on Facebook @karenanand
