La Batalla del Vino

June 29, 2012. In India and in most other parts of the world today is just another Friday that began when you rolled over in your bed, cursed the alarm and hoped you could skip ahead to the weekend. Let me tell you what you should have been hoping for instead. To be in Haro. ‘What that’, you ask?

Haro is the capital of La Rioja, one of Spain’s largest wine-producing regions. Here, June 29 is the celebration of the patron saint San Pedro. As all holy days must, it begins with a solemn mass on the mount of Bilibio, with thousands of believers dressed in pristine white. Then the mass ends and the madness begins. Or as Haro calls it, La Batalla del Vino (The Battle of Wines).

Picture credit: http://www.tempratantrum.com

Armed with jugs, buckets, wineskins, crop sprayers, boots or almost anything that will hold wine, the objective is to squirt red wine at everyone around. So people douse, defend, dance and when they’re tired, drink. In Haro, the more red there is running down the street, the better. Over 50,000 gallons of Rioja wines transform the sea of white to translucent and then purple as it dries. And you thought wet T-shirt competitions were fun. Juvenile!

So today if you’re wondering what you’re missing, this is it. And if that isn’t bad enough, think of all that Spanish wine that’s going to waste as you sit toiling away at your desk. Makes you want to cry, doesn’t it?

2012 #SauvBlanc Day

Kailash Gurnani

 

 

Today, June 21 is International #SauvBlanc Day 2012.

I asked Kailash Gurnani, winemaker at York Winery in Nasik, to give us a little education in this green skinned grape variety. Kailash has spent four and a half years studying winemaking in Australia and completed his Bachelor of Oenology degree from the University of Adelaide. Prior to joining the family winery business, he worked at Hardys Tintara and Domaine Chandon in Australia and then 3 months in Cyprus. This 23-year-old is possibly India’s youngest qualified winemaker and goes by @desiwinemaker on twitter.

 

 

 

 

Sauvignon blanc grapes | Pic credit: Wikipedia

The Sauvignon Blanc:

The recent success of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand has brought this French wine grape variety back in fashion. This is one of those varieties that requires a minimalistic winemaking approach. It is also a very delicate grape variety and wine to handle in the winery. However, the right approach and care at the right time can give great results. Some producers around the world ferment this wine in oak barrels while the majority stick to fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The barrel ferment technique method of making Sauvignon Blanc has for some reason not yet found its way to India. Perhaps because this is not yet a very popular wine in India.

Sauvignon Blancs (SBL) mostly have green herbaceous (this is a characteristic flavour of SBL) or sweet tropical flavours. Very few winemakers aim for the excessively herbaceous style with some of the best SBLs from the world being more tropical, fresh and elegant.

SBL in India:

SBL hasn’t gained a strong following in India yet. (It is a slow moving wine). Most of the wines the county has had in the past were more on the green/herbaceous side. This was partly due to poor vineyard management, high yields, excess crop load and early harvesting. However with time and better knowledge of Indian viticulture & climate, we’ve been able to make wines with better balance and more ripe tropical flavours.

It is typical for some SBL wines in India to have high alcohol content. The quest to achieve ripe tropical flavours in the vineyard sometimes results in higher alcohol wines. (Also, because of the onset of summer, the ripening of the grapes gets accelerated towards the end. So too ripe = too much sugar = high alcohol in wine.)

SauvBlanc 2012 at York: 

This year at York, I have tried to stay away from aggressive herbaceous flavours as it can make the wine repulsive. Keeping in mind the potential alcohol content in the final wine, the grapes were allowed to stay in the vineyard a little longer with some sun exposure in the canopy. This helped me achieve floral and tropical flavours on the nose with subtle herbaceous characters coming through on the palate.

Join the festivities:

When you uncork your SauvBlanc today, tweet with the hashtag #SauvBlanc. For more information http://2012sauvblancday.eventbrite.com/

Old-Fashioned, New Style

Food and Nightlife magazine, June 2012

Vallonné Vineyards Winemaker’s dinner

On Tuesday night (February 22) Vallonné Vineyards hosted a winemaker’s dinner at Bungalow 9 in Bandra.  A very intimate affair, Vallonne’s winemaker Marie Barbé took us through their range of wines and Chef Rajeev Basak put together a special menu to be paired with the wines. I’ve been planning to try Vallonne’s wines and the food at Bungalow 9 for a while now and the winemaker’s dinner was the perfect time.

Vallonne wines are created at their 20 acre Nasik estate which is nestled amidst the Sahyadri hills and extends to the beautiful Mukne dam. Shailendra Pai, who set up Vallonne in 2007, has several years of experience in the wine industry and chose to bring on board Marie Barbé who brought with her an expertise in wine-making from Bordeaux.

The first course was warm brie cheese melt with roasted sweet peppers paired with Vallonne’s 2011 Rose. The Rose made of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes is vibrant and fresh. With notes of cherry, plum, melons, berries, a crisp acidity and a refreshing finish, it is easily one of the best Indian Rose wines I’ve tasted to date. With just 3,600 bottles of their first vintage, Shailendra Pai said that this is currently their best selling wine.

The second course: Merlot 2010 paired with grilled roulade of chicken breast, red pepper cous cous with vinaigrette of the deliciously flavourful argan oil. The dish also paired well with the Sauvignon Blanc 2010 which has flavours of melon, gooseberry and freshly cut grass. The wine is very fresh, almost no sugars and a good acidity.

For the main course, Chef Rajeev wowed us all with his Cabernet braised lamb with garlic mash, cabbage and sautéed bacon. Lamb and bacon – divine. This was paired with Cabernet Sauvignon Classique 2010 which has flavours of spices and blackberry.

Loved Aneesh Bhasin's tweet

Of course after such an exquisite meal we had to finish with a bang. And Chef’s signature single origin chocolate Madagascar ice cream with rosemary, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt is the bomb! Enough to make anyone keep going back to Bungalow 9 over and over again. And when it is paired with Vallonne’s dessert wine Vin de Passerillage 2011 it is only that much better.

Barbé educated us about the process of Passerillage which is the shrivelling the grapes. For the Vallonné  dessert wine, Chenin grapes were suspended on a wire for three weeks to facilitate evaporation and concentrate the sugars. This year the grapes will be dried in nets and Barbé even plans to oak the 2012 vintage. We’ll just have to wait to see how that turns out. Going by all the other wines I tasted that night, it is definitely something to be excited about.

Picture courtesy: Vallonne vineyards

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Related articles:

http://www.cntraveller.in/content/wine-vine-and-food

Kala Ghoda Wine Festival Feb 11-12

It is the season of wine fests. First York Live, then Sulafest and now the Kala Ghoda Wine Festival.

And all the wine loving Mumbaikars who couldn’t make it to Nasik, can try an array of Indian and some imported wines at Rampart Row, Kala Ghoda on February 11 and 12, 2012.

I haven’t been to any of the earlier editions, but from what I’ve heard this is one of the more awaited wine shows in the city.

Here’s a list of the participants:

Imported Wines:

• Wine Stores – wines from different wine regions of France.
• Kiara Wines – wines from different regions of Italy, Spain and USA
• Ixora Vineyards – wines from Chile, Australia, France and Italy
• UB Spirits / Kingfisher –  wines from South Africa
• Tabuni Gvino – wines from the virgin and traditional regions of Georgia – world’s oldest wine producing country

Indian Wines:

• Valle de Vin (Zampa & One Tree Hill)
• Pernod Ricard India (Nine Hills)
• Vintage Wines (Reveilo)
• Vinsura Vineyards (Vinsura)
• Kiara Wines (launching new range under the brand Salvaj and Pimpali)

At the AIWPA common stall-

• Redwing Wines
• India Food Wine Company
• Rajdheer Wines
• Flamingo Wines
• Renaissance Wines
• Empire Wines
• Prathemesh wines
• Mercury Winery

Cheeses

Various types of artisan cheeses will be paired with wines at the festival. You can also find vegetarian and non-vegetarian table cheeses from Italy, France, Switzerland and India.

Schedule

Inauguration on Feb 11 at 2.00pm by Bindu Malhotra, President of Terroir One (Mumbai Chapter of the Delhi Wine Club) and Sonal Holland, Wine educator, consultant and writer.

Feb 11 & Feb 12 (both days)

4.00 – 4.30pm: Nupur Joshi, Mixologist – Talk on creative, refreshingly different ways to enjoy wines. Easy to make delicious wine-based cocktails or “winetails”.

5.00 – 5.30pm: Omkar Phadke, Wine expert – Talk on types and styles of wine; what to assess in a wine; six famous red and white wine grape varietals; how to taste wine; how to open, store and serve wine correctly.

3.00 pm & 6.30 – 10pm: Grape Stomping 

6.30pm onward: Karaoke and music

Feb 12 at 3.00pm Special talk by Prahlad Kakkar, Ad-Guru, connoisseur of fine wines and Vice President of Terroir One.

Prahlad Kakkar Vice President Terroir One at the 2011 Fest

 

 

Dates: February 11 and 12, 2012

Timing:  12.00 noon-10.30 pm

Venue: Rampart Row Kala Ghoda, Mumbai.

Passes: Rs. 450 + taxes till mid-night on Friday

Rs. 550 + taxes at the venue

Bookings: mumbaiwinefest.in

Contact:  +91 22 65222244

A look at York Live 2012

This post is a little overdue. On  January 21, 2012 York Winery celebrated its second edition of the wine and music festival called York Live.

My first visit to the festival and I have to say, it was a blast. York’s quality wines combined with a well organised event and a truly stunning musical line-up, this is one party  no one wanted to leave.

Even though the music started after a delay of a couple of hours, Something Relevant, in true form, set the mood for what would be a great night ahead. I really enjoyed Nepali singer-songwriter Ayush Shrestha’s set too. He’s also performing at Sulafest next week so am looking forward to hearing him again.  Finally ShriLektric and headliner Karsh Kale ended the night with a bang. They managed to get everyone on their feet, crowding in front of the stage, asking for more.

Karsh Kale @ York Live

Another great thing about York Live was the pricing of the wine and beer (Budweiser cans @ Rs.150).  The York wines were very reasonable, nicely chilled and oh so good! Everyone started the day with a glass in their hands and ended it sipping straight out of  bottles. My choice for the night was the Sauvignon Blanc, but I brought back with me  bottles of Zinfandel Blush (Rosé) 2009, Reserve Shiraz 2009, Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and Chenin Blanc 2009 to stock up the cabinet at home. There was quite a variety of food counters set up too serving everything from pasta to kebabs to dosa.

Price list @ York Live

Unfortunately, the festival wasn’t as well attended as expected. The 600-700 visitors that did make their way to Nashik were treated to a tour of the winery by York Winery owner Ravi Gurnani and Nikhil Agarwal of All Things Nice.  I’m hoping word gets around before next year’s installment to make it a bigger success, because just as Ravi envisioned it, York Live really is a celebration of all the good things in life.

See more York Live pictures here

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Sulafest 2012: All you need to know

The annual wine and music festival is back and for the first time Sulafest will be a two day event.

Artist lineup: Now in its fifth edition, it will feature Nitin Sawhney, world-class producer, songwriter, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, orchestral composer and cultural pioneer. This will be Sawhney’s first performance in India. Other acts you can look forward to – BLACKSTRATBLUES feat Nikhil D’Souza, REGGAE RAJAHS feat Cali P Steppa Style, ETIENNE MBAPPÉ & Su La Také, Papon and The East India Company, Ankur and The Ghalat Family, Soulmate and Dualist Inquiry.

Food stalls: Little Italy, Maroosh and Amore.

Drink up: Sula’s made sure there are even options for the non-wine drinkers. Last year there was quite a bit of Kingfisher doing the rounds. This time round apart from the Sula wines there will be Asahi, Budweiser, Mount Gay, Cointreau, Remy Martin, The Balvenie and Hendricks Gin at the bar.

Extras: Shop at the Sulafest Bazaar, indulge in foot massages, go a little crazy with tattoos and get down and dirty with some grape stomping.

Every year Sulafest promises to be bigger and better than the one before, and it usually lives up to its promise. The only sore point (as visitors) – it  gets more crowded each year. I’m hoping the decision to have it across two days will take care of that, with the population divided between both days. I also hear that the festival will be spread across more space, so fingers crossed!

Save the date for 4th and 5th February 2012 between 12.30pm – 10pm at the Sula Vineyards in Nashik.

Passes: Two day pass – Rs. 1800. One day pass (4th or 5th) – Rs. 1,000.

Pass booking:

• Bookmyshow.com (only two day passes available)
• Mumbai – Rhythm House, Furtado’s (Andheri and Malad), The Blue Frog
• Pune – 11 East Street Cafe, Swigs @ Prems
• Nashik – Tasting Room, Sula Vineyards

Where to stay: If you’re lucky, you might still find place at Sula’s resort called Beyond which is a few minutes away from the vineyard. Other places to stay in Nashik:

• Ginger Hotels, Near Satpur MIDC Police Station, Nashik Trimbakeshwar Road, Ph: +91 253 661 633
• Hotel Express Inn, Pathardi Phata, Mumbai Agra Road, Ph: +91-253-2227777, 0253 6641111
• The Gateway Hotel, MIDC Ambad, Mumbai – Agra Road, Ph: 91-253-6603344
• VITS – formerly Kamats Hotel Siddharth, Nasik-Pune road, Nasardi bridge, Ph: 0253- 6636900 / 6636901 /6636999 / 2418516
• Rama Heritage, Next to Kalika Mata Mandir near Mumbai Naka,  Ph: (91)-(253)-25531589

Check the Sulafest  website for other queries or leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Hope to see you there.

YORK LIVE 2.0

The York Winery:

Located in the Ganarpur area of Nasik, York Winery was formed in 2005 and celebrated their first vintage in 2008. The 9 acre estate has gorgeous vineyards and even a Tasting Room at the winery which is open throughout the week for visitors.

York wines have been much appreciated in the short time they’ve been around. In 2009, York Reserve Shiraz won the Gold Medal at The Sommelier India Wine Competition followed by a Bronze Medal for the York Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at The Sommelier India Wine Competition and Commended at The International Wine Challenge 2010, London. To know more about the winery visit http://www.yorkwinery.com/

Your Live 2011:

Last year York Winery organised their first edition of the day-long wine and music festival called York Live. For their maiden leg, the festival saw quite an impressive line up of artists – Shaa’ir + Func, Jalebee Cartel, Rodney Branigan and The Mavyns.

York Live 2012- What to expect:

This year York Live has definitely upped the ante with the music acts. Headlining the festival is Karsh Kale, followed by Shrilektric and Something Relevant. You can also look forward to the grape stomping, carnival games, the bazaar and of course, most important, the wine.  Food Stalls – Cellar Door (in-house restaurant at York Winery), Udipi Spice, Bliss, Oye Punjabi and Vadilal Ice Cream.

I couldn’t attend York Live last year, but have it on good authority that it was a blast. So this year I’ll make sure I don’t miss it. You should too.

For Ravi Gurnani, owner York Winery, York Live is an attempt to celebrate the good things in life. Isn’t that all that matters?

Venue: York Winery, Nasik

Date and Time: Saturday, January 21, 2012. 12.30pm onwards.

Passes: Rs. 900 entry fee. You can book them online here.

You can also collect them at Bonobo, Kenilworth Mall, Woodside Inn Colaba, Godrej Nature’s Basket, and Rhythm House, Kala Ghoda.

 

Follow York Live of Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

And if you haven’t liked the GiggleWater411 page on Facebook yet, here it is!

 

 

 

Uncork your luck

Happy New Year! 😀

I’m looking forward to starting this year on a high. So here’s announcing the first contest on GiggleWater411. I’m super excited about this and all the other cool things that are lined up for the blog in 2012 and I hope you’ll are too.

Thank you for coming back week after week to see what’s happening. It’s why I keep blogging!

WIN. WIN. WIN.

FRATELLI CONTEST

If you read my post The Story of Fratelli then you know that this vineyard produces some real quality wines.

In keeping with the festivities of the season, Fratelli Wines is giving two lucky GiggleWater411 readers a chance to win a bottle each. All you have to do is post a comment and answer this question – WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST WINE MOMENT?

It could be an especially satisfying wine experience or even a memory of  shared laughter with friends over a bottle.

Don’t forget to Like the new Giggle Water411 page on FB here to be eligible to win this and other goodies!

I really enjoy Fratelli’s Chenin Blanc 2011 and am making my way through the tasting of their other wines (looking forward to the Sangiovese). I love my sangria and I must say that their Classic Red and Classic White make for a great base. Wine connoisseur and fellow blogger Aneesh Bhasin (also a top-notch photographer) first suggested I use Fratelli for the sangria pitchers I was planning for the night, and they were a complete hit. At Rs. 395 for a 750ml bottle they are also very affordable, especially when you have sangria guzzlers around!

I used the Classic White for a melon sangria with musk melon, apple juice and a dash of vodka. To the Classic Red I added apple cubes, orange slivers, orange juice and some roasted cinnamon. Superb! I won’t tell you how much of each to use because I’ve found it is best to add to taste depending on whether you prefer it sweet or a little acidic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2011 tasting notes:

Chenin Blanc 2011 – Silky smooth and medium-bodied, the fruit is reminiscent of peach and lime with mineral accents. The crisp acidity balances the slight residual sugar to create a dry impression, coupled with a silky texture. Not overtly complex, but carefully constructed and well balanced. Rs 495 for 750ml

Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – It holds a high level of intensity throughout, and its low pH, high acidity and touch of residual sugar are so perfectly balanced and elegant in structure. It is so emphatically varietal, yet subtle in its complex fusion of melon rind, lime, grapefruit and dry grassy/ herbaceous flavours, that you’re left entirely satisfied and wanting. Rs 595 for 750ml

Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 – This classic-style Cabernet has great balance and nuance. The first impression is of concentrated blackberry and black currant fruit, but more impressive are the subtle notes one finds underneath the fruit: black olives, subtle minerality, a hint of sage and an elusive spiciness. The soft tannin adds to the wine’s structure without adding bitterness. Rs 650 for 750ml

Chardonnay 2011 – Offers bright aromas of tart apple, sugar melon and a brush of lemon- chiffon wrapped around a citrus peel core.  The delicious palate is hung on a lovely frame of firm acidity to give it structure and vibrancy with a fine edge of minerality piping in throughout the finish. Rs 695 for 750ml

Shiraz 2011 – This wine is packed with fresh, juicy flavours of cassis and blackberry with spicy dark chocolate undertones. The velvety entry in the mouth strikes the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity, which are kept lingering for a lengthy soft finish.  Rs 650 for 750ml

Sangiovese 2011 – Aromas of perfumed red fruits, cherry and lolly musk. With more air, raspberry and vanilla bean emerge. . Supple, ripe, and intense on the palate, it has plenty of spicy cherry fruit and hints of cardamom following. The finish is long with a fine underlying structure, even tannins, and exceptional length. Chianti has come to India! Rs 795 for 750ml

Merlot 2011 – Full and fat with classic plum and red cherry like fruit. Good depth and concentration. Crafted in a fresh, clean style, this velvety Merlot offers enticing aromas and bright, juicy flavours of cherry, dark berry and plum backed by subtle mocha and herbal nuances and a delicate minerality. Rs 795 for 750ml

Classic White – A beautifully vibrant wine, with fresh aromas of melon and cumquat with a hint of lemongrass. The mouth explodes with fresh clean acidity which cuts through the succulent tropical flavours, while lingering flavours of passion fruit and guava travel along the mid-palate. The wine finishes with a sprinkling of lime juice and dry mineral notes. Rs 395 for 750ml

Classic Red – The wine is deep ruby red in colour with aromas of plum, blackberry and spice, with hints of typical earthiness and coffee on the nose. Medium bodied on the palate with a soft supple mouthfeel, this is a well balanced wine exhibiting the elegance and complexity on the palate all framed in a velvety texture. Rs 395 for 750ml

The story of Fratelli Wines

In the Sholapur district of Maharashtra, near the town of Akluj, lies a 240-acre vineyard. This sprawling vineyard belongs to three sets of brothers – Alessio and Andrea Secci, Kapil and Gaurav Sekhri and Ranjit and Arjun Mohite – Patil, who came together in the first Indo-Italian wine partnership in the country. Each set belonging to different industries, their joint venture brought together experts in wine production, business and distribution. Rather fittingly then, they decided to name their wines Fratelli meaning ‘brothers’ in Italian.

This labour of love for the brothers began in 2006 and was no easy feat. What followed was a year long process of grading the soil, digging trenches and properly irrigating the land – all without shortcuts in keeping with the owners’ belief that good wine starts in the vineyard. But perhaps their best move yet was bringing on board the reputed Tuscan Viticulturist and Oenologist Piero Masi.

Piero Masi tending to the Fratelli vineyards

The state of the art Winery is equipped with 58 multi-capacity tanks imported from Velo, Italy (a first by anyone in Asia) and installed at the Co’s Motewadi site, ensuring that once the grapes are harvested, within an hour they are processed in absolutely fresh condition. The Winery also boasts a fully equipped high-tech laboratory for testing at each and every stage of the production process from grapes to finished product. The winery has an installed capacity of around 6 lac liters.

In late 2007-2008 Fratelli’s first saplings were sown. The 350,000 wine saplings that were imported from France and Italy were specially handpicked by Masi and his team. Their first vintage reached consumers in 2010 and in the year that followed Fratelli went from one milestone to the next. Today they are easily one of the most promising vineyards to be born of out India’s wine production boom.

Fratelli Wines now cultivates 13 varietals –

1.         Pinot Noir

2.         Sangiovese

3.         Cabernet Sauvignon

4.         Marsalan

5.         Petit Verdot

6.         Merlot

7.         Syrah

8.         Cabernet Franc

9.         Chenin Blanc

10.       Sauvignon Blanc

11.       Chardonnay

12.       Gewürztraminer

13.       Muller Thurgau

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