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Contents January-February 2010
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ON THE GRAPEVINE
NURTURING QUALITY
HONEST WINES AT REASONABLE PRICES
News, notes and views for the wine buff
Gianni Zonin is the owner of Italy’s largest privately-owned wine estates. Michèle Shah met him for Sommelier India
THE WINE LIFE
Mercury Winery, at Ozar, Nashik, won acclaim with its very first vintage. Brinda Gill meets Veral Pancholia, the young director, to discover the secret of its early success
Discover Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai and a special cuvée from Mumm
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IN PRAISE OF CHABLIS
WINE CLUBS IN INDIA
If pressed for an answer about her favourite wine, Rosemary George declares her preference for Chablis from Burgundy
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10 HOW GREEN IS MY WINE Jancis Robinson pulls no punches in her impassioned appeal to the wine industry’s ‘green’ conscience
Alok Chandra provides a lively overview of these largely fledgling organisations and tells you how to join them
65 RESTAURANTS THAT LOVE WINE Currying Favour at ITC Grand, Mumbai and a Magical Place in Delhi
12 LIQUID ASSETS Raghu Bahadur, a former international banker, advises why wine investment is an increasingly attractive option
15 JUST FOR KICKS Why don’t more Indians drink wine? asks Jug Suraiya and proceeds to answer the question himself with unfailing wit
16 A FOCUS ON INDIA Magandeep Singh tastes Indian wines which present some surprises but make a good showing on home turf
SIWC 17
SIWC AWARD SPECIAL The best wines in India as judged by the country’s top experts. 225 medal winners plus their distributors and importers
44 A SPARKLING PARADOX For all Champagne’s international fame, the region itself remains something of an unknown, writes Brian Freedman.
68 DELICIOUS WINTER FRUIT COMPOTE Nothing can match dried fruit for nutrition, convenience and intensity of flavour, writes Preah Narang
71 PARTNERS IN WINE Pastry Chef Deep Bajaj at The Oberoi, Bangalore, partners Sauternes with Macadamia Cake and Fudge Ice Cream
72 WINE PRIMER
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LITTLE KNOWN BUT FLYING HIGH
DROPPING NAMES
Austrian wines are just one percent of the world’s production, but the highest in average quality of any country, writes David Cobbold
David Cobbold argues that the Byzantine complexity of French labels leads to consumer confusion.
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Basic guidelines on how to serve wine
74 SI LISTINGS A directory of wine producers, importers and retailers
Publisher, editor and owner: Reva K Singh. Co-publisher Shiv B Singh. Copy editor: Bunny Suraiya. Executive Assistant: Aienla Ozukum. Design: Peali Dutta Gupta. Layout artist: TMJ. Printed at EIH Ltd. 7, Sham Nath Marg, Delhi - 110054. Sommelier India is a trade bimonthly privately produced by CMI, Consolidated Media Int, C-320, Defence Colony, New Delhi - 110 024, India. Tel: +91 11 2433 1013. E-mail: info@indianwinemagazine.com. Web: www.sommelierindia.com. For restricted circulation only. The views expressed in this publication are the writers’ own and not necessarily those of the publishers. Subscription price: Rs. 1000 for two years and Rs. 1300 for three years; international $56 for two years and $82 for three years.
Editors Note
Wines Galore T
he January 2010 issue of Sommelier India Wine Magazine is one of the best we have produced. You will notice some design changes as we continue to evolve and grow. In addition to our regular departments and features, you will also find a 16-page special section on the Sommelier India Wine Competition (SIWC) including a listing of all the 225 award-winning wines and the names of their importers and distributors. The Gold List also includes the judges’ tasting notes. This was a competition to discover the best locally produced and imported wines in India tasted by a prestigious panel of Indian judges. The outcome is expertly analysed on page 19 by Steven Spurrier, who has vast experience on the subject. To find out how the competition was conducted, read Brinda Gill’s interview with Spurrier in which she asks some very searching questions. My own observation is that Wine Competitions have value but do not represent absolute judgements. They have to be viewed in a particular context. In our Competition locally produced wines, for example, were judged in their own category so that an Indian gold represented the best among other Indian wines with no reference to international ones. Wine professionals and experts sat together in controlled conditions and painstakingly assessed hundreds of wines imported or produced in India. Given the high price of wine and the increasing number of choices, a competition such as this makes sense, offering consumers the meaningful shortcut of medals and awards. In other words, an SIWC wine is a good place to start if you are deciding on which wine to drink. All in all, the SIWC was a roller coaster experience for me, in which anxiety alternated with elation, culminating in a high with the results declared – and now presented to you in this Special Awards Issue.
E-mail: rks@indianwinemagazine.com
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