Rojita Tiwari wears many hats — and most of them come with a pour. A globetrotting drinks writer, sommelier, educator, consultant, and certified booze judge (yes, that’s a real job), she’s been stirring things up since 2006.
Founder of Drinks & Destinations, India’s go-to consultancy for all things wine, spirits, and strategy, Rojita has introduced Baijiu to India, helped launch a Whisky, and judges everything from wine to whisky, rum, gin, vodka, mezcal, baijiu to sake at top global competitions such as CMB and Spirits Selection. She’s bagged titles like Best Wine & Food Influencer (Wine Travel Awards 2023), Ambassador of the Industry Title and twice made it to the “Top Ten Women in Wine in India” list — cheers to that! She is also the only certified International Ambassador of Moutai Flavour Baijius in India.
You’ll find her words in Drinks International, Whisky & More, Rumporter, Mint Lounge, Spiritz, Sommelier India and more.
Want to raise a glass or a campaign?
Reach her @drinksanddestinations or email drinksanddestinations@gmail.com.
Cheers!
Hipcask, the wine & spirits consumer platform with an app and website has curated Mumbai’s first ever cocktail festival. The fest is taking place from March 4-13 at selective outlets across the city. For the first time in Mumbai, Hipcask has brought together more than 30 bars to celebrate the fine art of cocktails under one festival.
Bars and restaurants featuring Hipcask Cocktail Fest presented by Cleartrip will have a special menu for 9 days with curated cocktails. Each of these unique menus will have 2 tiers of cocktails – premium and super premium priced at Rs 250++ and Rs 500++ respectively. This pricing is approximately 30% lesser than prices on regular cocktail menus.
Aneesh Bhasin, founder Hipcask elaborates, “Hipcask Cocktail Fest is an effort to make consumers move beyond a Long Island Iced Tea and try out newer and better cocktails. It is not about getting drunk but enjoying quality. This festival is also a great way to highlight bartenders who are the real talent.”
To access the Hipcask Cocktail Fest menus, you need to purchase a season pass worth Rs 499 or a day pass worth Rs 99, from Cleartrip or Hipcask App. The pass is then stored on Hipcask App’s latest feature – Passports. All you have to do is show the final page of Hipcask Cocktail Fest pass to the server and get access to the special menu and place orders. A 1-day pass will also be available which will be valid till 1.00 AM.
Parallel to the 9-day festival there Hipcask is conducting various social events revolving around cocktails and spirits. Some of them include Andheri Craft Beer Crawl, Vinyl Night, Old Monk Daawat and Craft bartending at Craft. Hipcask Cocktail Fest is presented by Cleartrip Activities and partnered by Johnnie Walker Red Label, Tanqueray, Ketel One, Jack Daniel’s and Cocofly.
Restaurants/Bars participating in Hipcask Cocktail Fest include, Toast, Yellow Bar All Day, Eddie’s Bistro, The White Owl, The Bombay Canteen, The Good Wife, Tilt All Day, Craft, True Tramm Trunk, The Daily, Zoo Bar, Me So Happi, Doppio, Tertullia, Brewbot, Woodside Inn, One Street Over, PDT, Havana, NRI, Romano’s, Escobar, Mia Cucina, Olive Bar & Kitchen, Radio Bar and Harry’s Bar + Kitchen.
#RhythmoftheVines well isn’t that an apt hashtag for a #musicfestival taking place in a #vineyard! The 9th edition of #Sulafest held in the first weekend of February 2016 was a heady mix of #wines #musicalcocktail loads of #selfies and numerous #hashtags.
It was the first time for #Drinksanddestinationsatsulafest and was worth every bit of the wait.
Here are some of the popular trending hashtags from #Sulafest2016
Rajeev Samant during an interaction with D & D in his office at Sula vineyardsWith Cecilia OldneWith Bhasker Tiwari and Marcellus BaptistaAjoy Shaw conducting a special wine tastingWith Prarrthona Pal Chowdhury, Head of Marketing – International Brands & Head of Trade Marketing – Domestic Wines at Sula Vineyards and Bhasker Tiwari#DrinksandDestinationsatsulafestWith Priya Pathiyan, Deveika Bhojwani and Malavika SangghviPrahlad KakkarWith Rajesh Israni, Aspri Spirits
Popular quotes
Rajeev Samant, Founder & CEO, Sula Vineyards says, “What an incredible vibe! More than 10,000 fest-goers had the time of their life, showing why SulaFest is the country’s most eagerly awaited festival weekend. Next year, is the 10th SulaFest and we promise a line-up better than you have ever seen in India.”
Cecilia Oldne, VP – Marketing, Sula Vineyards says,“Wow – this is by far our best SulaFest breaking all records! Cheers to the team who made this happen, all our amazing partners for sharing the love and of course all the artists for creating magic on stage! The amazing crowd completed the vibe – what a beautiful weekend under the Sula sun!”
Sulafest 2016 became Gourmet World Music Festival
The festival saw more than 10,000 people enjoying a mega-mix of great music, wine, drinks, gourmet food, fashion, shopping and more at the idyllic environs of the scenic vineyards.
The Cat Empire made their India debut and rocked the stage on Saturday – on Sunday Kailasa set the stage on fire performing two songs from their soon to be released album – Kailasa Ishq Anokha. The Atmapshere stage saw a record turn-out during the world renowned Edu Imbernon’s electrifying act.
With Ann-Marie Sharp, Accolade Wines, AustraliaWith Nick Pringle, Accolade Wines UK
Food & Drinks
Apart from wines from the vineyards of Sula, fest-goers also enjoyed a wide selection of drinks from around the world; many brought to India by Sula’s import arm Sula Selections.
Hardys was on board as a wine partner and Asahi Super Dry Beer, Cointreau, Grant’sFamily Reserve Whiskey, Jägermeister, Jack Daniel’s Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey and Stolichnaya Vodka were also present to ensure no one went thirsty!
The likes of Olive, Woodside Inn, Maroosh, Puffs & Roll, Makaloo and Prahlad Kakkar/Shankar Bhojnalay and served up great food to go with the wines. At the popular Soleil by La Plage, Chef Morgan Rainforth had prepared a special menu with organic produce from Sula’s very own farms, offering a sit-down gourmet dining experience like no other.
VERO MODA launched its Spring Summer Collection 2016 at the fest. Anushka Manchanda gave the audience an extra fashionable performance as a showstopper.
Here’s a good news for beer fans. India’s connection with Canada is about to get stronger with the scheduled entry of one of its finest beer brands called 1793 KROY into the Indian market by mid-2016.
The winning premium beer brand from Canada is all set to expand to 32 countries this year and Mumbai will be the first city in India followed by Goa, Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh and other metropolitan cities around the world where the beer will be available said officials from Toronto Ale Brewing, the company producing 1793 KROY.
Toronto Ale Brewing Co. (fashion forward company) producing four style of premium beer, Lager, Amber, Hefeweizen and Stout with 5%, 8% and interestingly12% abv, a beer of that strength is not available in the market yet.
The beer segment in India is seeing a great momentum currently and riding the growth wave many new beer brands are eyeing for a fair share of the pie.
1793 KROY is a lager beer and its name marks the significance of the historical year in which Toronto was established as York (the name KROY is ‘York’ if read backwards). For years, several communities have inhabited Canada and owing to the multicultural legacy that the country carries forward, the slogan of the beer raises a toast, ‘To the World!’
Azim Capital, a company that has many business interests such as mining, Commodities Trading, Construction, media and investment banking, funds Toronto Ale Brewing Co. It is headed by the dynamic duo Jack Azimi and Mike Azimi.
The company aims to make 1793 KROY the proud brand ambassador of Canada to the world. According to the company, KROY will be brewed in Canada and shipped around the world within the first decades with main focus on Asian, Central Asia and African markets. There is something else brewing as well. Taking its interest in the beer business forward, Azim Capital is in the process of establishing its media presence in India, with a strong commitment of retaining Indian talent in India and showcasing their craft to the global market. KU media will focus on animation, digital & Print marketing, producing mini-series, documentaries and movies. Opening a media company that will market the beer worldwide and creative marketing professionals, digital artists all over the globe will be a part of the operation. There has already been recruitment of artists from India for this purpose.
1793 KROY is a pale, refreshingly crisp lager perfect as a summer drink especially for the Indian weather. While IPA’s are a current rage amongst the craft beer fanatics, craft lager still holds a special place even for a regular beer drinker. With bottled craft beer brands such as Erdinger Dunkel, Old Tom, Fuller’s London, Chimay, Leffe, Shepherd Neame IPA and Bira 91 gaining popularity in the market, KROY holds a significance chance of alluring the beer drinker.
“Last few years have seen a phenomenal growth in the beer industry in India, with mushrooming microbreweries as well as increasing number of enthusiastic home brewers in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Pune and Mumbai. With Chandigarh, Goa and Hyderabad joining the band wagon, it is exciting times to be in this segment”, said the company representative.
Working in favour of this category is the new found positioning of beers in the lifestyle segment. Cool names, big budget, unconventional marketing campaigns and ever expanding young consumer base with higher disposable income is what is going to drive the growth for beers in India. And 1793 KROY is slated to be in the right place at the right time.
The six-day long Make In India event starting February 13 will be marked as India’s first ever global event to encourage the local manufacturing industry. The 10 sectors invited to be a part of this initiative are aerospace and defence, automobile, construction, food processing, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, information technology and textiles. Many “micro” businesses including the young Indian craft beer producers are also going to be a part of it. Doolally from Pune and Gateway Brewing Company from Mumbai will be showcasing the beers made completely from local ingredients.
Here is what Doolally and GBC has planned for the week.
The National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) were invited to create an F&B offering for the ‘Make in India Week’ that will be serving up local cuisines by renowned chefs. Doolally was invited by the crew at NRAI to showcase the beers and ciders. An excited Suketu Talekar, Co-Founder, Doolally, explained, “Globally craft beer and microbreweries are the best things that have happened to the beer industry since sliced bread. And being given the opportunity to showcase our products at this marquee event gives us, Indian craft brewers, a chance to demonstrate to the rest of the world that our products can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best.”
Keeping with the spirit of the event, Oliver Schauf, Brewmaster, Doolally, is excited to brew beers that are truly, made in India, “We will be crafting special beers only for Make in India, using local, indigenous, homegrown ingredients. It is going to be quite a challenge. But one that we are very excited to be part of.”
Here are the fine ingredients that have inspired the brewers to craft special beers ONLY for Make In India Week, Honey from Sunderbans to make a Honey Mead, Himachali Apples for an Apple Cider, Coffee from Kerala for the Coffee Porter and Kesar Mangoes from Gujarat for a Mango Cider.
Gateway Brewing Company whose beers are produced with all locally sourced ingredients will also be showcasing a new brew called ‘Darling Jee’ which is a special collaboration beer between The Bombay Canteen and GBC wherein the classic flavours and aromas of Earl Grey tea & Darjeeling Black tea find their way into this spectacular, easy drinking ale.
“This tea infused beer is a visual spectacle that showcases the red hue of Darjeeling tea and has notes of orange and citrus on the nose reminiscent of classic Earl Grey! It begins sweet with malt on the palate and ends with slight bitterness and astringency extracted from the cold double infusion of black tea. Besides this, there will be other GBC beers such as A1 IPA, Doppelganger, White Zen and Kaapi Stout”, confirmed GBC’s co-founder Rahul Mehra.
Besides the two craft beer producers, The Beer Cafe and liquor majors Pernod Ricard India and Diageo will also have some presence at the event.
India is set to host heads of state from Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Poland along with 25 ministers of trade and industry from countries including Japan and Germany for its mega ‘Make in India’ week starting February 13. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be interacting with the global leaders and make a pitch for Make in India, which is in its second year. The six-day long pitch for greater manufacturing in India is being held in Mumbai and is likely to see participation from 1,500 foreign companies and business delegations from 65 countries.
Make in India Week will be held at the Make in India Centre at MMRDA Grounds, BKC, Mumbai and the launch event will take place at National Sports Club of India, Worli, Mumbai on 13th February 2016. For details visit the official website here.
Next time you are in the Catalonian capital Barcelona in Spain, you must make sure to visit Priorat, the wine region that’s located few hours’ drive from the hustle and bustle of the touristy city. Priorat is the hidden gem of the wine world.
The region produces some of the best quality, expensive and age-worthy red wines. If you love your wine in a way that it speaks to you, if you believe in the idea that the future is in the vineyards, Priorat ticks all the right boxes.
I have been privileged to visit the region twice in the past, thanks to DOQ (Denominacio d’origen Qualificada) Priorat, the wine appellation control board, which organizes a grand tasting, and display of the region’s wines and also organises visits to the various wineries once in two years.
Here is what you are missing if you haven’t yet visited Priorat: –
The stories that we love about wine
This is how the story of Priorat goes. When the Carthusians (monks) came to Priorat in the twelfth century, they built a monastery called Scala Dei, which later became the most iconic landmark of the region. They brought vines along with them, which were planted, around the monastery and in the foothills of the Montsant Mountain range.
Almond Tree planted in a vineyard
Today’s Priorat continues to be a depopulated region of mountains and scenic beauty, spattered with exquisitely austere medieval villages among vineyards extremely difficult to tend. The reddish-coloured mountains are covered with scrubland and aromatic herbs. The river Siurana and its tiny tributaries irrigate the area. Vineyards are often found on the steep slopes vines cutting into the hard slate (llicorella) soil, sometimes as high as eight hundred meters above sea level. The region produces some of the best quality olive oil and almonds too. The traditional grape variety of Priorat is Garnacha tinta which is found in most of the older vineyards, also, there are carinena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. The region also produces four white grape varieties such as Garnacha blanca, Macabeo, pedro Ximenez and Chenin Blanc.
With Sara Perez of Mas Martinet
The wines, the regions & the vines
Priorat wines are complex and it’s vineyards so honest that the wine maker’s work is reduced in the winery, well, most of the time. Terroir finds a whole new definition in Priorat. The only way to get around some of the century old, high altitude, risky parcels of vineyards, producing great quality wines, is by bouncing off in the back of a pickup truck. But the journey is always rewarding. And if you are visiting with the dynamic and passionate Sara Pérez the chief winemaker at Mas Martinet and Venus vineyards, you will be treated with some delicious homemade cold cuts, exquisite cheeses, olives and wines from the same vineyard. Sounds like a mini picnic isn’t it? Well, that’s how it is with Sara. Or visit the vineyards of Vall Llach and you could witness a unique sight such as clouds touching the vines on one of its high altitude vineyards.
Cloud touching the Vall Llach Vineyard
It’s not just about grapes
You don’t mind visiting a region so fertile that it produces some of the best quality Almonds, Olives, and agro products. The meat, the cold cuts, and authentic Catalonian cuisine it’s all too hard to leave behind when you decide to head back to the city life.
The cool, friendly and very interesting (read unconventional) bunch of wine producers
Sara loves to drive a pick-up truck while Albert is well trained in handling his mules to do the harvest and other work in the steep vineyards. He calls them ‘My new sustainable car!’ While there are these traditional families ruling the Priorat wine scene there are also contemporary wine producers who have made Priorat their home in recent times. Some of the well renowned names that you must look out for while in the region are Cellar Vall Llach, Mas Martinet, Alvaro Palacios, Cellers de scala dei, Clos Figueras , Clos Mogador, Clos de l’Obac, De Muller, Gratavinum, Torres Priorat (From the house of Torres), Terroir Al Limit and a boutique wine producer called Cal Balliet in Gratallop.
Albert costa Mirabella in his vineyard with the most hard working muleWith the legendary Man Rene Barbier
(Some dynamic faces of Priorat wines)
How to reach there? Where to stay?
The nearest large cities are Reus and the capital city Tarragona. It is also about 2 hours drive south of Barcelona. The area is mountainous and rural, and the main form of transport is a car. The train ride from Barcelona takes about two hours and travels through some of the most spectacular scenery in Catalonia. The main train station is Marçà-Falset, although a good idea is to get off in Reus and hire a car from there. Reus International airport is half an hour’s drive from Priorat and it offers to hire car services direct from the airport. Priorat is also an hour’s drive from the Ebro Delta and the northern province of Valencia.
There are many hotels, lodgings, and guesthouses available for accommodation in Priorat. The small villages have cozy corners and breathtaking views perfect for a romantic gateway.
You can find more details about the region and the wines in the following websites: –
Best time to visit Priorat is between the months of April to October. But one piece of advice to you, don’t forget to carry your walking shoes and a windcheater along with a voracious appetite to explore when you decide to head to this magical wine land of Spain.
The article originally appeared on Luxury Launches website. The link is here .
The craft beer producer and supplier Gateway Brewing Company has just introduced a new Nitro stout called ‘Kaapi’ in the Mumbai market to celebrate its 2nd anniversary.
‘Kaapi’ a reference to the drink ‘coffee’ is truly a tribute to the coffee fans. Made from ingredients, 100% sourced from India, including the Blue Tokai Coffee which is sourced from Coorg, Karnataka, this is also the first nitrogen based stout coming from GBC’s portfolio.
Speaking to Drinks & Destinations, Rahul Mehra, co-founder and brewer, GBC said, “We always have two regular beers on tap and the third one is on rotation depending on the season, however, the increasing demand for our craft beers have forced us to make this the fourth one”.
Besides Kaapi Stout, White Zen, Doppelganger and the recently launched IPA A1 is on tap in most of the resto bars across the city at the moment.
This is also the first time that GBC has collaborated with home-brewer Pratik @brewunlimited who has contributed in creating ‘Kaapi’ filled with coffee flavours balanced by the sweetness of the barley malt.
Homebrewer Pratik with a glass of ‘Kaapi’
Speaking about the speciality of nitro stouts, Pratik explains,”Nitrogen adds complexity to any regular beer. It is a reference to the type of gas used during the carbonation process which makes the beer creamier and mouthfeel in texture as against carbon dioxide which makes it more lively and bubbly”. A nitro beer typically has 70% nitrogen and 30% carbon dioxide.
This is definitely a unique beer and a must try for the stout fans. One small advice, pair it with dark chocolate and see the magic. Kaapi most certainly can help you forget Guinness, well, at least for a while. As ‘Kaapi’ is a limited release, it is only available in 500ml glasses until stocks last. So hurry up!
Wine lovers in the country have two major festivals to look forward to next month. The two prominent wine producers Sula Vineyards and Grover Zampa are back with their annual wine and music festivals in the first week of February. Also, there is a chance of another festival, in the second week, by the Indian Wine Producers Association called India Grape Harvest(Yet to be confirmed). Here is the lowdown on things to look forward to at these events.
SULAFEST 2016
Sulafest’16 is also the Gourmet World Music Festival. With performances from over 100 international and national artists, music that spans more than 25 genres, 23 nations, and over 30 gourmet food and beverage options, the 9th edition of Sulafest will be a heady mix of wine, drinks, music, fashion and shopping.
Here is the performance line-up. THE CAT EMPIRE will make their much-awaited Indian debut as one of the headliners of SulaFest ’16. Their latest album, STEAL THE LIGHT debuted Top 20 in 6 countries and the band has also appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Show with David Letterman. Percussionist Jamshid Khadiwalaof Indian origin is making his debut in India as is the band! They are about to launch their new album in March, bang after the festival – and coincidently the album is named RISING WITH THE SUN!
Artists such as EDU IMBERNON, KAILASA, BALKAN BEAT BOX, DUB INC, SUCCESS, MADE IN BARCELONA, DELHI 2 DUBLIN, LUNA CITY EXPRESS, RIK WATTS, BONO GOLDBAUM, MADBOY/MINK, TRIBAL FLORA, RODNEY BRANIGAN, AQUA DOMINATRIX, O-BE, SHY-O, SASHANTI, WHOSAIN AND ANASTACIA will also be a part of the music fest this year.
Last year, the number of visitors crossed 12,000 and this year guarantees a grander production.
The 2nd edition of the Great Grover Wine Festival organized by Grover Zampa Vineyards will be held on February 6 at Bhartiya City, Hebbal in Bengaluru.
The event is one of a kind wine and performing art festival held in South India.
The visitors will have a chance to taste the essence of heritage wines from Grover Zampa Vineyards, India’s oldest and most awarded wine company. The Great Grover Wine Festival is a perfect day out for wine aficionados, food lovers and those seeking quality recreation and live entertainment. Guests also get an exclusive chance to experience the age-old tradition of making wines by grape stomping and trying out an array of award winning wines by the brand, including Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection, La Reserve, Chene Grand Reserve, Art Collection and premium sparkling wines Soirée Brut and Brut Rosé to name a few! The event also has a line up of spectacular performances by renowned bands, stand-up acts, Karaoke, and shopping at the exclusive flea market while enjoying the sculpture & art gallery. The event will see a line-up of Bangalore’s finest artists including Lagori, Aabha Hanjura – Sufistication, Karthick Iyer Live, Ananth Menon & trio, a stand-up act by Vamsidhar Bhogaraju, Karaoke Jig by Sabrina and a closing act with the most popular DJ in Bengaluru – DJ Ivan.
Speaking about this event, Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO Grover Zampa Vineyards said, “We are delighted to have created a platform to bring together talent from across the state. The Great Grover Wine Festival not only gives us a chance to present our award winning collection to wine lovers but also celebrate our success with our patrons. The festival is a perfect opportunity for guests to enjoy a relaxed day out with an array of fun-filled activities aimed at rejuvenating and providing a learning experience with wines.”
In September this year, there was a historical moment, which defied the notion that India couldn’t produce a good quality cabernet sauvignon. The occasion was the first-ever vertical tasting of cabernet sauvignon wines from KRASMA Estates.
Krishna & UmaAt the KRSMA Vertical TastingWith Uma & Krishna
At the end of the tasting at the Oberoi Hotel, Bangalore, a room full of industry experts, wine journalists and representatives of trade declared in unison that we do have a world-class cabernet sauvignon.
The vintages offered by KRSMA Estates for tasting from magnums were 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 from the barrel. Why not 2013? I will come to that later.
The journey of KRSMA estates began in the year 2007 when the marathon running and the wine-loving couple from Andhra Pradesh, C. Krishna Prasad and Uma Chigurupati decided to buy a piece of vineyard in the middle of nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere, it was in Hampi, a place never known for wine production. The first vintage of KRSMA came out in the year 2010 from the rocky, arid terroir of the historical Hampi region. The choice of the place was thoughtful. Prasad considered the dry, harsh climate, iron-rich soil to be best suited to make quality wines without getting concerned with any disease or fungus attack on the vines. Over the years, the demand for KRSMA wines has grown manifold even as the owners’ stay reluctant to the idea of increasing yield per hectare (at present the estate has around 17 hectares of land under cultivation).
Prasad says, “We are a premium boutique wine estate and would like to stay that way. We are happy with the response from the US market and Karnataka”. The wines, two whites, KRSMA Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are priced at Rs 1000 and Rs 750 whereas the two reds, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon are priced at Rs 1000 and Rs1500 in India.
Quality is of utmost importance when it comes to KRSMA wines. At the tasting, 2012, 2014 and even 2015 from the barrel impressed every single taster. While Krishna and Uma weren’t too impressed with the first vintage and decided not to showcase it at the tasting, it was different in the case of the 2013 vintage. He felt it didn’t turn out the way he perceived whereas Uma and the other KRSMA team members didn’t quite agree with him. Hence, this year they released a second label of KRSMA as K2 with the stock from 2013 vintage at a lower price range of Rs 750.
The same afternoon, I had the opportunity to enjoy a vertical tasting of the Sauvignon Blanc (2013, 2014 & 2015) wines from KRSMA over lunch with Krishna and Uma. The wines were well paired with the food from Szechwan Court, the award-winning Chinese restaurant of Oberoi Hotel.
I am yet to visit the winery located around 70km from Hampi in Karnataka, but after listening to what Krishna and Uma have planned for the estate, I certainly hope to make a trip there soon. “We have plans for sustainable agriculture with sheep and cattle farming, building cycling track around the vineyard and plan to reduce carbon footprint by reducing the weight of the burgundy style bottles used for the Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon wines”, added Prasad.
Anshul Kaul, GM, The Oberoi,Bangalore
The selective group of 40 guests who attended the tasting
KRSMA’s success story is inspirational to many other Indian wine producers who at the moment are fighting the battle of sustainable quality versus volume sales, vintage after vintage while reeling under a cash crunch economy of business. Some have the capital to go on while others are struggling to survive in a growing competitive environment without any constructive backing from the government.
Be it a winery with big volume or one with a small scale of production, something is clear. Quality is the key and like any other business, in the business of wine, “To win the game, you have to stay in the game”.
Such a belief was reiterated when recently KRSMA Cabernet Sauvignon emerged as the best oak aged red wine in the country in a blind tasting event conducted by Vino India.
It isn’t every day that one gets to taste wines from the best wine producer in the world. Sogrape Vinhos was voted as ‘the best wine producer’ this year, by World Association of Writers and Journalists of Wines and Spirits (WAWWJ that created a ranking with the top 100 producers worldwide.
The company has been present in India for a long time which many may not be aware of. But it’s the brand Mateus Rose that is often seen on the tables of Rose drinkers. Ask the importer Jackie Matai from Aspri Spirits and he confirms without giving the numbers, that it is probably the highest selling Rose in the country. Jakub Wierzba, Director Asia Pacific for Sogrape was recently in India to talk about the company and the wines from Sogrape’s global portfolio.
My first tasting of Mateus Rose was at an NRI friend’s place few years back. Like many other fans of Mateus, he always brought a bottle when he traveled to Mumbai. He was just beginning to appreciate wine at that time and preferred Mateus because it was easy on the palate and pocket also because the bottle looked stylish. I am sure that’s exactly what makes the brand so popular. After all, it has been listed as one of the 50 most admired wine brands in the world for the third consecutive year.
While conducting the masterclass in Mumbai, Wierzba shared many interesting stories and facts about Sogrape. The biggest family-owned company from Portugal, Sogrape is also one of the highest revenue generating wine companies (200 million euros) in the world. Besides having a number of wineries in Portugal, Sogrape is now operational in Spain, Argentina, New Zealand and Chile. Selling around 20 million bottles, Mateus consists of 15% of the company’s total production.
LtoR: Jackie Matai, Jakub Wierzba, Rajesh Israni
Wines tasted at the master class were Mateus Rose and Mateus Sparkling Rose, Framingham Riesling from New Zealand and Los Boldos Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery in Chile.
Mateus Rose
This wine is a blend of indigenous grape varieties such as Baga, Rufete, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Franca. It is a light, fresh, off-dry (15 gm/ltr) and slightly sparkly style wine that appeals to many. The wine is priced at Rs 1595 in Mumbai.
Mateus Sparkling Rose
This is a blend of Baga and Shiraz and is produced using charmat method. The brut sparkling wine has 12 gm/ltr sugar and also has a demi-sec version. The wine is priced at Rs 2000.
Framingham Classic Riesling (2013)
New Zealand may not be known for its Rieslings as much as it is for the Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs, but this wine definitely sets the benchmark. Coming from one of the oldest Riesling producing vineyards in Marlborough region in New Zealand, only 2000 cases of the classic riesling are produced by the winery. A very expressive bouquet with the aromas of flower, lemon, and apple, this wine has the potential to be the center of attention at any tasting or dinner/lunch table. The wine is priced at Rs 4000.
Los Boldos Cabernet Sauvignon (2013)
This wine comes from one of the oldest wineries in Chile called Chateau Los Boldos established in 1850. The vines planted in over 620 hectares of land follow a more french style of wine making. The winery was acquired by Sogrape in 2008. This lightly perfumed, elegant wine with a great finish may remind you of a burgundy style pinot noir. The wine is aged for six months in french oak and has 13.5% abv. It is priced at Rs 1999.
The wine is “Il Grigio 2011”, produced by the San Felice estate: Gallo Nero’s top wine, followed by plenty of other Italian wines (17, just behind France, with 18 wines, and the US with 30). The list was compiled after tasting over 19,800 wines from all over the world, from Old and New Worlds, and this edition displays the huge variety of excellent wines on the market, each one selected for many reasons including the value for money reflected by the high quality, availability on the market and the buzz generated, that indefinable X-factor linked to public interest.
As stated in the release issued by the consortium, “2015 was an outstanding year for Italian wines in the Wine Enthusiast,” Kerin O’Keefe told Wine News. “This is the first time an Italian wine has taken the top spot in the “Top 100 Best Buys” and second place in “Top Cellar Selections”. Now, San Felice Il Grigio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2011 is number 1 in the “Enthusiast 100”. I am very proud and happy that out of almost 20,000 reviews this year in Wine Enthusiast (about 3,000 for Italy), Italian wines have displayed their class, finesse and worth.”
“The Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico learned the news about The Enthusiast 100 with the greatest satisfaction,” explains the Chairman, Sergio Zingarelli. “To be chosen as a symbol of excellence in the worldwide winemaking sector crowns our hard work and rewards the cohesive nature of our consortium, the brave and intelligent choices we have made together in recent years, starting with the creation of a new type of Chianti Classico, Gran Selezione, which is now attracting the spotlight of international press.”
The Only Feed You Need: Booze, Buzz & Beyond
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