 The wines were launched at a sit-down dinner organised by UB on Saturday, which was attended by over 90 persons including members of Delhi Wine Club, The Wine Society, F&B trade, journalists.
Bouvet-Ladubay comes to India with a wide range which includes both sparkling and still wines. The flagship Bouvet Brut is complemented by a Red and a Rosé sparkling, both made from Cabernet Franc, the popular red grape of Loire Valley. Hero of the Brut is Chenin with 80-85% presence, balance being Chardonnay..
Patrice who grandfather had acquired the 150- year old company in 1932, told delWine that their sparkling wines competed against the best of Champagnes, at the fraction of the cost. He added that he considered himself an 'Indian' now as the company had become Indian and he was very happy with the current owners.
The company had been with Taittinger since 1974. It was fully purchased by Vijay Mallya last year when his bid to buy over Taittinger was turned down.
 Informing the diners that Ladubay had won over 270 awards in the last 30 years, Abhay Kewadkar, the ex-Grover Wine maker, now the Director and the Business Head of UB's Wine unit, said that with this All-India launch of the Ladubay range, UB looked forward to take the role of a leading player in the Indian wine market.
Patrice's daughter who is the Communications Manager is also in India. She ended up getting the Delhi-belly and could not attend the launch. She will be at hand to lunch in other parts including Goa, Kolkata and possibly Chandigarh.
Food quality and presentation at the Intercontinental Grand was adequate with average service. When the cappuccino machine in a 5- star hotel is not working, it is an indication that details are neither a forte nor priority with the management. This keeps them lagging behind the likes of Hyatt, Taj, Sheraton and Oberoi. Of course, they appear to be over-stretched with the current renovations going on.
Ladubay range including the still Chinon red will be available in all the major cities across India for Rs. 1600-2500 a bottle.
Subhash Arora
November 19, 2007
Photos By Adil Arora |
