The Anheuser-Busch Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California may keep pitching for beer's superiority (see the news item and our comment), but Indian Wine Academy and Delhi Wine Club President Subhash Arora wishes to go down in history as the first human being to mix wine with soccer.

Lager louts from Manchester to Madrid to Munich might balk at the idea, but Arora has shown that he can get other people (the Delhi Wine Club members) to put their money where his heart lies.

To promote the match between wine and soccer, the Delhi Wine Club is organising three evenings dedicated to the novel idea. The first of the three evenings kicks off on July 1 at Djinns, the Hyatt Regency nightclub that is up for a transformation (we'll tell you about it later), where the club members will see England and Portugal battle it out.

The second evening will be on July 5 at Delhi's favourite Mediterranean hangout, Olive, where Mohit Balachandran, the restaurant's manager, is putting together a lavish tasting menu. The third and most important of the three evenings will be at Hyatt once again - the evening is scheduled for July 9, the day of the final.

For the first evening, Arora engaged in the art he has mastered - gentle arm-twisting - to wangle a steal of a deal from Hyatt Regency's Prasanjit Singh, a good friend and a great F&B manager. For Rs 1,000 per person (Rs 1,200 for guests), Delhi Wine Club members will be sampling six varieties of snacks (Chicken Shawarma, Weisswurst, Shish Taouk, Tomato Bruschetta, Vegetarian Shawarma and Subz Tandoori Salad), and three wines that are favourites of the Club - Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava (a great Spanish sparkler), Roero Arneis DOC 2003 Cassetta (perfect Piemontese pick-me-up for the sweaty citizens of Delhi) and Barbera d'Alba DOC 2002 Cassetta (just the right accompaniment for the action on the big screen that will be put up at Djinns).

Arora is taking out his soccer shoes and getting ready to wallop anyone who drinks anything but wine that evening. Of course, he has given us the liberty to cheer either Portugal (the guys who got showered with red and yellow cards) or England.

The way Arora looks at it, both nations ruled India and left behind their mark, so till we can send our own team to the FIFA World Cup, let's cheer for the best team. And for wine, of course.

(In subsequent issues of delWine, we'll inform you about the July 5 & 9 menus. If you wish to join any one of the three evenings, please call Subhash Arora at 98183-68428.)