Vikash gupta, partner of Vinner Wines feels like a winner at the end of the 4-day trip to Montalcino known for its legendry Brunello di Montalcino. Not only was he able to taste some of the best wines including Biondi Santi, he was able to short list a couple of wineries who are prepared to give him their wines with his Opera label, something which looked like a mountainous task before the visit.
K P Singh (not the DLF czar!), the head of Pearls Wines, who have been importing Australian wines and courting a few decent Italian and Spanish wine producers for their portfolio was also on the advanced stages of negotiations; he wanted to place the orders immediately, but decided to sleep over it and order after he came back.
Another person who was excited about the trip was Abhay Kewadkar, VP and Chief Winemaker for the UB group, who has been scouting around to reinforce their imported wine portfolio. He found the aging potential of Brunello wines by using tradition and modern technology very inspiring.
So did Kailash Dhruvu who is not only a winemaker for Chateau d'Ori, but being the nephew of the CEO, Ranjit Dhruvu, is influential in deciding which wines to import beyond their current Bordeaux portfolio.
Navin Shankaranaryanan, General Manager-International of Sula Wines, importers of Chianti Classico was very up-beat about the Rosso. 'These wines are amazing. I haven't found a wine which I did not love. We must add these wines to our existing wine portfolio.'
The list of new fans is increasing with each visitor suitably impressed by the history and its impact in the glass. Of course, the relatively higher costs coupled with heavy duties, especially in Maharashtra will make their job difficult in the short run. But with the 'we shall overcome' attitude of the 'Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino', it is not a question of 'if', but 'when' that the success of these wines will be forthcoming.
The 14-member delegation was organised by Subhash Arora, President of Indian Wine Academy on behalf of Michele Shah, wine writer, author and specialist in Italian wines. 'It has been a pleasure working with Subhash and I respect and admire his choice and co-ordinating capabilities,' she said.
Mr. Stefano Campatelli, The Director of the Consorzio had spontaneous words of praise for both Shah and Arora. 'We never had so many people coming together from India ever before and we hope the participants would not only enjoy the wines but help us send them over across India for wine connoisseurs,' he said, adding,' we find the event so significant that we have given a Press Release, adding,' the Indian market will be a big universal force between 2010-2030 and we would like to be a part of this strong market.'
Said the new President of the Consorzio, Patrizio Cencioni, 'Our culture and history help us make a wine that is very special and satisfying. I am happy that this visit will help us collaborate with India better.' About 70 wineries had participated in the programme.
The Consorzio had earlier taken part in Vinitaly India in Mumbai and Delhi with a special tasting seminar where India was the first country to taste the 2003 vintage. Brunello can be released only on January following 5 years of the vintage. So the 2003 vintage was released on January 1 this year.
The 4-day event was organised to give the visitors a general view of one of the top three Italian varietal wines (other two being Barolo and Barbaresco both from Nebbiolo grapes.) Brunello di Montalcino is the first Italian red wine to have won the DOCG status. It is made from 100% Sangiovese Grosso grape known as Brunello in this region, under very strict conditions.
Apart from tasting the 2003 vintage of the real McCoy from 64 producers at the new offices of the Consortium in downtown Montalcino, winery visits were arranged to several wineries keeping in view the participants' choices and included Biondi Santi, Banfi, Fattoria dei Barbi, Capanna, Coldisole, Tenute Silvio Nardi, Castelli Martinozzi, Tenuta Friggiali, Poggio di Sotto, Caparzo and Fuligni. Not only were earlier vintages like 2000, 1999, 1995 were available for tasting, it was a pleasure to watch Franco Biondi Santi, the current torch bearer of the historical winery show an 1888 wine still maturing in the bottle. Long lives Brunello!
Montalcino is known not only for Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, but also DOC Sant'Antimo reds and whites as well as a delicious, sweet Moscadello di Montalcino. Several importers like Brindco, Sonarys, Ace, Finewinesnmore and Wine Park are already importing these wines. But pretty soon many more are expected to bring this wine onto the restaurant menus and even retail, thanks to Vinner Wines.
Subhash Arora |