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Here are the 'Top Ten':
| 1. |
SDU Syrah Reserve |
| 2. |
Seagram’s NineHills Chenin Blanc |
| 3. |
Fratelli Sangiovese |
| 4. |
Vallonne Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Classique 2011 (Reserve) |
| 5. |
KRSMA Estates Chardonnay |
| 6. |
Grover Zampa-Grover La Reserve (Cab Sauv, Shiraz) |
| 7. |
SDU Winery- SDU Deva Chardonnay Reserve 2013 |
| 8. |
York Winery – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot |
| 9. |
Seagram’s Nine Hills Viognier |
| 10. |
Vallonne Vineyards Vin de Passerillage |
The participating wineries were Sula, Grover Zampa, Four Seasons, Fratelli, Reveillo, York, Myra, Vallone, Nine Hills, Charosa, Chandon, Alpine, Big Banyan, Krsma Estates, Good Drop and the SDU Winery from Bangalore which was the last minute entry. The event was curated by Rojita Tiwari, a freelance wine journalist and consultant who had been selected as one of the Top Ten Women of Wine in the Indian industry by the Indian Wine Academy last year. This is an initiative by the organisers of Mumbai Wine Festival, who are also the organisers of several wine festivals held across Mumbai every year.
The jury consisted of Subhash Arora (Delhi), Alok Chandra (Bangalore), Sonal Holland (WSET Diploma holding wine educator currently with ITC), Sanjay Menon, Craig Wedge, Vishal Kadakia (all wine importers), Shatbhi Basu (Mumbai) and of course Rojita Tiwari.
The samples were given by the wineries directly. Rojita Tiwari assures delWine that the wineries had been asked to give an undertaking that the wines they gave were from the regular production lot and were not made specially for the event and any information to the contrary would disqualify them. Judging was totally blind and the judges were only informed about the categories of the grape varietals and the blends and vintages.
Fratelli Sangiovese and Nine Hills Chenin Blanc tie for the runner-up spot. A total of 86 wines were submitted but due to last minute glitches, 82 wines were tasted.
All the wines were scored on the 20-point scale (the British system followed by the likes of Jancis Robinson MW. Only those scoring above the average score of 12.5 have found place in the ‘India’s Finest Wines List’ for the year 2014. To see the top 50 high scoring wines, “Celebrating India’s Finest 50 Wines” list will be out soon, says Rojita Tiwari, the curator. She says that this prestigious list will be updated every year with more wineries having a chance to participate in the selection process. The submission of samples was free, at least for the inaugural edition, she adds.
For any questions on the selection process or any other information, please contact Rojita Tiwari directly rojitapadhy@gmail.com
For an earlier Article relating to the launch of the Tasting, please visit Mumbai Festival Celebrating India's Finest Wines
For complete listing of India’s Finest Wines List- 2014 please watch this space. The following are The top 25 wines as per the ‘Selection of India’s Finest Wines’. The wines with the same scores are not necessarily in the same order.
Subhash Arora
INDIA’S TOP TWENTY- FIVE INDIA’S TOP 25 (By Category) (Official List) |