Capt Nair explained how the club was formed. Mr Arindam Kunar, the hotel GM promised to price wine "aggressively" in the near future, adding that the "wine by glass" prices will be comparable to Coke and mineral water. This would indeed be very good news for wine lovers in Chennai. In the past many such well-meaning promises have been made by the Taj and other hotels throughout India but unfortunately shot down by the hawk-eyed, number crunching accountants.
Mr Kunar also informed those present that his hotel will organise monthly wine events starting next month. These events in which experts would be invited to share their wine knowledge will also be attractively priced.
Over a 100 persons had been invited for the club launch, the highlight of which was wine tasting followed by dinner. Wines were served at the country specific counters, from France, Italy, Australia, Chile, Spain and Portugal. There were about 32 different wines apart from the Italian Grappa and Portuguese Port. France and Italy counters were the most popular among the participants, according to Raja.
It was a grand launch for a wine club according to the founder members. Launches are easy but it has to succeed in the long run as a member remarked. When the freebies are over and when members have to pay for the food and wine, the real passion will show. Meanwhile, Chennai opened its doors to imported wines only recently and there already seem to be two clubs promoting wine culture in a city where the imported wine is hardly cheap due to government owned TASMAC charging 58% local taxes on the top. The club would serve the wine lovers community well and hopefully carry on with the zeal and excitement it has started with.
There are currently about 25 members of the Club, the rules and procedures of which have reportedly borrowed from the Bangalore Wine Club and modified.
Chinmaya Arjun Raja is a member of Terroir. He is a Chennai based businessman and President of Alliance Francaise of Madras. He organised a wine appreciation and guided tasting sessions for the Chennai public last year. He has also started a public forum of Diwine Raga called Chennai Wine Club last year |