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| Arora welcoming members and Dr. Yaqoob Qureshi, Dr. Ramesh Kapoor MD and H.E. Roberto Toscano |
During my childhood days, one of the greatest highs was to see the first day first show of the latest blockbusters hitting town and then to let everyone I met know that I’d been there and done that! Well I had a similar experience the other day, but of the gastronomic type though, when the Radisson hotel thru open the doors of its new restaurant, the Med, to the Delhi Wine Club for its 139th wine dinner on the 21st of April.
The layout of the Med, which is spread over two floors, is very similar to that of the Buddha Bar in Paris, offering lounge and party areas in the galleries overlooking the main fine dining area in the courtyard below. The décor, with panels of yellow ochre offset by deep blue water goblets on the tables and wandering minstrels on their mandolins regaling diners table side with vintage Italian melodies did go some way in re-creating a sunny Mediterranean setting.
To make the experience more realistic, the resident expat chef Giovanni Leoparde had drawn up a mouthwatering 5 course meal and our Wine Club matched this with a selection of wines from the Fratelli Casseta winery which is located in the North-west of Italy in the Piedmont region. Normally our wine line up of 2 whites and 3 reds come from a variety of winemakers, but this time around thanks to the excise and licensing issues in Delhi around the turn of the new financial year, we decided to do a cross varietal offering from a single winemaker .This, in fact, is a pretty good test of a winemaker’s expertise of dealing with the finer nuances of processing different varieties of grapes.
The Fratelli Casseta line up kicked off with a quick serving of the Roero Arneis 2005 , D.O.C , a fresh and dry single vineyard wine which was well appreciated by those members who arrived on time . The finger food tapas being passed around were then accompanied by the Gavi 2007 DOCG - this 100% Cortese grape wine which was awarded the Seal of Approval at the 2008 IFE and was making its debut at our Wine dinner table. A straw yellow coloured , fresh tasting wine, the Gavi was a good offset to the slightly sweetish Iberico ham bruchetta’s which stood out amongst the finger tapas.
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| Members enjoying aperitifs on arrival |
We continued with the Gavi at the table where Chef Giovanni unleashed the Goat Cheese truffles over peperonata out of the see thru kitchen. Biting thru the crisp batter, the delicately flavoured soft goat cheese inside indicated that the food tonight would claim equal attention with the wines.
A quick move to reds was made to the Dolcetto d’alba 2003 DOC and unusually, paired with the Lettuce wrapped Cod. This product of the Dolcetto grape was pleasant and its lack of robustness and body, expected of a red, funnily enough didn’t go too badly at all with the fish – so much so for the tradition of pairing red wines with red meats !!
To cleanse the palate was one of the finest sorbets I have ever had in Delhi – not your typical flavoured frozen ice job- in this Strawberry and Pepper version, one could taste the fresh strawberry ‘s and their sweetness before the zing of the pepper kicked in.
The pasta dish was another unusual one – the Maltagliati - which literally means “badly cut,” a reference to the crazy and irregular shapes and trapezoids that this pasta is cut into – unfortunately the paucity of the accompaniments tended to leave this dish unremarkable. Here we had a step up in wine quality with the Barbera d’alba 2004 DOC - which won a silver medal winner in the IWC 2007 - an intense ruby red wine with medium body and softish tannins which felt quite let down by the pasta.
As usual we had the best for last – the Babaresco 2001 DOCG was paired with a Morel and Spinach filled roulade of lamb. A perfect mate for the Nebbiolo grape, the lamb was soft and succulent with the spinach providing a touch of sharpness in the mouth. The Barberesco , fully deserving of its DOCG handle, was full bodied with a nose of plums and cherries and had a lingering finish.
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| Ronnie Lobo-regaling the members |
This wine was singled out by all at our table for refills which carried on even when the Chocolate Polenta Soufflé with vanilla gelato was served – a very unusual dessert with an Italian twist – a fitting finale to Chef Giovanni’s mastery in the kitchen. He was very well supported by a well oiled table service team who were able to effortlessly serve a pre plated 5 course (with accompanying wines) sit down dinner for a full house of around 60 people.
A trio of Goan musicians kept on serenading the guests that including Dr. Yaqoob Qureshi, the Election Comissioner who took a short break from his busy schedule to join in the fun. Towards the later part of the evening as more wine kept on flowing, many members including VP Ronnie Lobo who is a great guitar player and a singer besides being a wine connoisseur helped the restaurant become a stage for members to show their singing prowess.
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| Exec. Chef Giovanni Leopardi |
Earlier, thanks to the celebratory mood the hotel management was in because of a very successful evning, four lucky draws, each a dinner for two at one of the restaurants, were announced as a surprise for the members some of whom thought it was the best wine dinner while a majority did agree that it was one of the best, organised by the Delhi Wine Club since its inception in 2002.
All thanks to Ronnie Lobo, Javed Ali, Sudipto and Casetta wines from Alba, Piemonte for their unstinted support in making the first day first show at the Med an unqualified success!!. |