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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 It was barely a couple of days after we were basking in the glory of a magnificent August dinner at the Empress of china at Hotel Eros on August 9 when Prarrthona Pal Chowdhury, the persuasive Head of Marketing - Brandy Project & International Brands for Sula, called to tell me that William Hardy, the winemaker and Brand Ambassador of Hardys was visiting India for a couple of days and would be in Delhi on 28th August to conduct a couple of Master Classes and would I consider a Delhi Wine Club dinner during the evening. As I was reluctantly mulling it over, Chef Tanveer Kwatra of Le Meridien Gurgaon, with whom we have hosted three wine dinners when it used to be the Pullman, said the Dinner was being planned at his hotel and he would prefer to work with our club.
Chef Tanveer has been a great admirer of the DWC-it was the first wine club dinner he ever organised, after he joined Pullman and has certain respect and affinity for the Club. I have been his great admirer- due to his creativity, dexterity, ingenuity, flexibility and above all humility. I agreed to organising the dinner-even if it might mean bringing in the September dinner a few days sooner, with the only apprehension being how to attract the Delhi members to Gurgaon which has moved farther by 30-60 minutes since our first dinner four years ago.
 It was a bold decision but I underestimated the pull factor of the admirable Chef Tanveer and Bill Hardy as an experienced and respected winemaker with 40 years experience including training in Bordeaux under Prof. Emile Peynod. We ended up having the highest ever presence from Delhi. It could be the 8- course Indian fusion dinner he called ‘Indian Finesse’ or the curiosity to meet one of the most respected and senior winemakers of Australia and the 7 labels of Hardys wines to be served that might have attracted them to drive for 2 hours to come here. For me, it would be those factors AND an opportunity of tasting the soon- to- be launched William Hardy wines labelled from the 2011 harvest on his completing 40 years of winemaking in 1912.
I don’t remember the last time when members were bowled over by the hearty Indian snacks- Truffle kulchas made with white truffle oil; salami and sun dried tomato, Murgh pakoras, Dahi ki kuri kuri, and Khumb galouti which did a lot more than being just appetisers, with the Chardonnay-dominated Hardy’s Stamp Sparkling Wine NV from South Eastern Australia (with 30% Pinot Noir, making it a Champagne grape-based bubbly) matching well with the slightly spicy snacks due to its off-dry flavours with 12 gms./Li of residual sugar. The pleasant quaffable wine made by Charmat method was effervescent, fresh and fruity and quite adequate for the streaming snacks in which the Khumb (mushroom) galouti turned out to be the supreme snack before we sat down for dinner.
Kanji-Warm carrot consommé with wada and mirchi pakoras was an experiment by Chef Tanveer that had fried chilli as an important element that scared the expats away but I could have doubled the intake. Hardy's Stamp Riesling Gewurztraminer 2014, South Eastern Australia, balanced the chillies very well due to its fragrance and fruity citrus flavour.
 Tuna tartare with chilli and cranberry vinaigrette and masala bhey (spiced lotus stems) was soft on the spices for me but was a good pairing with Hardy's Stamp Chardonnay Semillon 2014, even though I must admit had paired the two, as a part of doing the pairing. British national taco was the Chef’s interesting take on the soft shell taco and chicken tikka masala with pickled onions with Hardy's Stamp Chardonnay Semillon 2014. We served at this point also the William Hardy Chardonnay 2014, Limestone Coast. The latter was a balanced wine with oak only a shade higher than desirable, but matching the taco nevertheless because of both being medium bodied and having decent acidity. I don’t know about others but I downed another taco quickly.
I am glad I had requested Chef Tanveer and prevailed upon him to introduce a Sorbet at this point-knowing that the food would start imposing a little despite its elegance and delicacy and controlled spices. This turned out to be a smart decision not only because it gave an opportunity to members to walk around in a wide available area for walking and meet friends and digest some of the food while the chefs could get ready for the next course. The synchronous serving of each course to about 45 persons had been a subject of admiration by now. The green apple-coloured Khus Sorbet had rock salt and a dash of chaat masala that made it refreshing and soothing to the palate.
Macchi ambeda-the Steamed sea bass with garlic and raw mango chutney and kaffir lime prawn had perfect texture and crunch with the flavour that went well with William Hardy Chardonnay 2014, Limestone Coast, Australia but we had been obliged to also pair it with Hardy's Stamp Cabernet Merlot 2014 since it could not be fitted anywhere else with other courses. Fortunately, the three white wines and the refills gave an ample opportunity for members to try out 4 white wines with this single dish; a hard core red wine lover would have found the combination quite acceptable. It reminded me of my friend Diego Planeta in Sicily. The famous wine producer happily drinks only red wines-400 bottles a year and eats only fish and vegetables-for him matching is for the wine critics and journalists!
If the evening was an orchestra conducted by the artist Chef Tanveer, the crescendo was decidedly Lamb 3 ways-twice cooked lamb chop with kacche keeme ki tikki and mutton roll accompanied by hot Methi matar kulcha in small bites. Not only was it the best crafted and prepared dish of the evening for me, it cried with joy with William Hardy, Shiraz 2014, McLaren Vale, even though Hardy’s Stamp Shiraz Cabernet 2014 was also served to complete the 7-label wine service. I would not hesitate to give the combo 98/100 in the food-matching pairing completion that is held on the last day of the Cathay Pacific Honk Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition (HKIWSC) held in October, in which I  have been invited as a judge from the very beginning and will taste again in October. Near Perfect match!
There is an increasing number of people who avoid desserts for obvious reasons. My apprehension had been that many members would be critical of keeping a single dessert only-8 Layered chocolate cake. Surprisingly most members found this as the most impressive dish-I don’t remember anyone not digging into the delicious dessert and demolishing it in seconds-including me.
The chefs, waiting staff and the wine servers worked in tandem to make it an extremely pleasurable experience full of fun and bonhomie. When the William Grant & Sons’ General Manager in India James Pennefather’s wife Pan from London, exclaimed to me, ‘it’s not possible to have the experience of such evenings in London,’ my first reaction was to tell her,’ saade naal raho ge tay aish karoge,’ but I was in too happy a mood to explain to her about the Bollywood song and what it signified. Suffice it to say that she and all the guests thoroughly enjoyed the evening and hopefully the Hardys would have gone back to Australia with a happy experience- Hardly seen at such events, surely-except at the Delhi Wine Club dinners!!
Subhash Arora
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