The Chile Wine Festival organised at the Oberoi by the Embassy of Chile in India was hugely successful, judging from the number of people attending and the exit interviews, says Subhash Arora.

It was a coup of sorts managed by the Ambassador of Chile, H.E. Alphonso Silva who also demonstrated his diplomatic skills by heartily giving the credit to Mr. Gonzalo Ibanez, the Commercial counsellor & his team, and Mr. Juan Somavia, new Managing Director of Wines of Chile.

In a short speech at the concurrent, exclusive dinner for 30 special invitees, he said, 'I hope that with the enthusiasm shown by Somavia, we shall be able to have another one again at the Oberoi Hotel next year.

Undoubtedly the hotel came out a winner in proving they have a well-oiled machinery to handle a big wine event; there were perhaps around 300 people who swam through 120 plus wine labels brought in by 13 producers. Constantly replacing the glasses that posed the problem for a short time, ensuring that the buffet dinner was not just passing around of finger foods but a complete meal with soup et al and making sure that everyone was in a happy mood (wine alcohol was a perceptible help), it was a daunting task deftly managed by the staff with the new boss Reuben Kataria, the F & B Service manager on his toes and supervising since morning.

Santa Carolina, Casablanca,Undurraga, Odfjell Vineyards, Picunche Wines, Chocalan, El Aromo, Mostazal, Siegel, Perez Cruz, J.Bouchon, La Rosa, Casas Del Bosque were the wineries participating in the one day programme after conducting similar ones successfully in Japan and Korea following fruitful encounters at the Vinexpo Hong Kong.

The Incredible India

Earlier at the luncheon meeting Subhash Arora, President of Indian Wine Academy and the editor of delWine, briefed them about the current state of the Union and the complexities of laws which outshine any complex wine from Chile. He advised them to be patient and consider the market as a marathon rather than a relay and be ready to work hard for the fruit at the end of a tunnel. Partnership, presence, pricing, payments and perseverance were the mantras he gave.

He also shared with the attendees an article published in AFP a couple of hours earlier where he had been quoted as saying that out of 100 producers only 3-4 have the staying power while the others go back frustrated with a feeling that the market is too small.

In another presentation that followed, Sommelier Magandeep Singh advised them not to sell themselves cheap and create a brand. He also emphasized that the Indian consumer was price conscious at all levels and would pay for the tangibles rather than service.

The cursory question-answer session, was followed by B2B meetings with the importers and the budding entrepreneurs. A guided tasting for professionals in the evening and voilá, the festival began.

The fresh and crispy whites

A quick run through the whites which were predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay with a splash of Viognier were generally of good to very good quality with the absence of heavy oak that one sees in some Chilean wines-especially Chardonnay. A few of the Reservas had a touch of oak obtained by a short maturation in oak barrels, adding the body and complexity but not too much wood to the flavour.

The Big and Powerful Reds

Barring Pinot Noirs; the Chileans are still experimenting to come to terms with this elusive grape and trying to accomplish the quality of Burgundy, Oregon or New Zealand, most wines were politely palatable to big and powerful. The buzz due to people animatedly expressing their impressions about a myriad of wines, indicated they were genuinely enjoying themselves.

If I were to choose a favourite of the evening, I would vote for Pérez Cruz, a relatively new company from Maipo Alto Valley as each of their Reservas- Cabernet, Cot, Carménere and Syrah as also a blend of Syrah, Cabernet and Carménere, and Quelen-a unique blend of Petit Verdot, Carménere and Cot were outstanding. Understandably, like all quality products they are also higher priced and the importers they seek would need to convince the on-trade clients about the complexities and concentration of their wines.

Also worth a special mention are Odfjell, Bouchon, Undurraga (red) and Aromo, though I did not have the time or the roller skates to try wines from all the producers. (the hotel did slip in not providing enough spittoons for people like me who were on duty and not merely to enjoy the company of Bacchus).

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Comments:

Posted By : Subhash Arora	*June 16, 2008 11:47*
Thank you for your comments, Mr. Naretto.I agree about the alcohol balance totally. Wine is all about balance, anyway. Some of my favourite wines like Amarone, wines from California, Rioja and Ribera del Duero are blockbuster wines with alcohol as high as 17% in some Amarones. As you mentioned, if ther is slight unbalance, the alcohol starts almost hurting the throat. Besides, in India a majority are vegetarians. I would agree that the wines would be great with full-bodied meats like beef steaks and game but we are restricted to lamb and chicken generally, with the additional complexities about hot chilies and flavours. It was in that context that I wrote. So long as the wine makers of the world are concerned about keeping the levels low, and try to find means to cap it at 14%, it sould be fine. And let us not forget, the intake of higher alcohol wine for the same quantity can be higher by up to 20%! Good luck in the Indian market and regards, Subhash Arora

Posted By : Viña Pérez Cruz	*June 16, 2008 11:12*
Dear Mr. Arora I am back in Chile, and still catching up with a lot of e-mails and pending things. I have the best recalls from the event at the Oberoi, it was a great event with excellent and interested attendance. Many thanks for your kind words and comments about our Perez Cruz wines during the tasting in New Delhi, it was quiet a nice event and very good attendance. Actually I checked the article you wrote a the Indian Wine Academy web site (http://www.indianwineacademy.com/item_3_224.aspx) Pretty interesting and encouraging for Chilean wineries, and thanks again for choosing Perez Cruz your favourite of the night. You are right about alcohol level, this is a matter difficult to manage having such a nice, good, and warm climate like Chile. But I do disagree on regards the difficulty to match food with wines at +14% as a general fact, specifically about our wines, because I believe everything is about balance, and even though we have 14,5% in all our wines (except the Cot at 14%) , there are most of all wines to match with food, because of the balance alcohol, acidity level, residual sugar, oak, etc. Very best regards Cristián Naretto Sales Director Viña Pérez Cruz

Posted By : Subhash Arora	*June 10, 2008 13:40*
Thank your for your comments and the compliments. You are right. I had nothing to do in the selection of wines for the guided tastings. I had been invited by His Excellency, the Ambassador of Chile, to address the group of 13 visiting wineries regarding the Indian wine market during luncheon meeting. Honestly, Oberoi did a very good job at that time. My only regret was that no wines were being served with the meal. In the evening, I was there for the first half of the tasting. Barring the glass shortage initially, I thought it was going very well. I was told by some people after I wrote the article that there were too many people and food did fall short. In defense of the embassy, I must say, too many people gate crashed. I think when invites were issued; there should have been tighter control at the gate. Subhash

Posted By : Avininder Singh	*June 10, 2008 8:40*
I read, with great interest, your article and felt moved to comment in some detail. The article was, as always, a very polished and erudite piece, I could not agree with you more on your comments about: CARMENERE as a signature grape for Chilean Wines The unexpectedly HIGH ALCOHOL CONTENT in the Chilean wines - even the ANAKENA CHARDONNAY 2007 listed an alcohol content of 14% However, I must record that for people, like me, who are from the Trade, are serious buyers, and, as you observed, " at work " at such Events rather than there merely" to enjoy the company of Bacchus ", the Guided Wine Tasting, though well presented by Magandeep, was rather SUPERFICIAL. Five wines, four of them Reds, was not the most ideal selection specially when I have personally witnessed both you ( European Excellence 2008 ) and Magan ( Sicilian Wines at Vinitaly India 2008 ) do full justice to 10 - 12 wines at a sitting. After all the Guided Tasting was meant, largely, for the Trade so I would have thought to showcase the ENTIRE RANGE - even if the product was not totally up to the mark - and would, personally, have included : A SPARKLING from Vina La Rosa or Undurraga A ROSE from Vina El Aromo A SAUVIGNON BLANC and maybe also a CHARDONNAY RESERVE from Casas Del Bosque A LIGUAI from Perez Cruz to those which were tasted. Bearing in mind the par - excellence selection that you made for the Opera Presentation at the Taj Mansingh on 12th May, 2008, I cannot believe that you had picked these wines - so I guess I have a serious bone to pick with my friend Magan !! Secondly, if numbers are the key, then the Chilean Wine Festival definitely " rocked " - 300 to 350 pax was my estimate too. But, at this stage it became a SOCIAL EVENT which is no bad thing because, after all, the presumption is that this crowd constitutes regular wine drinkers. However, again, for people like me, it became difficult to even carry on a rational conversation with the Exhibitors.I guess it is a tricky situation to balance TRADE NEEDS with SOCIAL DESIRES but to find guests bringing in teenage children was really the outside of enough. Lastly, if there was a SIGNAL FAILURE at the Festival - and it pains me deeply to say this being an ex-Oberoi man, myself - it was that of The Oberoi. Sloppy and amateurish pouring during the Guided Tasting, stodgy and totally unimaginative finger foods during the Walk Around Tasting and then a complete disaster at Dinner where guests faced EMPTY CHAFFING DISHES for nigh on half-an-hour - what can be possibly worse than this !! I stress this particularly because you have given a glowing testimonial to the Hotel which, in my opinion, is ENTIRELY UNDESERVED. You were busy elsewhere during the DINNER DISASTER and, naturally, this may not have come to your notice. The Trade and your lay admirers take your opinions very seriously and, naturally, for those not physically present at the Event, your article represents a faithful recording of events - I am sorry to say it is not so in this case. I spoke, at length, to Kunal Chauhan, Assistant F & B Service Manager, and the feedback that ha gave me reflects most adversely on the Chilean Embassy, so I will best leave it unsaid. All that I can say is - totally fairly and without any prejudice - that if I were to compare this with the show that the Taj Mansingh put on for European Excellence 2008, it would be like comparing the SUBLIME ( Taj ) with the RIDICULOUS ( Oberoi ) . I have been meaning to call on you. You have truly established the Indian Wine Academy, and by extension yourself, as the face and voice of the Wine Industry in India. With personal regards Avininder Singh CEO A to ZEE Services Unlimited 59 Gulmohar Enclave. New Delhi - 110049, India. GSM : 9899753030 CDMA : 9311153030

Posted By : Arun Batra	*June 09, 2008 16:52*
Subhash, Nice evening at the Chilean wine festival. It was difficult to assess all the wines –yes they didn’t give us roller skates as you mentioned in your article! I found the Chocolan wines worthy of mention esp the Pinot Noir – a varietal not commonly seen here. Arun


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