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| Writer with Emilia (r) |
My recent trip to India – Delhi and Mumbai - ended in a ‘grand finale’ at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel in Apollo Bunder Mumbai where a masterclass was held to explain the Italian wines from the area of production of Montalcino, Tuscany. The aim was to explain to the food and beverage staff of the Taj group the importance of Brunello di Montalcino in the hierarchy of Italian wines.
As most connoisseurs of Italian wine know, Brunello is the king of Tuscan and Italian wines and sits at the peak of the pyramid. To complement the mastercalss I was travelling with the special guest Emilia Nardi from the renowned estate Tenute Silvio Nardi, one of Montalcino’s founder members of the Consortium of wine growers and a producer who consistently receives top scores from Decanter, Wine Spectator and Robert Parker.
Nardi’s estate produces three Docg wines: Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino and a Single vineyard ‘Manachiara’ Brunello di Montalcino, besides an array of other non Docg wines from the region.
The masteclass was arranged through Aman Sharma, Food & Beverage manager of the Taj group who was quite enthusisastic about the idea. I had been told to expect up to 20-25 participants from the food & beverage division of Mumbai’s Taj hotels. I was amazed to find myself in front of a full room with no less than 50 participants. More than that, I was honoured that Manager – Corporate Food and Beverage – Taj Group of Hotels, Aman Sharma and Vice President Food & Beverage, Ms Shirin Batliwala participated in the tasting together with Siddhartha Natu (F&B Manager at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel).
What also impressed me was the level of knowledge on wine and professional training that the Taj imparts to their staff.
The Mastercalss lasted almost two hours, during which the area of production of Montalcino was illustrated and the three wines of Tenute Silvio Nardi were tasted and discussed in depth. It is always very satisfying to find well trained professional staff that has a keen interest and a passion for wine, which in this case is fuelled by Aman Sharma’s attentive and knowledgeable passion for wine and Ms Batliwala’s awareness to be abreast with key producers and wine labels from the world’s most prestigious areas of production. Congratulations and Thank you Taj!
The Masterclass at the Taj was a happy ending to our visit to India where we had the opportunity of meeting and tasting with many knowledgeable people like Rifaquat Mirza. GM of the Park, Hyderabad, Tim Bruce, the GM of Hyatt Regency in Delhi and Andrew Steel, the flamboyant and passionate GM of Shangri-la.
It worries me when I hear about a majority of hoteliers in India not being wine-friendly or in the know of various wines. But if Indian hotel industry is in the hands of people like these gentlemen, I must say the future of wines in the hotel industry has a lot of excitement in store.
Michele Shah
Michele Shah is an English wine journalist specialising in Italian wines. She is a writer, author and an international judge who also felicitates wine programmes, with Italy as her specialty. She lives in Tuscany and has been to India on a few occasions. Ms Shah may be reached at micheleshah@gmail.com |