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 My ears stood up when the Agricultural Counsellor of the German Embassy told me in a meeting a couple of months ago that the new Ambassador was very passionate about wine. I requested an early meeting with the ambassador, Dr. Martin Ney. I was very pleased to know during the first few minutes of the meeting that he was a wine cognoscente with a passion for wines in general and specifically German wines-be it Riesling, Silvaner or Spätburgunder etc.
Mosel Rieslings for a dinner
He was fairly direct when he sought my guidance to help increase the presence of German wines in India. Having visited most of the wine producing areas more than twice, I am a great fan of Rieslings, especially from Mosel. As I wrote in a lighter vein an Article 7 years ago in 2009 in delWine-Riesling is a Riesling….unless it is from Mosel. And perhaps it should also be called ‘Moseling.’
Rieslings from Mosel are generally slightly sweet (off dry), fruity and crisp, making them an enviable match with slightly hot and spicy Indian food. They have a unique minerality in the flavour because of the soil having black/blue slate. As more Indians start drinking wine with food, Riesling would become popular with much faster speed than at the present time.
I was pleased when he accepted my very first recommendation- to host a dinner inviting select importers, f & B Personnel, sommeliers and journalists. He shuffled through his notes and asked me if one of the 7-9 March evenings would be fine for me so he could invite a group of 25 guests for a cosy, sit-down dinner. He requested me to recommend the guest list for dinner at his residence around his dinner table. He also graciously offered to take out Mosel Rieslings wines from his personal cellar and match with the Indian and German cuisine. Within a couple of days 7th March was finalised.
Dinner at the Ambassador’s Residence
 At 7:30 sharp the gates of the residence were opened and the few cars that had lined up outside before time, thanks to the thin traffic, were let in to drop the invitees at the porch. Ambassador Ney was ready to welcome everyone individually with a bottle of sekt (as sparkling wine is known in Germany) ready to pour. His charming wife Dr Gabriele Ney was soon at hand welcoming guests, occasionally interrupted by the staff busy with the last minute preparation for what felt like a State Banquet, except that the Ambassador was genuinely warm and welcoming, witty, informal and friendly, making everyone feel at home.
A pleasant surprise was the presence of Dr. Rolf Gänz from Mosel, known for its complex, generally off dry mineral Rieslings. Rolf had visited me at my residence last year. A long time resident of Bernkastel village, perhaps the most well-known wine village in Mosel, Rolf works with a bottling equipment manufacturer, making plants with a wide range of less than 100,000 bottles going up to 250 million! In fact, with an office in Mumbai, his company is already doing business in India. He would love to add wines to his list of exports too.
Rolf had timed his visit to India to be able to attend the event for which he helped his friend Ambassador Ney select wines and Dr. Gabriele deftly selected the Menu to pair each dish with a different wine. Cusanus stiftung Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Brut 2011 was a welcome aperitif sparkling wine with the delicious snacks, setting the tone for the evening as informal and yet an elegantly structured dinner with pre-determined seating with tags et al.
 It was slightly embarrassing since a few Indian invitees who had confirmed, neither showed up nor informed the host, in a typical Delhi chalta hai style even as the hosts had lines of worry on their faces because more people had confirmed than the seats available and the staff could be seen moving around in hushed tone setting up extra chairs which eventually remained unoccupied, besides delaying the sit-down.
The Ambassador introduced himself formally at the dining table and after giving the genesis of the dinner evening, introduced Rolf Gänz who introduced the earlier Brut as the bubbly from a 500-year old winery and sparkling house in Mosel, run by a foundation. The St. Ludwig Slate Estate Riesling 2013 was a beautiful match for the Paneer Roulade made in Indian style. Chef Rajiv is very creative and one could see that from the presentation of the dish.
Dr. Loosen Blauschiefer Riesling trocken 2014 was my favourite wine not only because I know the owner Dr. Ernie Loosen (who also happens to be a cousin of Rolf) personally and it was dry fresh and crispy enough on the palate, but it was paired beautifully well with the Creamy Shrimp soup by Dr. Gabriele. Normally, I don’t even care for wine with most soups, but the shrimp was a classic match and the creamy bit was balanced by the acidity in the wine. If it had been served at a Delhi Wine Club dinner, I would have unabashedly asked for another bowl. This wine was clean, crispy, dry with a minor sweetness and medium floral finish.
Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium Bernkasteler Riesling Kabinett feinherb 2013 served with the delicious combination of Dahi Murgh, Beans Poriual and Jeera rice (it was the Ambassador’s idea to pair wine with an Indian main dish to show that the Mosel Riesling goes very well with Indian food. Although Rolf explained the term feinherb (a nebulous term even for Germans, but suffice it to say it implies the wine is ‘dry-ish and sweet-ish’ for this Article!) It felt like 35 gms/li of res. sugar and though it was a natural match with the Kabinett Riesling, I would like the dish slightly hotter to counter the sweetness in the wine.
Heiling Geist Stiftung Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett feinherb 2014 did not get to express itself to those who paired it with the Espresso Tart with ice-cream dessert which was much sweeter,
making the wine mouthfeel much drier- though on its own it was a delicious wine with around 25 gms sugar feeling on the mouth. In fact, the dessert went better with the previous wine. This pairing violated the basic principle of pairing that the dessert must not be sweeter than the wine (of course, the reverse holds true as well).
Subhash Arora who had facilitated the dinner evening thanked the German First Couple in India and Rolf Gänz, who would do well to hold a Master class on Mosel wines on his next visit and explain what terms like Bernkasteler mean- it signifies a produce from the village of Bernkastel-or what is the significance of Kabinett, feinherb and similar terms for German wines (to make the labelling consistent I have listed them with the producer’s name first and the vintage as last).
Before we dispersed, it was unanimously decided that the Neys are perfect hosts- a very social, affable and wine loving couple who will make sure that Rieslings and other German premium wines (hopefully VDP wines as well-but that is another subject for future) find their rightful place on the Indian shelves and tables, despite the high tax regime. The wines served had kept that premise in mind.
Subhash Arora
Menu Wine Menu
Tags: Dr. Martin Ney, Mosel wines, Dr. Gabriele Ney, Mosel, German wines, Riesling, Dr. Rolf Gänz, Cusanus stiftung Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Brut 2011, St. Ludwig Slate Estate Riesling 2013,
Dr.Loosen Blauschiefer Riesling trocken 2014, Ernie Loosen, Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium Bernkasteler Riesling Kabinett feinherb 2013, Heiling Geist Stiftung Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett feinherb 2014, Bernkasteler, Bernkastel, Kabinett, feinherb |