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 Those of you who missed the opportunity of visiting the WOW (World of Wines Showcase) at Pullman Aerocity on September 14 with around 120 wines to taste since that was primarily a trade event, a fabulous opportunity is knocking at your doorstep as La Cave Wines and Spirits, a modern retail outlet run by Madhulika Bhattacharyya Dhall teams up with the Oberoi Gurgaon for a 3-day long extravaganza on October 14-16 and showcases around 100 imported wines from quality producers including Gaja, Castello Banfi, Marchesi di Barolo, Frescobaldi ( Luce), Tenuta San Guido (Guidalberto), Penfolds, Chateau Clarke and several others. You can also imbibe fine champagnes- James Bond’s favourite Bollinger and the Cristal fame- Louis Roederer.
In fact, those who attended the event at Pullman Aerocity New Delhi have already got the taste of how to enjoy wines at a tasting and would be at the front of the line when the Fine Wine Affair opens exactly a month later- at noon on October 14. Needless to say your spouse would not mind you partake the Affair and some of them may even join you for a wine binge. Please plan not to drive after the Affair; no matter how little you indulge, it would be beyond the legal and safe limit and is not recommended.
With several other wine related activities to make you want to go back for each of the 3 days, it is going to be a mega-event for both La Cave and The Oberoi Gurgaon, especially since the wines showcased would be all foreign, and some of them might be perhaps new for many palates of Delhi NCR. People from Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Agra and other tier 2 cities may also come in small groups of wine connoisseurs and novices; however the event will not differentiate between the two categories.
The premium quality of several wines might make you salivate and tempt to buy the Rs. 2000 ticket with which you can taste 50 wines. Thus if you visit on all 3 days you could taste all the showcased wines- and then some (you will need to buy different ticket every day though. As of now no season tickets are being sold.) If the organisers accept my recommendation of a non-transferable season ticket at a reduced price, it might even incentivise connoisseurs to visit on all three days.
Madhulika Bhattacharyya Dhall, proprietor of La Cave wine and liquor retail store at Select City Mall, features over 300 imported wines from Brindco along with beer, spirits and Indian wines at her store. She says, ‘the Fine Wine Affair is a wine appreciation long-weekend for Delhi NCR to celebrate small growers and premium wine labels along with an exquisite culinary showcase. One can also meet winemakers, producers or key representatives of world renowned wineries who will pour their wines in interactive learning sessions’.
Aman Dhall who owns Brindco was getting ready to leave for Europe when delWine caught up with him. He says, ‘Madhulika has been working for months to make it a memorable tasting for her clients and potential customers. She has selected the wines and has my full support but otherwise, Brindco is not involved.’ He assured delWine that it would be perhaps for the first time that so many imported wines with so much variety and diversity would be available to the consumers to taste.
Different types of tickets
There will be several premium wines from the Old World as well as New World; from France, Italy, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and even Japan (there are no Indian wines). Three types of tickets allowing different number of wines to taste will be on sale. For instance, if you don’t like ‘binge tasting’ or if you are a novice you could buy the basic Rs.1000 ticket so that in any 3- hour slot allotted to you, starting from noon, 10 wines may be tasted. If you like to take the middle of the road, opt for the Rs 1,500 ticket to taste 20 wines-Editor’s Choice.
There will also be Master Classes for which passes will be sold only to the buyers of wine tasting ticket. There will be several other programmes for entertainment and gourmet food tasting too as well as matching different local foods from the countries of wine origin to make it a memorable and fun event for everyone.
This is a must-attend event, highly recommended by delWine. We may add however, that we do not have any interest or consideration for the strong recommendation.
Subhash Arora
Complete List of Wines to be poured |