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 As I walked in the venue, the quaint Lodi Garden Restaurant on Lodi Road I thought of the eclectic music acts held at this venue and the alfresco meals that always work in the Delhi winters. Today it was all smiley faces, with a nice table layout, though some of the people behind the desks looked uneasy due to sultry weather. Emma Hammonds from Ruffino even had an umbrella up for some time. But her interactions with all the invitees were very effervescent as she talked about the famous Chianti Classico story which most didn’t know about.
I walked into the very affable Mattias Amstuz of the Groupopenaflor from Mendoza and had a very enriching chat about my favourite grape Malbec. He explained the Chardonnay would have been better if served a bit more chilled. I could not resist taking personal responsibility to follow up with the restaurant staff that was around and asked them to continuously replace the ice in the huge wine buckets.
Zaheen Khatri, the North India wine tastings chief played a true host along with Prrarthona Pal Chaudhary and Cecilia Oldne because Rajeev Samant, the Founding Director and CEO was not expected till later in the evening. They really worked the room, the garden that is. There were the usual suspects of the wine circuit to meet. But there were some new, interesting people as well. The food and beverage faculty from the Oberoi School of Hotel management and my friend Sushil Gupta who runs a networking club, were some of them.
In a bid to provide the trade people and consumers a global experience never seen in India before, Sula had kicked-off its three-city tour – The Sula Selections ‘Globe in a Glass’ Roadshow 2016, this year in Delhi on October 3rd. The next stops were to be Bangalore on the 5th, ending the tour in Mumbai on the 7th.
 Wine and spirits showcased were Mud House from New Zealand, Hardys Australia, Trapiche Argentina, Cono Sur Chile, Kumala South Africa, Antica Sambuca, Remy Martin Cognac, Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, Ruffino Italy, Cointreau France, Don Alejandro Tequila Mexico, Drambuie France, Mount Gay Rum Barbados, St Remy Brandy, Volare Italy, Pitu Cachaca Brazil, Bouchard Aine & Fils France and the most recent entrant Le Grand Noir France.
The exhibition had also called upon eminent spokespeople from the respective brands to provide the invitees for the event an opportunity to meet and greet with prominent wine commentators and educators and help them understand taste, flavours and more. Distinguished names from their principals were – Ann-Marie Battista Sharp- Commercial Director, Accolade Wines; Emma Hammonds, Regional Director, Asia, Constellation Brands; Nick Rees, Marketing Manager, Remy Cointreau; Vitoria Cavalcanti, Third Generation Owner, Pitú; Jon Tracey, Export Manager, Boisset UK/Ireland, Bouchard Aine & Fils; Matias Gerardo Amstutz, Corporate Business Manager India, Middle East and Oceania, Trapiche.
Speaking on the occasion, Cecilia Oldne, VP–Marketing & Global Brand Ambassador of Sula Vineyards, said “This tour was put together for our valued customers- bringing wines and spirits produced or imported by Sula and the people behind the brands all under one roof. Sula is today not only the leading wine producer in India but also one of the top wine and spirits importer. This is a great opportunity for Sula, the overseas producers and customers to engage.”
 But the man I wanted to talk about was Robert Joseph, partner in the winery producing Le Grand Noir. He is arguably a leading authority on wines, although many know him for his 16- month stint as the London Telegraph’s wine writer I discovered that he wears so many hats now. He organizes wine awards all over the world, educates and advocates about wine...the list can go on and on. Though he is a consulting editor to Meininger Wine Business International, he said he preferred the more innovative online source. His humility in his own choice of words about what he has been doing and will continue to do was very heart warming. May we meet again!
It was around 5pm and I have had enough wine mingled in trivia when I saw Rajeev Samant walk in. He was graceful as ever when he told me, ‘this is our first road show and we are absolutely thrilled. I mean look at the atmosphere. Sometimes you just can’t calculate the weather or the Navratras (we were well into the 9-day religious ritual of abstaining and fasting in the Northern India). I am sure it will get better every year.” He is certainly the most lateral thinking wine person in India when it comes to organising events. He was mingling with everyone, sharing his interesting insights.
As the sun went down, the Pitu stall had big queue and people were enjoying the tune of the popular Jazz-Funk quartet – ‘Afterglow’, an upcoming Delhi band that provided a perfect ambience to go with the great mix of wine, spirits, food, people and flowing conversations!
It was an interesting roadshow that I would look forward to visiting again next year.
Rifaquat Mirza |