|
 Hardys Stamp of Australia Riesling Gewürztraminer and Shiraz Cabernet and Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc (from Chile) are available for Rs. 500 a glass. All three are great buys-though if I were to have only one glass, I would go for the crisp and fruity Sauvignon Blanc; Riesling-Gewürztraminer is my all-time favourite at the Delhi Golf Club where it is a steal at under Rs. 1800 a bottle.
Even Sula and Chandon Brut are available at the same attractive 5-star restaurant price of Rs. 500. Marchesi di Frescobaldi red is priced at slightly less modest price of Rs. 600 a glass.
If you go to Tian where the Pan Asian food is really special and reasonable if you order Trailer one- the degustation Menu with 6 dishes costing Rs.2500++ (it goes up to Rs. 5000++ for the 12-dish Menu although 80% of the people order the 9 dish Menu costing Rs. 3500++) the food is amazing thanks to super Chef Vikramjit Roy, but the food cries out for wines.
Order the set of 3 wines-paired with the food, costing Rs. 1500 for 150 mL pour in each glass and that gives you bigger bang for your buck if you are a wine lover The wines are otherwise priced at over Rs. 1000 in the main list, so you get a great value-for money wines which are of very decent quality and are notches above the plonk you get at the Retail shops.
Pouilly Fume En Travertin 2013 Henry Bourgeois is elegant, fruity and slightly smoky wine that gives you a preview of Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc. Saint Clair 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough is an all-time-popular Sauvignon that gives you an opportunity to compare the wine from the two most popular regions of the world. Remole 2014 from Frescobaldi is an entry level Super Tuscan made from 85% Sangiovese and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and is an easy drinking quaffable red wine with a couple of the dishes recommended by Chef Vikramjit Roy.
Chef Roy experimented with several wines before deciding on this pairing and therefore one gets to have a properly wine-matched food, not only enhancing the gourmet experience but tasting 3 different wines. It does not say on the Menu but if one wants to have an extra glass, the restaurant will oblige by charging Rs. 500 for the additional glass.
We have always advocated the philosophy that the 5-star hotels- and in fact even the stand-along restaurants ought to have a small number of wines (2-6) listed at such a special price on the Menu that one is tempted to order the wine and sample with the meal. Once you taste the enhanced gourmet experience, you are likely to order a glass or two with your meal as a habit-and that is what wine culture is all about.
The wines thus listed at ITC Maurya Sheraton may not earn the hotel the value-for-money wine list but have definitely earned a respectable place in this column.
Subhash Arora |