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Wines which were served for the evening are being imported
by Amfora Wines who specialize in a wide range of high quality niche and
boutique wines from Italy and the New World.
Over some excellent finger food, we gathered for aperitifs at the bar
of 19 The Avenue –the accompanying wine was the 2005 Cardellino
Chardonnay from the highly reputed stable of the Elena Walch estate in
Alto Adige. This DOC wine was fruity and succulent with a hint of oak
and went very well with the wasabi flavoured crispy peas.
Onto the main courses then whilst savouring the views of Lutyens Delhi's
best maintained roundabouts. Leading the way was the Lahn Sauvignon DOC
2005 – a dry zesty wine again from the Trentino –Alto Adige
area of Italy followed by the Pieropan La Rocca Soave Classico DOC 2005.
This deep yellow wine from the Veneto region is made from the Garganega
grape and has a good balance between fruit and acidity.
The presentation of the Mangostein sorbet in a dome of ice supported by
frozen ice tears literally took our members' breath away. This dish typifies
the level of excellence that Chef David has acquired in the art of food
presentation and was the underlying theme running through the food courses.
I chose the Shaved Tandoori Lamb as my main course to go with the Foradori
DOC 2005 which made from the Teroldego grape, was spicy and had a mélange
of fruit nuances. But being a foodie in addition to a wine enthusiast,
I did not turn down the offer of a slice of the five spiced duck with
a blob of mango and ginger chutney from my neighbour and I found this
to go extremely well with the Felsina Chianti Classico DOCG 2003.
This wine was Chianti at its classic best – elegant, fruity with
soft tannins and a long lingering finish- and was soon eagerly demolished
by our members. Animated conversation at both tables saw us through the
cheese and dessert courses and the courteous and efficient staff were
indeed patient as they waited for the last of us laggards to leave.
All in all, an excellent evening of food and wine, the narration of which
I hope will rouse its members out of their summer languor to attend some
extremely interesting events being put together by our indefatigable Subhash
Arora over the course of this summer.
Arun Batra is a Delhi based management consultant,
a food and wine enthusiast and a long time member of the Delhi Wine Club
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