The club for which about 60 members have already signed up and approved by the screening committee, will be run by an executive committee, headed by Ms. Bindu Malhotra as the President. Bindu has already run a couple of clubs with social causes successfully and has been keen to play the leadership role with the Delhi Wine Club.
Says Subhash Arora who has agreed to be the Chairman of the club and will advise and administer says, ‘it needs a person with a lot of passion for wine and an acumen to organise, without any financial rewards, to run a club of this nature. I have tried working with many people in Mumbai for several years but it was not possible to find the traits in one single person. I am sure Bindu will do a great job. Besides, I am happy the club will be run by a woman. I hope she will be able to motivate women into wine drinking and hopefully wean a few away from the heavy-duty alcohol that many are getting into, without realising the harm it causes the body.’
Advising the club will be the Ad guru, the ad film Director Prahlad Kakkar who has been a wine connoisseur for many years though he loves his single malts and cigars as well. Babita Malkani, another socialite wine lover, will be an active member of the executive committee, ensuring that like minded people who drink wine and are keen to learn as they drink join the club.
Just like the Delhi club, the Mumbai avatar will be a consumer club and will also concentrate on the wine education through the website, the space for which will be provided in www.delhiwineclub.com. It will also be as transparent as the parent club and all the events, menu and photo galleries will be a part of the club activities on the net. Besides tastings, dinners will be organised at various restaurants and hotels with JW Marriott as the Friend of the Club.
Several other venue resources including Olive Bandra and Mahalakshmi have promised active support. Many of the major importers have also come forward to work with the club in its objective of spreading the wine culture. The club will continue to be country, winery, region and importer neutral and promote its motto, ‘drink wine from any country that you like-but drink fine wine and drink moderately.’
The venue for the historical event is JW Marriott. Mr. Faiek Saadani, F & B Director is a man who is known for his exceptional managerial skills, innovative strategizing and contagious passion for wine and food. He jumped at the idea of Delhi Wine Club coming to Mumbai. Faiek who plays every role with equal élan-shuffling between a decision‐maker, a manager, and a mentor effortlessly, not only agreed spontaneously to organise the launch dinner but offered for some interesting incentives, including the sale of wine at 50% discount to members at the launch.
Wines for the dinner are being provided by the leading importer of Mumbai, FineWinesnMore whose Vice President Craig Wedge will present the wines. Says the founder CEO Dharti Desai, "I met Bindu Malhotra through Subhash about two months ago and had an instant connect with her even though she honestly admitted that she had no idea about the mechanics of this business. When she insisted that she wanted to do the launch of Terroir One only with FineWinesnMore (thanks to Subhash I am sure - to whom I owe a lot), I was only pleased and have left no compromise in providing her all the help. I am sure we will keep working together with the same passion and vision as the club gains momentum.’
There are already a few wine clubs in Mumbai, but mostly with some commercial goal-unlike this venture. As Arora puts it, ‘a city like Mumbai and Delhi should have them in hundreds- this is one way of encouraging wine drinking and reducing consumption of overall alcohol and alcoholism!’
Terroir One, like the parent club advises moderate drinking of wine and any form of alcohol, for a healthy lifestyle. |