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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 It takes a bold and ambitious Chef like Nira Singh who was born and raised in Montreal to relocate to South Delhi to purvey modern cuisine with French Canadian influences. Most people would have let this opportunity pass but not this gutsy, talented chef. She opened a small eatery, Chez Nini, in the relatively quieter and leafier environs of Mehar Chand Market in South Delhi two years ago. “Mehar Chand Market? Where’s that?” was the reaction of most of the Delhi cognoscenti. Despite rave reviews by the food writers who matter in Delhi, folks didn’t give this place more than six months to a year before folding up.
But Chef Nira wormed her way into the stomachs and hearts of the Delhi diner with her well-presented yet unpretentious preparations and today you would be well advised to make a reservation irrespective of whether you are going for lunch or dinner. But yes, Subhash Arora’s mail announcing the March dinner of the Delhi Wine Club at Chez Nini was to kick off the 2ndanniversary celebrations of the restaurant underscored how quickly time flies.
The email responses indicated a full house of 30-35 people that can be accommodated in the venue on the first floor. Subhash’s source of high blood pressure in organizing wine dinners comes primarily on account of wine logistics but life is never without its surprises. This time last minute cancellations from members just before the cut off meant Subhash staring at the likelihood of having  many empty spaces and delving into the Clubs coffers to meet the minimum guarantees to the restaurant. Some quick and nimble finger work on his mobile resulted in a spate of fresh bookings so much so that we were a full house with probably a shade over 40 that evening!!
Wines for the evening were to be all from the stable of Cesari winery that has over 100 hectares of prime vineyards in the areas of Valpolicella and Lugana in Veneto region of Italy. Single banner wine dinners are indeed interesting as one gets to see the wine maker’s signature in their interpretations across varietals. We were also fortunate to have Mr. Joan Carlos Vale, the Export Manager of Cesari with us to educate us on the intricacies of their wines for the evening.
As we trooped up the stairs to the first floor of Chez Nini we were greeted with glasses of Cesari Essere Pinot Grigio-Chardonnay 2012 – a straw coloured crisp wine with an early drinking style. The early start of 8pm seemed to suit our members as the evening was well underway with all on board by 8.30pm. And knowing members would be a bit snacky on arrival, Nira Singh had a free flow of Hors d'oeuvre which were very creatively presented on prawn crackers whose sides curl up when fried to make a basket for delicious veg and non-veg fillings – particularly easy to handle with a glass of wine in one hand.
Sitting down to dinner after initial welcome and remarks by Subhash, we were just blown away by the Amuse Bouche of a Cauliflower Bavarios with White truffle honey & parmesan salad. The Bavarios was light and flavorful –amazing what can be done to an otherwise pedestrian vegetable. The Roasted Pumpkin soup which followed was sweet and nutty and was roundly appreciated by all.
 Onto the reds and we had the Cesari Essere Merlot 2011 - an approachable wine ,pretty light on the alcohol at 11.5% with notes of plum on the nose and palate. The Roasted Pumpkin soup and the Apple and fennel salad were presented together simply and elegantly on a wooden platter. .
The wines took a quantum leap upwards with the Cesari Mara Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2009 .This wine’s production process calls for Valpolicella (which is a blend of three red grape varieties - Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara) to be added to a cask containing the skins and lees left over from fermented Amarone wines. This process of adding (or “repassing”) and its resultant second fermentation gives it the unique Ripasso title. This DOC wine is elegant, fruit driven with a long finish. It was a pleasure to drink with the lip-smacking antipasti of Herb Gnocchi with fried Mackerel and roasted root vegetables.
Raising the quality bar was the wine that everyone was eagerly awaiting the whole evening – the flagship of the Cesari stable – the Cesari Amarone della Valpolicella 2008. This wine also has its own unique process of production in as much as once picked, the grapes are left to dry and shrivel in Cesari’s specially designed drying facility for 3-4 months to allow concentration of the sugars and flavours before fermentation and barreling. The results are awesome – a ruby coloured , rich ,well-structured and powerful wine worth every sip of its DOC billing. At 15% alcohol, this basic Amarone gives you more bang for your buck but in a dignified way.
 I ordered the Baked Lamb Meatloaf as it was the only red meat on the main course to go with the Ripasso and the Amarone. Sadly, it turned out to be a bit dry and chewy and would have been better accompanied with some rich jus. I decided to make up for lost ground and ordered the risotto and was not disappointed –both the mushroom and the squid options were top class. Those who were adventurous and ordered the quail were not disappointed either.
The presentation of the desserts- the Strawberry trifle and the Chocolate mousse – was once again as eye catching as tasty. You may want to take a few moments to look at the gallery section where our diligent Club lens-man Adil Arora recorded these wonderful creations for posterity as he has done for over  200 wine dinners in the past.
A truly great evening thanks not only to some good planning by Subhash and Hema Connoisseur on the wine front but also to the efforts of Chef Nira in the kitchen; she made sure we had no reason to be unhappy. Yet another memorable dinner with great food and 5-star service! One looks forward to participating in many such Anniversaries in the future!
Arun Batra
Arun Batra is a Delhi based food and wine enthusiast and a long-time member of the Delhi Wine Club |