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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 The sparkling wines selected were Sula Brut, Sula Rose Brut, Zampa Brut, Zampa Soiree Rose, Fratelli Brut zero dosage and the latest kid in the block, York which is where the Chandon crushed the grapes initially and also finished the wines until last year. The spontaneity with which the producers offered to participate was commendable and shows the credibility we enjoy with them to promote wine consumption. The sole absentee Chandon which refused to participate with equal spontaneity, as a matter of policy.
The objective of the tasting was two-fold: to give the members an experience of understanding the wine tasting process and exposure to serious tasting and judging the wines they way professionals do at the International wine competitions, forty of which Arora has frequented so far. The wines were tasted totally blind and at random, in that no one including Arora knew which wines were being served and in which order. Unlike the Prosecco tasting last month, we even mixed the Rose Brut with the Brut in the order of tasting.
 The standard 100-point system was used. The rules of marking were explained again since there were many new and even younger people in the list of judges, which went up to 20-still ok to serve out of one bottle. Many Sommeliers and snobs would scoff at the idea of such tasting but the seriousness with which everyone took each aspect of the wine and the genuine score based on what they felt at that moment would put the sceptics to shame.
To make it more interesting and challenging, a new element was introduced this time- 2 more of the same 6 wines were added to the wines, taking the number to 8 once again only Rana, the Beverage Manager and one of our office staff monitoring the wines knew which sample number corresponded to which wine.
If the excise department played a villain because of the stringent rules due to the elections with multitudes of dates and times, the restaurant matched them in the procurement procedure for the wines. Sticklers for the procedure (although all the wines were excise duty and VAT paid) they didn’t allow any deviation with the result that one of the wines almost didn’t arrive and with the whole of their sales team monitoring, the supply could be managed barely an hour before the tasting began. Despite the fact that a bottle of Chandon had been purchased from a retail store at the MRP and we were willing to show the receipt, the restaurant refused to budge and we had to cancel this wine. There was no possibility of slipping in a Prosecco as one of the Indian producers desired, since the restaurant does not stock it even though we were willing to buy a bottle from them.
 However, once the event started, it was smooth from the word ‘go’. The bottles had been nicely wrapped up with brown paper and sealed with plastic sheet so that the number using a marker was the only identity of the bottle. Though several international competitions like Vinitaly allow no discussion after the wine has been scored, we allowed a small discussion so the members could share their views on what they scored what they did. Each member was told to use best of reasoning to score which would be tabulated and results announced at a later date for the Top Two wines. Individual scores will be mailed to each producer.
The snacks prepared by Chef Amit were outstanding and it may be said in fairness that all the bubblies matched quite well. Salad was nothing to write home about but the main course with mutton stew, vegetarian stew and chicken Chettinad with Malabar parathas were simply sinful. If one wasn’t overly fussy, they paired well with most sparkling wines on offer-including the Rose.
 Two aspects that stood out very clearly were that those who came for the tasting had a rocking time. The possibility of adding knowledge to their wine repertoire made them request for yet another similar blind tasting in future. The other factor was that every member put his or her best foot forward to rate the wines according to their own palate.
The restaurant will do good business because of the quality of food. Chef Saby wasn’t there physically but one could clearly feel his stamp and despite several anxious days before the Event, it turned out one of the most enjoyable events of the Delhi Wine Club. Good weather was also responsible for the al-fresco dining.
There might not have been a consensus on the Top Two wines but it was generally agreed strongly by the tasters that all the Indian sparkling wines we tasted are good enough with Indian coastal food.
Subhash Arora
Gallery Menu
Blind Tasting Video - Part 1 Part 2 |