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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 The 241st Dinner of the Delhi Wine club was a true collaboration of the Club with Sula Selections-the import arm of Sula Vineyards, and Hotel Sheraton Saket. At a chance meeting at the Golf Bar of ITC Maurya Hotel almost a year ago with Cecilia Oldne and Rishi Raj Singh who was then the Beverage Director of the hotel, I had suggested that we host a dinner at ITC Maurya with wines imported by Sula Selections, which Cecilia should attend and present wines from their import portfolio to let people know that Sula was not only the leading producer but had also a sizeable wine collection from reputed international wineries.
Before the project could fructify, Rishi was promoted as the Resident Manager of Hotel Sheraton in Saket, a part of the ITC Hotels group. Cecilia had been on a constant move because of the increased push for exports. Finally, June 11 and the Pan Asian Restaurant - were frozen as she could come from Mumbai on that day. Pan Asian at Sheraton has been one of the best known restaurants for Pan Asian cuisine since it opened about 12 years ago. With an open kitchen, a wide expanse of space and a multi-cultural and multi-country cuisine, it offers a grand culinary experience as we had noticed a couple of times at very successful wine dinners earlier.
I was very comfortable about the venue knowing that Chef Vaibhav Bhargava was holding fort there. I had eaten at Guppy by Ai where he had trained under Chef Vikram Khatri who worked under the best-known Japanese Maestro Chef Nakamura, at Sakura Restaurant at Hotel Metropolitan. We have had unforgettable wine dinners there and bowed to him incessantly on multiple occasions. Chef Nakamura has since moved to Pan Asian but was to be on leave on this date.
Sula Selections has an interesting portfolio that includes Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne (the 2006 Brut won the International Trophy for Sparkling Wines at the Decanter Awards earlier this week), Hardys from Australia (which has taken upon the challenge of becoming the number one Australian Brand in India, a privilege it has in the home country), Ruffino (Tuscany), Cono Sur (Chile), Trapiche (Argentina) and soon to be launched Kumala from South Africa and Mud House from New Zealand. The duties being heavy on champagne caused a budget problem but I was not willing to have the dinner without their star label. After several parlays things finally fell in place for the dinner on June 11.
In the meanwhile, the new Counsellor and Head of ProChile in India, Carolina Vasquez had arrived to replace Nestor Riveros who had left after 10 years of assignment in India with a  break in between. ProChile has been a big supporter of the Delhi Wine Club and I was keen to invite her for the evening on behalf of the club. Despite being in New Delhi for merely a couple of weeks, she knew the reputation of the club and its support to the promotion of Chilean wines (the club promotes wines from all the countries but has had an excellent relationship with all the Chilean Ambassadors and Heads of ProChile since inception). She agreed to be the Special Guest of the evening; it helped that she likes Cono Sur wines very much, not only since it has been chosen as one of the Top Ten Most Popular Wine Brands globally.
When I sent out emails to the club members informing them about the dinner I was confident that at Rs. 3000 pp, it would be booked within minutes. But a rude shock was in store for me. Silence with a lukewarm response! I knew that our affluent members would be travelling overseas in the peak of summer but the planned 30 would be in Delhi, willing to attend an extremely interesting and well curated dinner, I thought! Many people mistakenly presumed the dinner was with Sula domestic wines-which they drink normally in the house anyway. The recent episode of Maggie noodles, discovered with extra MSG (who didn’t know that!) might have put off some people who were perhaps suddenly cold to the idea of Chinese food. It was a relief to learn from the restaurant that they had discontinued its use years ago.
Thanks to my sincere efforts, we were over 15 people beyond capacity on the D day, despite regretting to 8. But Gandharv Dhingra, the Asst. F & B Manager who had put his heart and soul into organising the event, was pro-active enough to shift the sitting arrangement from the PDR to the main dining area to handle the bigger number. Aperitif service was moved to the PDR instead. When the guests arrived, they were greeted by familiar numbers from a 2-piece band while Piper Heidsieck was poured for the parched throats. It was during the later part of our Happy Hour that members realised there were no hot snacks and traditional pass around snacks except munchies, ostensibly to keep the appetite alive.
 Whether it was the pangs of hunger or the Presentation and the flavour of Hau-maki-Rice Paper Rolled with peppers, cut mango and basil were so special that I found the dish delicious, refreshing and crunchy on the palate that I unabashedly asked for one more portion. Many members and I were quickly obliged. The easy drinking Ruffino Orvieto Classico DOC 2013 dutifully walking with it. The light bodied, fruity, simple but clean wine made from Trebbiano grapes, was well matched and added to the taste significantly.
Cono Sur Chardonnay Bicicleta 2014 was young and fresh with citrus aromas that merged into the flavour which had shades of minerality. the Tuna Uramaki Sushi Roll with spicy tuna was a vivid example that Chef Vaibhav Bhargava had blossomed into an excellent Japanese cuisine chef. It was also quite a compatible match with Chinese Dimsums- Duet of prawn hargao and chicken suimai- two pieces each of prawn and succulent chicken dumplings with chili, lemon coriander sauce, which melted in your mouth.
But what impressed me more with the Dimsums, was the darker, feminine, elegant sibling with a silky voice that engaged the members more –and throughout the evening. Pinot Noir Bicicleta Pinot Noir 2014 was fresh, juicy, light bodied wine with intense perfume of rose petals-the sort of a wine you can nurse throughout the evening by nosing alone-if you are a teetotaler!
The Musk Melon Sorbet was a timely palate cleanser that provided a respite from food as well as the Pinot being poured generously. Main Course was again a forte of Chef Bhargava and his Sous Chef Deepak Sarkar who together not only dished out with dexterity, four main course dishes-including a fish preparation and one vegetarian dish Grilled Silken tofu, asparagus and artichoke with sweet spicy soy which was an excellent pairing with the Pinot Noir. I was tempted to order the Chicken teriyaki, slow cook shitake and onion-Chicken leg roulade, shitake mushroom, onion glazed with yuzu teriyaki sauce over fish.The Green curry fried rice made a delectable ‘Ménage a trois’ with the chicken and Pinot Noir.
Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva 2011 is a classical Tuscan favourite with Sula Selections –a natural match for the Beer marinated tenderloin- the Tender steak served with bean  sprout in moro miso sauce. As one of our Chilean guests Counselor Gustavo Cantuarias Concha later exclaimed, ‘that was one of the best tenderloins I’ve had in a while. One can assume he was talking of the perfect pairing!
I am not a dessert person (for health reasons) and normally avoid desserts at wine dinners. But I succumbed to my temptations and went for not one-but two of the Fresh mango cream cheese milli feuille (though I don’t remember the cream on my plate. I convinced myself that the second piece of the mille feuille worked as a substitute for the Chocolate Tart.
It was certainly one of the most successful, vibrant and vivacious dinners we have had in the Delhi Wine Club, thanks to the full force behind it by Rishi Raj Singh-the Resident Manager who commented we should have a similar one very soon, Gandharv Dhingra, the affable Asst. Foods and Beverage members who put hours behind and during the dinner, Chef Bhargava who has staked his claim to fame as an innovative Chef with this dinner, Cecilia Oldne who got her total team in Delhi into the act.
Rocky Mohan, the new entrant to the Club, was thoroughly immersed and was full of praise for the event; his wife Rekha Mohan had actually contributed more than the cost by regaling the members with her jazz Crooner styled sizzling numbers of the 1960s behind the mike. Several guests who had come for the first time had a preview of how and why the Delhi Wine Club rocks!
Subhash Arora
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