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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 Princess Sabina Corsini of the Corsini family wineries and the Canadian expat wine educator Keith Edgar now living in Kolkata accompanied Liam Steevenson MW who visited India for a few days doing events which including a wine dinner at the Delhi Wine Club on September 30. But the first part of the evening belonged to Liam who was assisted by Edgar in the serving of the two wines. Following the traditions of the club, the presentation was in an informal atmosphere on the terrace of Rara Avis restaurant where delicious snacks were also served as the members sipped the wine and soaked words of wisdom, devoid of technical jargon.
Masterclass has become a buzzword in the Indian wine and spirit industry. There is no dearth of experts holding a master class on Californian wines on one day, the Belgian beer the next day and perhaps Single Malts on another day without having an in-depth knowledge or without ever visiting the region or adequate tasting, a casual flying visit notwithstanding. Most Master classes on wine are focussed on the presentation of wines being served during the evening dinner.
Therefore, when Keith Edgar who organised the visits, dinners in Kolkata and Delhi asked me if I was interested in a wine dinner, my mind was very clear. I wanted Liam to hold a Masterclass-howsoever elementary -but focussing on the two varietals and the regions popular, without much reference to the wines for the evening or his experience with any specific winery; in short, no technical jargon or reference to a particular producer.
Liam was quite excited about the idea too. Apparently, there hadn’t been much scope for that expression at either of the earlier two venues-Le Cirque at Leela or Taj Chambers at the Taj Mahal Hotel. He had brief 15 minutes for each of the two varietals, unlike a usual Master Class. But he left such a lasting impression because of his rudimentary style I had requested that despite the unexpected hot weather making it almost impossible to bear the weather outside for the dinner later, he had their rapt attention during the 40 minutes win which the snacks flowed incessantly and so did the questions from members which he deftly answered, removing many doubts.
The Masterclass by the Master- Liam Steevenson was very balanced concentrated, palatable to the ears, with lots of flavours on the middle and palate with a long-lasting end. He made it crisp citing some examples with wit in his talk and made the evening worthwhile for members who had come specially to listen to him and weren’t disappointed.
This was not the first Masterclass organised by the Delhi Wine Club although in the real sense, it was. A couple of years ago, we had invited Susan Hulme, another MW from England. She came as a part of the Sicilian group the visit of which was organised by the Indian Wine Academy. She held a superb Masterclass at the ITC Maurya. But, at the Delhi Wine Club Dinner at Diva Restaurant one evening earlier she had to present 7 Sicilian wine producers, and the focus was not on the beautiful regions of Sicily.
Traditionally Sauvignon Blanc has been growing in the cool climate in Loire Valley, he said –all the way from the mountain to the sea through the Central France. It’s not the best grape for all soils and grows best in the cool climate In a way it’s a very simple wine-and a typical varietal to define the flavours-green, herbaceous, bell papers, green fruit, capsicums.
New Zealand started the production of this variety about 25 years ago, really. People had come from Croatia and Serbia and they were used to making white wines like Mueller Thurgau, Riesling, and Silvaner. They realised in late 1970s and beginning 80s that they were capable of making fresh wines with their experience. They had also come from dairy background which is done in cold weather and thus knew how to control temperatures.
When Cloudy Bay was introduced in 1985, the whole world took note. The beauty of Sauvignon Blanc is that with this varietal you can get high yield and still make high quality wine. If you like sauvignon blanc you like freshness and vice versa, he stressed. With other grapes you can use various techniques of fermentation but with Sauvignon Blanc you are limited.
Giving the example of South of France he said they claim the best vineyards have not been planted yet so the scope for this grape is there for that part as well. It also has typical aromas. With MW exam we were given given 12 wines a day to taste blind. Quite an onerous task but one wine you cannot miss is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc-you could the aromas from 50 meters away! You can’t grow it everywhere. This wine is about freshness and brightness. A full flavoured New Zealand Sauvignon could go well with chicken, he opined when someone asked about pairing with Indian food.
This is one grape that has to be harvested at the perfect point when it is not fully ripe in the short spectrum. , if it s not ripe, it is green, if too ripe, even then it loses its punch.
Answering my query whether he meant the dairy specialists in India could make better oenologists he said that was not necessarily true but what he was emphasising was that it’s a technology driven wine. Again, defining flavours he said it was a personal thing and one should be careful in describing it. You cannot describe a flavour unless you are familiar with it.’ When I talk about flavours I talk of the very basic things. I worry more about the balance and acidity.’
He also clarified that it was an aromatic variety with high acidity. Therefore 95% of these wines are un-oaked. Oaking can be done but it is fresh and bright without it. Besides, there are other varietals that take to oak well. Why oak it, he wondered, adding that 99% of Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand are un-oaked. High acidity is the issue. My basic feeling is that Chardonnay , Semillon take to oak very well, he concluded, adding that un-oaked Sauvignon Blanc can be good for 1.5 to 2 years in the bottle.
When you make champagne you use Chardonnay. When you talk of Chablis it is the same grape. Puligny Montrachet from Burgundy uses Chardonnay. From Australia to California they make Chardonnay. It is relatively easy to grow Chardonnay. But what is important is to know which region produces this grape best. Pointing to Sabina Corsini, he said Tuscany where Corsini produces wine, Chardonnay does not do well, for instance.
Chardonnay can be made in several different styles. He explained the use of oak barrels for fermentation and ageing. While explaining the difference between the French and American oak, he said that Americans had worked with a lot of insight. They keep the distance between the trees very small. Since the trees need sun to grow, they shoot straight up, making the trunk very tight and the veins very narrow, making it very suitable for making the barrels. Of course, the process needs the skill of the barrel makers to give it the final shape and characteristics.
While going through various styles of Chardonnay which takes very well with different levels of oaking, he said many winemakers make wine with higher oak because in wine competitions where there is a row of 20 similar Chardonnays in the glasses, suddenly the one with a higher amount of oak and more intensity is bound to jump out but as a ‘French winemaker once told me, the good quality of wine is the one where the last glass in the bottle leaves the lasting impression.’ Wine with a lot of oak may taste good in the first glass but may become tiresome to finish the third glass. Freshness to him in the style of wine is very important.
 Some of the other points can be watched on the video posted below but he spent a lot of time answering questions about wines in general. Being an authority of wine, many members wanted to get as many answers as possible during the short time available. In a nutshell, he explained the various aspects of the two varieties.
On a query about the slight bitter end of the Chardonnay being tasted from a New Zealand wine company, he said that this was due to skin contact. As the grapes are pressed with skins for a longer period, the tannins from the skin pass to the grape and eventually into wine. Personally, he loved the bitterness in Chardonnay, he said.
Where Liam did stumble was in explaining why the position in India was opposite to what he had said about the growing potential of the two varieties. Sauvignon Blanc is almost ubiquitous in India in contrast with what he had explained and Chardonnay which is supposed to be an easier grape, has had a limited success in India. Only a few small producers like Vintage, Fratelli and KRSMA have had a limited success but the yields are extremely low. Perhaps, on his next visit, Liam would have visited the Indian vineyards and had look at the various vineyards and the viticultural practices to enable us understand the dichotomy.
Subhash Arora
Video Unplugged- Sauvignon Blanc (18 mins)
Video Unplugged- Chardonnay (18 mins) |