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Photo By:: Adil Arora
 There is nothing as romantic as opening a bottle of a good quality sparkling wine to celebrate any occasion, but when you are enjoying the Valentine Day with your wife, partner or a girl friend, pink is the preferred colour and Chandon Rose Brut is a perfect choice to start the evening or simply sending it as a gift with or even in lieu of flowers.
At a recent Lunch the staple wine, as I found out later when everyone seems to be headed to the bar for the same bubbly, I knew it was a winner as I have always felt from the day of the launch. It has a nice pink colour and fragrances of strawberries and ripe cherry. The wine is fresh and fruity with a lot of zing lasting even longer when served at the perfectly chilled temperature of 6˚C. The medium body and fruitiness makes it an excellent choice for several vegetarian dishes. Of course, you might even want to have finger foods like fish fingers, chicken malai kebabs or even mutton kebabs if you or your friend likes mutton.
Methode Traditionelle
One word of caution, advice and request- please do not say you are presenting her champagne or while ordering at a restaurant, ask the waiter to bring you the bottle of Chandon champagne. Although made in Nashik at the winery owned by the big champagne producer Moet Hennessey, it cannot be called champagne which is a registered GI (Geographic Indication) of Champagne region in France. A wine can be called champagne only if it is produced in the historic province of Champagne, in the northeast of France under the appellation rules. If she is a connoisseur who already knows about Champagne, she may not think highly of you if you call it champagne.
Chandon is produced in Nashik- India by Moet Hennessey India. After producing champagne for several years, it decided to start making the bubbly in many countries. First Chandon Estate was created in 1959 in Argentina followed by California (1973), Brazil (1973) Australia (1986) and China (2013). India was the latest venture (2013).
Other options available to you are Sula Rose Brut and Zampa Rose Brut, both for around Rs. 1100. Sula Rose Seco is a less expensive but sweeter version that is also available if your budget is under Rs. 700-800. Sula Tropicale Brut has an extremely attractive bottle which makes it also a candidate for gifting-though it is called a Blanc de Pinot Boir.
And this year, instead of saying Cheers, say Jai Ho!!
Subhash Arora |