Cecilia Beretta Spumante Bianco

The evening started off with this sparkling wine from the Veneto region in the north-east of Italy, close to the town of Verona, venue for Vinitaly International Wine Show held every April. This wine is produced just outside the DOC appellation of Prosecco, giving it the flexibility to use other grape varieties, and raising the level of the wine without affecting the cost.

There is a significant component of Chardonnay in the blend, whereas Prosecco is always made from 90-100% from the local Glera grape. Chardonnay also elevates the wine considerably, whilst keeping the price well in check. It has a noticeable persistence of the bubbles and a delicious fruitiness that lends itself beautifully to the menu we were about to begin.

Jacky Marteau AOC Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2020
The first wine served as we sat down, comes from an appellation called Touraine in the western part of the Loire Valley region. Touraine for the longest time was reputed for making huge volumes of quaffing wine for the Jug wine business for cafes around France.
Jacky Marteau is part of less than a handful of producers who make absolutely fabulous wine. The reputation of the region, however, does not allow them to claim the premium in price for the quality of their wines. So you find a compromise in the quality of the bottle and the label used, so as to accommodate the high quality liquid in the bottle.

Aging for six years has shed some of its dramatic aromatics, which liken it very much to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, with very ripe tropical fruits, with guava meeting the nose, and wonderful fruit and freshness of the palate, making an expression that speaks beautifully to the menu

Hugel et Fils Gentil Alsace Blend 2021

The Hugel family winery is located on the border between France and Germany-a place that has seen incredible political upheaval through its history. In a few years, they will in fact be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Hugel family in Alsace, a famous producer of the region whose territory has been occupied through its history by both the French and the Germans.

On their website you can see images from the period just before the Second World War, when the Nazis had forced the display of the Swastika from the balconies of their homes in the village of Riquewihr, where Hugel is based.

This wine is a very interesting blend of all of the noble varietals of Alsace. It is a revival of an old system that existed there, of field blends. All the varietals planted in a given plot of land were picked together and made into a terroir-specific, multi-grape blend.

Gentil, however, is a controlled exercise in blending, with approximately 65–66% of the noble varietal, Riesling mixed with Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and a little Muscat. The remaining 33% is made up of the somewhat lesser varietals, Pinot Blanc and Silvaner, which helps to keep the price of this wonderful wine in check. Once again, a perfect pairing of aromatic varietals from this cool-climate region, with the Avartana menu.

Jacky Marteau AOC Touraine Gamay

If there was a red wine varietal that is perfect to manage the spice in most of our Indian cuisines, it is the Gamay varietal which is famous in the Beaujolais region from the southern part of Burgundy.

The medium-bodied fruity Gamay with soft tannins, also from Jacky Marteau makes it the perfect twin (red) to the (white) Sauvignon Blanc produced by the same producer for many Indian restaurants in the country as a perfect pair.

Michel Lynch Nature Bordeaux Rouge 2020

Michel Lynch comes with the pedigree of being owned and run by famous super-fifth growth Chateau Lynch Bages from Pauillac. This was a great effort by the late Jean Michel Cazes (1937-2023) who created this brand and after whom the company is named. They make a regular Bordeaux Rouge, but this one is an organic wine from the 2020 vintage.

It’s an incredible Bordeaux vintage and for a relatively simpler wine, it has evolved beautifully to soften some of those stronger tannins from this vintage…so that it once again lent itself to the richer last two courses from the Avartana menu for the evening.

The purpose and beauty of an exceptional wine dinner is where delicious food is matched with the wine and the evening at Avartana on 30 April, did it very aptly.

Sanjay Menon