DSIIDC is one of the few corporations involved with the retail sale of liquor in the country. Fratelli Vineyard’s endeavour to educate retail shop managers on wine led to the training at DSIIDC in tandem with Wi-Not. Conducting the training was Sommelier Gurjit Singh Barry with the winemakers, the brothers from Fratelli themselves, Mr. Alessio [...]
Did you know that in Spain, children don’t traditionally receive gifts on Xmas Eve but on the day of the Epiphany, i.e. the 5th of January? Did you also know that it isn’t Santa Claus but the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) who bring these gifts? Given that there were three of these oriental kings, [...]
The time of the year when the Armageddon calls all the hotels and restaurants to bring out their best armor to battle it out for the throne of the best wine-quotient in the business. Indian Sommelier Championship continues its legacy for the fourth year and makes it the best of the lot so far. With [...]
To speak of the wines of the Rhone valley almost, to many a novice, seems to be a discussion of the wines of Southern Rhone, and more precisely, the wines of the region baptised Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CNDP). The recent masterclass in Delhi heralded a new beginning for these wines. We thought we knew something about them [...]
A lovely little Spanish house recently brought their wines to India and presented the impressive array to a few enthusiasts. The wines were fantastic, coming from regions as diverse as Rioja and Toro, and of course their flagship, the Ribera del Duero. We stumbled upon Valduero when Magan was visiting a winery in Jordan and the [...]
The Wine Society of India (WSI) sends out some pretty fun mixed boxes of wines. We decided to play inspector and see just how good is good so recently, we intercepted one such box, hijacked it at gunpoint, brought it home, and then made it reveal whatever it was hiding. The wines were released back [...]
Thelema is Greek for “God of Will” and this is pretty much what must have helped the Webbs install their wine dreams on their new farm (which used ot be an orchard earlier), back in the early 1980s. And that, by the way, is a Phoenix on their logo, not a duck or eagle or [...]
New Zealand wines are already well known and this time around it was the turn of Sogrape to bring in the popular Framingham range to India. Sogrape was founded in 1942 by Fernando van Zeller Guedes, a very determined entrepreneur. Presently, the third generation of the founding family is handling the company which has over [...]
When we christened our little wine endeavour Wi-Not, we did so with the idea of being ready to take on new challenges head-on. In a country where wine was only beginning to become famous, there would be many such “new” tasks to tackle. But even then, we had never anticipated that one fine day [...]
Grammatically and phonetically this name has caused enough internal debate. Arguments were presented as to whether it is pronounced “Evans” or “Ivaans”, to which the reply from the winery came, “Depends how posh you are; but Evans is fine.” I could further try and split hairs for the sake of argument, and agreement of numbers, [...]
Among the many perky advantages of working at Wi-Not the only one singular one that boys voluntary turn up for and on time are the tastings. A regular affair on our work calendar, we all congregate and taste, mostly blind, an array of wines that we have managed to get our hands on. These can [...]
The slowly growing importance of Georgian wines on the global wine scene is a surprise not just to us Indians. And why wouldn’t it be so? India has awakened to wines only recently and the world is also still only distantly flirting with Georgian produce. But Georgia is no newbie. In fact, it is one [...]
Oldest winemaking country, over 7000 years, Georgia, has been making wines from when France, Italy, and Spain were not even born on the world wine scene. It still has its own dominance in the winemaking history. However, it has got restricted to only the north-eastern European countries and Russia. With international grape varieties emerging as [...]
Lovely boutique style new french Manor-house property, Villa d’O, in the heart of the wine region of Bordeaux Right Bank (think St. Emilion, think Merlot and Cabernet Franc, think hilly terrain with small patchy vineyards, think super-expensive!). This changes the game plan, shaking up the classic with a generous dose of the kitsch and contemporary. [...]
One country that never disappoints its vinous followers with its great wines is Germany. This cold-stuck country produces one of the finest, and surely the best, Rieslings in the EU. Sommelier India Wine magazine along with the German Embassy in Delhi hosted a showcase of 16 of the most discerning Rieslings from the country. German [...]
