Summer Wine

German winemaker Nik Weis,has a far from convincing solution to tackle Delhi’s wretchedly long summer. “Riesling wines are low in alcohol content and leave a crisp,fresh taste on the palate,” promises Weis,who was in town for a wine tasting session at Ricks at the Taj Mahal Hotel. The 37-year-old is on his first visit to India,and is a third-generation winemaker from the St Urbans-Hof winery in the Mosel valley,a land known for its good quality Riesling production in South-Western Germany. His 33 acre estate was established by his grandfather in 1947 and is among the top five wineries producing Rieslings from the valley. “Our wines have a hint of natural residual sugar. It’s a perfect match with spicy Indian dishes.

The wines have developed refined flavours due to less sugar content since the grapes are picked early,” he says. Weis has two wines listed at the Four Seasons,Mumbai and at all Taj hotels across India. The 2007 St. Urbans-Hof Riesling which has made it on the list of top 100 wines of the year of the Wine Spectator magazine for four years is moderately priced at Rs 3,000 and has been doing well in India for over a year. His second wine which is available in India is the 2007 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett,a slightly smoky wine,priced at approximately Rs 4,000. Though wine consumption in India is at an all time low because of the slowdown,Weis thinks his competitive pricing will give his wines an edge.