2 min readMay 20, 2010 04:00 AM IST
First published on: May 20, 2010 at 04:00 AM IST
They are considered blasphemy in vino world,but flavoured wines are here
When Nainaz Shroff,managing director of Taylor and Shroff,was planning to launch a customised range of wines for the Indian market,she found inspiration in the unlikeliest place — a roadside tea stall. “I was visiting Nashik Valley in 2006 with my business partner when we stopped over at a chai shop. After we were offered a cup of ginger tea,I was inspired to incorporate the Indian fancy for ginger-flavoured teas in wines,” says Shroff,24. She has tied up with England-based winemaker David Carr Taylor to produce wine in flavours of ginger,cherry and apricot for the Indian palate.
At their 37-acre vineyard in Hastings ,England,the wines are fortified with 17 per cent alcohol. They also have a high sugar content and have been apparently restructured to go down well with Indian dishes. “These wines can be enjoyed with hot and spicy Indian food like tandoori chicken,dal makhni,etc. The fruitiness softens the spice quotient. Its high sugar content also makes it suitable to be paired with desserts,” she adds. The wines are priced at Rs 1,635 a bottle in Delhi.
Flavoured wine is nothing less than blasphemous in vino vocabulary. Harshal Shah,a Delhi-based consultant sommelier,says,“I would not regard them as wines since they defy the definition of what a wine is. Wines are grapes that are fermented. At best,this is flavoured alcohol.” Magandeep Singh,wine expert,agrees,“There is no way to prove a claim that flavoured wines are better suited for Indian food than normal wines. These at best can be paired with Indian desserts and are something new in the Indian wine market.”
Despite everyone— from French to Australians —trying to sell their wines,Indians have not quite taken to it. “ China accounts for 67 per cent of wine consumption in Asia,while India accounts for just 1 per cent,” says Kavita Faiella,cellar master at The Aman. “Compared to what Europe consumes annually,India’s share is just a teaspoonful of wine.” Can adraki wine change that?
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