Microbrew Mania in India
The funny thing about life is that nobody is happy with what they are. Street food wants to be upmarket, gastronomy desires demystification, wine craves friendliness, and beer, oh lovely beer, yearns complexity and nuance. For those of us partaking…
Why bother with the 4 Ss of wine tasting?
It’s been a while since I did a wine post for beginners and so here we are, back tracking a bit to see what the art or science, if you want to call it that, of wine tasting is all…
Champagne 101
It’s great to love all things bubbly and when it is wine, it’s that much better. But if you ask for ‘Sula Champagne’ or ‘Jacob’s Creek Rose Champagne’ at the store, it is time for an intervention. Champagne is ONLY…
DOURO – the old and the new
Which is better – tradition or modernity, old or new? An experience through Niepoort and Quinta do Pôpa wineries in the Douro Valley. In the world of wine there’s always a jostle between tradition and modernity, old and new. But I…
A toast to Port Wine Day
Long before Bordeaux was a demarcated entity, or before the first vine had even been planned in Australia or California, the region of Douro in Portugal was already a clearly defined appellation! The year was 1756 and Marquis de Pombal,…
New in the market: York Sparkling Cuvée Brut
There’s a new bubbly in town folks. And this one’s from York. I’ve always liked the personality of York’s wines. Clean and well-made, they convey honesty and hard work. The Gurnani brothers – Kailash (winemaker) and Ravi, run the…
Let’s Talk Bourbon
‘Single Malt’ seems to be the buzz term when it comes to whisky nowadays. But how much do we really know about whiskies from around the world? Like American Bourbon for instance. So here are a few things you really…
All Tapped Out!
Tomorrow (November 2nd) I hope all roads in Mumbai lead to Wodehouse Gymkhana which will host Tapped. If you don’t know what Tapped is or haven’t planned on visiting, shame on you. Tapped is Mumbai’s first craft beer festival. A…
Nebbiolo Prima Musings
2014 was a big year for me, especially when it came to exploring wine regions. And my trip to the lovely city of Alba (famous for the truffles) in Northern Italy involved a tasting exercise like never before. I don’t…
Know your Prosecco
There is something to be said about fizzy wines – the way they seem to appeal to a clear majority, the way they don’t have any fixed time of day to be had, and the way they leave you in…
Tequila Day – better late than never
Yesterday (24th July) was National Tequila Day (in the US). And since we don’t have too many of these in India, we usually adopt a few. Anyway, I always seem to miss this one. But why lament today, what you…
Revisiting the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
This year marked my second appearance at the reputed international wine competition – Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. (Read all about the jitters I felt and my experience at the 2013 edition here and here) One of the largest competitions of…
The Chronicles of Chianti
History has the exceptional ability to tell many a fascinating tale by effortlessly transcending the barriers of time and nowhere is this more evident than in the idyllic region of Chianti. A good wine is a lot about the story. If we…
Shanghai: The City of Tomorrow
Boomtown, they call it. In Shanghai skyscrapers seem to erect themselves at a ‘blink-and-you’ll- miss-it’ speed. Yet, there’s a charm to China’s economic hub that isn’t easy to come by in a buzzing metropolis. It may be the city of the future, but it really is…
A Quick Guide to Dessert Wines
For years, many novice drinkers believed that the drier the wine, the more refined, elegant and worthy of praise it was. In truth, however, sweet wines encompass a huge category of their own and exhibit a complexity that deserves every bit as…