Sommelier India Issue 3, June-July 2015 in circulation

The issue you hold in your hands has a new look. Our diligent and talented designer has been burning midnight oil to give Sommelier India a fresh, more contemporary look. In a bid to make the magazine even more striking and compelling we have embarked on an ambitious programme of ongoing change. Does this mean redoing its identity? No, not at all. We don’t want to tinker with that and hence it’s still a work in progress.

Read <strong>Reva K. Singh’s</strong> note which discusses the contents of the latest issue of Sommelier India Wine Magazine. In this edition find stand-out examples of the latest Indian red reserves as discovered by the Sommelier India Tasting Panel in a blind tasting plus an introduction on reserve wines in general. <a href=”http://bit.ly/NMyLn”>Subscribe</a> to Sommelier India and receive this special issue at your doorstep. Sommelier India is written by some of the best wine writers in the world and is for Indians who enjoy wine and the good life.

The issue you hold in your hands has a new look. Our diligent and talented designer has been burning midnight oil to give Sommelier India a fresh, more contemporary look.

In a bid to make the magazine even more striking and compelling we have embarked on an ambitious programme of ongoing change. Does this mean redoing its identity? No, not at all. We don’t want to tinker with that and hence it’s still a work in progress.

We are building on what was there before to produce a magazine with a look that’s bold and confident but not gimmicky, with design flourishes that make it difficult to navigate – as some design-led magazines tend to be. The readability and legibility of the writing is paramount. As a former lecturer in English, I’m keen on giving the magazine a literary quality and making it a really good reading experience.

My brief to the designer was to avoid cliché with smart, understated design. I wanted clean, crisp layouts that make the writing look less dense. With the cover, we go back to the original headline emphasizing the brand, Sommelier India.

Our cover story and the wines reviewed in the Sommelier India blind tasting are red reserves. So, if red is your personal preference, these are amongst the best in their category and drink remarkably well accompanied with food.

“The first duty of a wine is to be red,” remarked Harry Waugh famously, the English wine writer who died at the ripe old age of 97. The idea that people who drink red wine are connoisseurs has long held sway. But this is not necessarily true. As many experts will aver, white wine is fresher, more versatile and has broader possibilities. It is also easier to drink without food, as an aperitif.

Red wine, however, is more complex and has greater ageing potential. Because of its tannins, red wine doesn’t spoil as easily in a tropical climate or under adverse storage conditions and has perceived health benefits.