SI Wine Reception – An Evening to Remember

Sommelier India’s wine reception at the Shangri-La Hotel on Saturday, March 7th, certainly turned out to be an evening worth remembering. Organised alfresco, the lovely Delhi weather in March with a light breeze blowing across the lawns of the Shangri-La, made for an ideal ambience as the magazine celebrated its fourth anniversary, writes Kulpreet Yadav. Pictured here are Parmeet Nayar and Andrew Steele of Shangri-La with Reva and Bunty Singh.

If I say that the party was well attended, it would be an understatement. There were over 250 wine lovers, sipping wine and sharing their thoughts on just about everything, including of course, the Indian wine scene.
We were first served chilled sparkling wine, Bouvet-Ladubay’s Brut from the Loire Valley that nicely danced on the palate riding atop tingling bubbles. Then came two more wines – Pazo de Barrantes Albarino from the Rías Baixas region of Spain, which was a light and refreshing white, while the red wine was a Gerard Bertrand Classic DOC Syrah from the Pays d’Oc region in the south of France. Both wines were from the stable of Finewinesnmore.
To go with these were a delicious variety of appetizers that included kebabs and tikkas, Peking duck wraps with plum sauce, Thai rice parcels, Goat cheese and walnut croquettes and Seafood puffs, although food was not the focus.
Refinement through evolution is a continual human ambition. We learn from other’s influences and culture. The art of savouring a good bottle of wine might not be an ideal way of enjoyment for an average Indian, but with the great job being done by Sommelier India, to develop a wine culture in India, it is fast catching on. This was the fourth anniversary of the wine magazine. If the excitement of those present is anything to go by, Sommelier India has a long way to go.
Here’s wishing the wonderful magazine more and more success.
Watch for more coverage and photographs of the Sommelier India wine reception here on the blog and in our magazine. To view photographs from the last anniversary, click here.