2013

Marc Kent with his baby, The Chocolate Block

It was a charity dinner at Olive Beach, with wines from Boekenhoutskloof, the edgy boutique South African winery that is all the buzz in wine circles in India these day. And if that wasn’t enticing enough, the wine dinner by Chef Manu Chandra was being headlined by maverick winemaker Marc Kent who is hitting the headlines for all the right reasons, all of them to do with the wines he makes. The Chocolate Block, the red blend that everyone is talking about, is to be the premium pour, with the entry levels white and red wines, The Wolf Trap, along with it.

The terrace at Olive sees a small group of people gathered. This dinner isn’t about PR, major hype or much of the hoo-ha that goes with the launch of a wine. This is free flowing, relaxed and friendly. And of course, Marc Kent is there, quietly lounging in a corner. Chef Manu Chandra is in the kitchen, personally preparing the courses selected for this wine dinner. This is one of his own favourite wines, and he hasn’t been able to stop talking about it.

Marc is a New Age winemaker. One look and this stands out quite clearly. Linen suit, suede loafers and artfully overgrown mussed hair (his wife is a professional hair stylist, and he gets his haircuts for free, he confesses). He speaks plainly, with humour and without conceit. As the evening progresses, it turns out that this is definitely one of the most fun interactions with a winemaker I have had.

First off, Marc confesses to being there under duress. “I don’t do winemaker dinners,” he says with a shrug and a smile. “But Vishal (Kadakia, of Wine Park, who imports Boekenhoutskloof wines to India) told me I have to do this. Just say a few words about my wine, he said.”

The evening proceeds to take off, with wine flowing, peppered with Marc’s anecdotes. “I don’t want to bore you with wine stuff,” he interrupts to say seriously. Nobody looks bored. The two Wolf Trap labels are poured, and appreciated. Rhone-style blends, the white is a blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc, while the red has Syrah, Mourvèdre and a tiny bit of Viognier for the bouquet. “The name Wolf Trap is because in the 1700s, European settlers were losing their cattle to wolves, so they set up wolf traps. Never caught a wolf, though!” (more…)

Piero Masi & Alessio Secci

Fratelli is a relatively new Indian wine company that is already making its mark with a range of quality wines. Wine dinners, tastings and vineyard visits with the Indian wine community along with intensive behind-the-scenes marketing and planning has marked the company’s strategy for success.
But will the success story sustain in the tough Indian business climate? Will the Fratelli experiments with new varietals work? Will the current Italian control on winemaking quality be sustained over time?
My interview with partners Kapil Sekhri and Alessio Secci was an attempt to find out a little bit more about the Fratelli story.

What brought about the collaboration among the partners that went on to becoming Fratelli wines?

KAPIL : Fratelli literally means brothers in Italian, and it is the only Indo-Italian collaboration for wines in India. The six brothers of Fratelli are Andrea and Alessio Secci from Italy, Gaurav and myself from Delhi and Arjun and Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil from Akluj, Maharashtra. The seventh brother is Piero Masi, the creator of Fratelli wines.
Our collaboration has arisen out of the deep trust, friendship and faith our three families share with one other.
Our project took shape with Piero coming on board and this finished the circle.
Fratelli represents a new India which wants to produce a product based purely on excellence and the faith that India can deliver the best from its soil.

Fratelli has started with a bang, with a large portfolio of wines, including some unusual ones (for India) like Sangiovese, and your soon-to-be launched Vin Santo…how confident are you of these doing well in the new Indian market?

KAPIL : The Indian consumer today is ready for new experiences and quality produce. The setting is perfect and I believe the tipping point of wine awareness is right around the corner. I am extremely confident that the quality of our wines will speak for themselves and will do well. (more…)