Taste of Food and Wine

 

When a cricketer visits India, you may for forgiven for thinking he has come for something connected with our vast cricket machinery. He would be here perhaps to commentate, coach or mentor one of the IPL teams, at a guess. But one visiting ex-cricketer was in India last week, and his visit had nothing to do with cricket.

Get this, it had to do with wine.

Of course, there are many wine-loving cricketers. Jonty Rhodes, for example. I met him when he came down as brand ambassador for a South African wine brand some years ago, and it was delightful chatting with him on matters that had nothing to do with the terms googly, silly mid-ons, leading edges and what-have-you.

So when Nick Pringle visited Bangalore as part of his India whistle stop tour, I was a little surprised to hear it was not for cricket, but wine. An Australian wine brand to be precise, the big-selling Hardy’s, which he handles as director of sales for UK’s Accolade Wines. Pringle was an English county cricketer who played for Somerset from 1986-91, and has shared a dressing room with the likes of Sir Ian Botham, Sir Viv Richards, Joel Garner, Steve Waugh and Martin Crowe, and remembers watching Sunil Gavaskar playing at Somerset in 1980.

I caught up with Nick over a glass of wine and some delicious barbecue at the Bengaluru Marriott Whitefield. He had lost his voice, and had plans to visit his specialist in London the next day, a stop in the midst of his jet-setting travels. So what draws a cricketer to wine, I asked? Isn’t cricket more a beer kind of thing? At least in India it is. True, he agrees. But cricket is also about travelling, socialising, drinking, eating hospitality, and wine fits right in with that, he says. Hard to disagree with that.

Nick’s love for wine developed with his cricketing career. Specially, at the age of 22, when he travelled with the team to Australia’s Margaret River. “Now I’m travelling the world, meeting interesting people, visiting great countries. I can’t complain about that,” he adds. Never a truer word, I agree. He must be a dab hand at wine trend spotting too, what with all his travels. “Well, in countries like India, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, for instance, the consumers are getting wealthier, and with that, there is a move away from beer and spirits towards wine. There’s plenty of potential for wine.”

Hardy’s is the official wine of the Australian cricket board, and the English Cricket Board too. Hmm, did he have hand in that, I wonder aloud, just by the way. He smiles. “The thing about Hardy’s wines is that the wines are easy-drinking, very accessible, and that makes it an easy match with Indian food. The wines can be had before, with or after meals. There’s a lot of flexibility here.”

On to a spot of cricket chat; after all, we are in India. So who does he think are the players to watch, if he’s been watching the ongoing IPL at all? “Virat Kohli. He is a class batsman. Kevin Pietersen is a game changer, and Dale Steyn a bowler who can win games. Of course, if Viv Richards was around today, the grounds would have to be expanded. The ball would disappear into the stands all the time if he were batting. Yes, Twenty20 cricket is fantastic.” And what does he think of the English cricket team today? “That’s not something you can put in print,” he says. That’s a little harsh, surely. “Well, let’s say they are not as good or as bad as they thought they were,” he smiles.

Has the excitement of the shorter format all but killed the longer version, I wonder. “No. Wait for the Ashes,” he predicts, ” Every seat in the stands will be filled. On the whole, you have to give the crowds something to enjoy, even in domestic cricket. That’s possible with today’s levels of fitness. The technology and improvements in the game made over the years is amazing. I’m not saying cricketers today are playing better than those in the past were, or are more skilled. The pace is so quick, and players today are bigger, stronger, fitter. Look at football – the Premier League. Here, too.”

Back to wine. As someone whose wines come to India, how does he view the current high tax structure on imported wines? “That’s life,” he shrugs, “Yes it is frustrating. Protectionism is born out of insecurity, and it’s not a good strategic move. There’s a whole Indian community in the Middle East and Africa which can benefit if the system opened up and they got access to Indian wines. The Indian consumer would benefit a lot.”

Hardy’s Stamp of Australia wines are sold in India through Sula Selections. Hardy’s sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir( Rs1024/ $17) was the hit of the party with its crisp, fresh mouthfeel and persistent bubbles. Hardy’s Cabernet Merlot (Rs 800/ $13) had a nice balance, ripe red fruits and some vanilla. Hardy’s Riesling Gewurztraminer (Rs 800/ $13) is light, fruity and easy to drink.

 

 

Those who love their wines will tell you there is no greater joy than meeting around a dinner table, enjoying a convivial glass of wine (or more), and sampling interesting food pairings with the wine. It makes for a memorable evening as it has all the ingredients which go to make one of those: good friends (or new friends), good wine and good food.

I do attend several of these, and I love ’em. Mostly. On the odd occasion that the food pairings aren’t up to the mark or the wine is comme ci comme ça, well, you just chalk it down to experience. The ones that I really enjoy are the ones where the attending winemaker’s passion for his craft and product comes shining through: he weaves stories and anecdotes about his wine, which stay in your mind for you to re-visit every time in future you open the bottle.

Vishal Kadakia of Wine Park is a Mumbai-based wine importer who is finicky to the max about the wines he puts on his lists. Most often these are from boutique wineries around the world which might or might not be famous, but all of which offer fascinating stories to go with the wine being poured into your glass. Which is why I always look forward to his winemaker dinners. You can be sure the wine will be good, and you are bound to take away that little extra in terms of background tales. The dinner with Bibi Graetz wines was one of these.

I’m no stranger to Bibi’s wines. On a trip to Florence, my husband and I had driven up to visit his winery in Fiesole, that picturesque suburb on the hillsides overlooking the town, and then spent an hour on the narrow, winding roads searching for the winery where he makes his famous 90 pointer wines. With no luck. Even his neighbour didn’t know who Bibi was, or that a winery existed right next door to his villa.

Once we found it, we were amazed. This was a far cry from the elegant, manicured vineyards of Tuscany we had just visited. A beat-up car sat in the driveway to a cottage, and there were a couple of sheds, with a picnic table and kids’ toys strewn around. These sheds, it turned out, were where those precious wines were made and stored. Then we were rescued by his manager who took us around the estate, and lo and behold! Behind the sheds and warehouses was a lovely castle, now the venue of weddings and grand parties. Gazing at the gargoyles on the roof and the sprawling lawns, we were, to put it mildly, dumbfounded. (more…)

 

Christian Ciamos, commercial director of Burgundy’s historic négociant house, Albert Bichot, was in Bangalore last week. His task: to introduce the latest to add on to the list of wines Bichot is already importing into India. Adding a zing to the interaction was the lively, impromptu history and geography session he imparted in the process.

Albert Bichot is still a family run maison, now headed by Albéric Bichot, 6th generation member in the family wine trade which began with Bernard Bichot in 1831. Bichot has a long association with India, dating back to 1920. Ciamos calls it “a long love story” with the country. Which is why, unlike many big names, they are prepared to be patient about India and wait it out – for the authorities to reduce the taxes which are so vexatious to exporters like him. Ciamos believes that there is a worthwhile wine market in India. “It began in 1920 with our wines being exported into Mumbai. In fact the first Bichot wines probably came to India about the same time as we started exporting to New York and Japan.”

 

The Bordeaux/Burgundy comparisons that follow are inevitable in these days of intense competition for the Asian market. China, he believes was initially impressed by the grand chateaux of Bordeaux, and the idea of buying en primeur, but then they heard of Domaine Romanée Conti and other Burgundy estates, and the wonderful Pinot Noir, a very different grape from what they tasted earlier. Burgundy, he says, unlike Bordeaux, will not “make the mistake of selling its wines en primeur. Even if you have the money to offer, we will not do it. It is sheer speculation. We prefer to chose our customers. There is no ‘curtain’ between us and the customer, and that is how we prefer it.”

 

Burgundy’s 2000 years of history with wine is unrivalled in the world, he adds, compared to Bordeaux’s mere four to five centuries. “Terroir is a word which was created by the monks of Burgundy who started making wines here centuries ago. They would pick up a fistful of soil and taste it to understand which grapes would grow best there. So simple and accurate! In 1935 when the Burgundy Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) was established by the authorities, 99% of the classification created by the monks thousands of years ago was retained.”

 

Ciamos goes on to describe how the undulating geography of the region gave rise to the complexities in terroir. “For instance, Côte de Beaune was once filled by the sea, there are remains of marine sediment like seashells to be found in the soil even today. This gives our wines their exquisite finesse and elegance. In Côte de Nuits, which is higher, away from the sea, the acidic red soil is perfect for growing the splendid Pinot Noir Burgundy is famous for, with its notes of cassis and cherry,” he explains.

Burgundy is the one region in the world not known primarily by its grapes, but the specifications of its complex terroir. “The same Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, grown sometimes just a few kilometres apart, gives such different and unique flavours. This is what typifies our Old World wines. In the New World, it’s all about the grape, with little connection to terroir.” He points to the labels on the wine bottles. “In our Burgundy wines, every label specifies the place and thus the geology. It is like a passport, you might say. It mentions the wine’s place of birth, family name and location. We don’t blend – we want to respect each vineyard for the wine it gives.”

 

Another point was that terroir ruled vintage, said Ciamos. “The basic character of a Vosne-Romanée will not change. It is only weather differences between vintages that create subtle changes. In 2003, it was a bright sunny year, and the wine opens quickly in the glass. In 2008, it rained a lot more, so the wine took its time to open up – it is drinking beautifully now.”

 

The maison has the rare distinction of having five properties in five Burgundy domaines, with each domaine having its own team, winery, winemaker. ” The rationale for this is simple: “The grapes have to reach the winery in less than an hour.” This diversity creates a complexity of knowledge which attracts the world’s top wine writers to Albert Bichot time and again. “There is so much to see, to experience each time.”

 

On India: “I see a big evolution in wine in India. There are so many people who want to be educated about wine, so keen to learn.” With Maison Albert Bichot turning its attention to Asia, the prospect of growth is exciting. Though Ciamos says “We do not want to be big. We just want to be great.”

 

Ciamos introduced the Château de Varennes Beaujolais Villages 2010 (Rs 1867 in Bangalore) with its fruit forward notes and mild tannins. This would be perfect with Indian food, he said. The Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis (Rs 2824) combines generic minerality with notes of fresh apple and citrus fruit and a good finish.