Author: Harsh Saxena

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Being A Sommelier – The Elixir Of Life

Few years ago I decided to turn my passion for wines into my means of earning. The most charming designation then was that of a sommelier. But I was in Australia and things were easier. Returning to home turf, India, where drinking is still not an easily-acceptable affair, it was to be a challenge. But with changing times we Indians have also opened ourselves to experiencing the finer things in life in indulging in them as a regular practice. This has surely helped the profession poising itself as a glamorous profile. But it isn’t the easiest to be a sommelier and has its shares of work too.

A sommelier, French term for a wine waiter, has always been an important designation at any high-end restaurant or hotel. A sommelier is the brand ambassador for wines in its establishment. It not only requires in-depth knowledge of every minute aspect related to the beverage, and its practical application, but also requires charm, flair, and interpersonal skills. An aspirant must be fluent in spoken skills as the work involves conversing with guests and clients on a regular basis. It requires humility and confidence as a sommelier in various hotels and restaurants and works under challenging environment. An open-minded approach and a considerable respect for the elixir us a must. What is also a sommelier’s responsibility is to be an educator to its staff and its clients. And to simplify a complex subject of wines to them, a sommelier must be able to relate to its clients and explain them in their own language. Thus we sommeliers need to have an overall understanding to deconstruct the mysticism behind wines and create links during conversations.  

A sommelier shall not only have the knowledge about opening a bottle, its service, and wines’ storage, but also be able to distinguish Bordeaux from a Burgundy wine in a tasting. For this, the palate must be highly trained for which years of tasting experience is the basis. One shall understand the petite differences and nuances of winemaking across the globe and be able to define them with a couple of sips of a wine. Further to this, wine-list management, procuring the right stocks, checking and maintaining the correct vintages, conditioned storage, apt stock rotation, inventory management, and meticulous beverage control remain his concern too. A regular upkeep with emerging trends, brands, and seasonality is a requisite. They shall also be fluent with various cuisines and culinary knowledge and be in tune with fashions en vogue. It’s an interesting game of senses and passion for wines is the key element required to survive and thrive.

The process of becoming a sommelier is simple but the path is necessarily not. There are various institutes, in India and abroad, that offer these courses and certifications. Most of the better ones are established in the UK, America, France, Italy, and Australia. India now has its own wine school christened as Institute of Wine + Beverage Studies (IWBS), in India. A course may run from a week to up to 2-3 years. Regular extensive study is inevitable and comes second to none. Emphasis must be laid here that practical experience is much dearer in this profession than mere qualifications. As an avid taster/critic the chances of travelling and featuring at international wine shows grows manifolds. 

This French concept was accepted in the hospitality industry the world-over but reached India only a few years ago. And it was accepted here with ease. Now, with the local wine market developing at a rapid pace, trained wine professional is the cry for every prestigious organisation. And the dearth of wine professionals in such a market makes it a furthermore attracting career option. A new Indian winehouse is introduced every quarter and with foreign companies entering the domestic scene the demand is set to be on a roll for long. If not a sommelier, a wine professional can also be a wine consultant, wine writer, wine critic/judge, or a wine educator. They can work as an independent entity, hotel professional, with a winemaking house, wine suppliers, or even with embassies.

 As the profession is still developing in the Indian scenario the starting pay ranges from Rs. 15,000 to 25,000. An individual consultant working with many establishments can pocket an easy 60,000-75,000 a month. 

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Sommeliers Came From Ramayana

For those unknown to the term ‘sommelier’, we’re wine tasters and servers by profession. Not much seen in India but abroad it is a matter of prestige and symbol of class for a restaurant/hotel to have one aboard. Sommelier is French term that is believed to have come from, well, France. However, has the occupation come from France too? They surely will boast about it and will take all due credits for its origin but so might not be the truth!

Mindwalking once, I realized it was us Indians who started the whole idea of tasting things at first. And it might surprise one if they’re either unknown to the principles of the very humble Indian hospitality or the majestic tale of Ramayana. They both come together to prove that it was us Indians who gifted the profession to the world.

The Indian hospitality teaches us that our guests are our god. We’re constantly injected with this theorem and no matter how much we may disagree it remains the pillar that can’t be ignored ever. They shall never be presented with anything unworthy of being served at the dinner table. For us sommeliers as a wine is ordered we must first taste it, check its condition, and only if presentable should it be served to the guests. Same goes with the chefs and their food in the kitchen.

This is where Ramayana enters the scene. Bestowed in our history gods checked-in into our country gazillions of years ago and remained our guests for millions. Serving them was our only religion then. As the story goes, lord Ram was exiled from his kingdom by his father and his notorious step-mom. He decided he’ll head to the jungles alone. But his newly-wed wife, Sita, also tagged along, and so did his younger brother, Laxman. The wife was brave enough to come but couldn’t survive for long in the woody dungeons and was kidnapped by the king of Lanka, man with an infected laughter, Ravana. One day while lord Ram was desperately looking for his kidnapped lady-love, a local villager, Shabri, recognised him. Seeing the agony and fatigue on his face she offered to feed him with fruits from her garden. To ensure that lord Ram bit into only the best of the fruits she tasted every single berry and only once self-satisfied she presented it to him. By doing so she ensured that lord Ram was served only the best of what could’ve been offered then. The essence remains that she tasted what was to be served to her guest to ensure utmost satisfaction. This, till date, remains the most dominant objective of Indian hospitality. And following this today we define the professions of taster, food critics, and sommeliers.

There is no difference in what a sommelier does in a dinning outlet for its guests from what Ramayana teaches us. He’d taste every wine first and only then present it to his guest to ensure that they are served the best of the drops available.

Indians didn’t only gift zeros to the world but many such relevant applications. We never were great marketers and it is only because of this that we never claimed the origins of these professions too. We’re just happy that it came from our mythological history and these fables narrate the truth themselves. The connection between Ramayana, Indian hospitality, and the origin of tasters as a profession is not a proven fact, maybe we never tried to, but till the Frenchs don’t have a logic/fable to narrate its origin to their credits we’ll rest to believe in our own stories.

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Every Dish Has A Mole

The one act we’ve been following ever since we established sense of civilisation is that of cooking. Food is not only essential for survival but goes much beyond it, a legal sin to indulge in. And how it has developed over decades and centuries can be passionately narrated by any chef with keen interest. But what has kept the diners and the chefs busy lately is a new era of culinary science: Molecular Gastronomy.

Born in as early as the 2nd century by an anonymous author in France, Molecular Gastronomy came into being as a part of experimentation. The author wished to understand the balance between weights and to answer the question: would fermented meat be lighter than fresh meat? However it never became as prominent and easily accessible until the late Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti, and physical chemist Hervé This (pronounced ‘Tees’), gave it a new dimension in 1988. They, in its simplest form, described it as science-meets-kitchen.

Food science is the study of the chemical, physical, and biological aspects of food. Scientists for long have been toying with the DNA of food, its chemical and physical aspects, and to find new ways of expression that challenges the traditionally existing forms of edible produce. And this further explains that molecular gastronomy is, thus, not only a form of cookery but also is an amalgamation of the science behind food and application of heat, temperature, air, and other elements to it. As serious as it may sound, the job is much tougher. It then comes down to the chef’s understanding of ratios, permutations, and combination, pressures, humidity, moisture, and other natural elements to develop an experience for its diners. To creating a scientifically-sound dish the chefs need accuracy to the last measure, detail, and microgram.

With all those thick books and chemicals around, the chef ends up becoming much of a scientist without a professional degree. Their weapons of a diner’s mental destruction includes foam guns, liquid nitrogen tanks, food dehydrators, centrifuge mixer, spherification kits, ultrasound machines , and chemicals like malto-dextrin, hydrocolloids, edible paper. And as a result of this a chef’s playground, his kitchen, appears to be no less than a fully loaded laboratory. With chemicals, chilled fumes, syringes, and tubes, instead of pans, spatulas, and tasting spoons, it is a shocker for any first encounter.

But with all this ‘wow’ knowledge and highly-tagged mini-portioned meals it comes as a surprise that this form of gastronomy is not based on solid science but culinary references from the past. Molecular gastronomy challenges the good old-fashioned tales and demystifies the reasons behind them. It doesn’t say that they are wrong but tries to understand the logic behind them. With that sorted they then aim at achieving similar results in some other way. And this is the very fibre of this science’s existence. It plays with the DNA of the food but never would disturb the harmony between what is operated on the ingredients and what reaches the dining tables. It is simple physics and none more. A classic example of this is to boil an egg by not cooking it in boiling water but by resting it in alcohol for days. The result is the same as the principle doesn’t get challenged but is technique changes.

However, it is often lamented that this science has made the chefs jacketed, technically sound, and the food misses the love behind it and is rather unromantic. And why wouldn’t it be believed that the complaints are actually genuine. One would hardly ever hear of a scientist being a true romantic. They can explain the logics of the world’s operations but human emotions are something they shy away from. And as a result these chefs decided to add an element of design into their creation.  When they thought that these complaints are just about to become an integral part of the subject, English self-taught molecular gastronomy icon chef Heston Blumenthal came up with a response that will keep the critics shut for a long time. No chef has ever tried mixing technology and food the way he did. As a part of one of his surf-and-turf dish he serves no sauce or accompaniment but an iPod. It plays sounds from the beach with seagulls chirping, waves crashing, and sharp wind blowing. His idea is to completely submerge the diner into his dish and he very well executes it. And this till now is the epitome of the proof that food does indeed involve all your senses and dining is the ultimate human emotion.

Chef Blumenthal’s restaurant The Fat Duck in U.K. is not only one of the Meccas of molecular gastronomy but is also amongst the top five restaurants in the world. But what chef Ferran Adria creates (or created) at his Spain-based restaurant El Bulli keeps him a class apart from the rest. One of his signature creations being white garlic and almond sorbet wooed every food critic when it was unveiled. Chef Adria is today the leader in field and no one has come close to challenge his stance. Keeping the flags flying high in the US are culinary artists like chef Grant Achatz with his Chicago-based restaurant Alinea, chef Wylie Dufresne at WD-50 in New York, and Moto restaurant’s chef Homaro Cantu in Chicago. They all have their signature moves too with fried mayonnaise, crispy melon soup, black truffle explosion, and what not. But what takes everyone by surprise is chef Cantu’s edible paper. Now that’s innovative!

Will India ever be a part of this league? Can we experiment with something beyond our understanding and acceptability? The answers have already been given. Bengaluru-based restaurant Caperberry came out of chef Abhijit Saha’s enthusiasm and vision. His dishes are a great play of science and elements of surprise. It is an experience that is duplicated nowhere in India, at least. Many restaurants are including elements of molecular gastronomy to some of their dishes like Olive Kitchen and Bar, Smoke House Grill, Mobius, and other rated hotels in Delhi. But chef Saha’s six-course degustation menu is no less than the first school trip to a science museum. Fun, surprising, and well worth the money. And the diners agree with his dishes, concept, and the science that he has mastered.

Yet a constant question haunts the subject; is this the future of our dining scene? And if so how long would is exist for? The answer is simple. Molecular gastronomy will never be the main stream of our daily meals. Much like failure of the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot’s predictions of organic chemistry taking over the world by the year 2000, considering molecular gastronomy to be the fore-front runner someday will be a misconception to live with.

This science is here to stay for is what must be accepted. The scientists have been long involved with food preparation techniques and technology and have already established new boundaries with research and experimentations. A new discovery is made each day that opens another window for the chefs to think about. The advancements will not halt and the chefs will never stop taking advantage of this fact. And if not anything else by the end of all this we will at least have scientist with a better sense of taste!

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Bartender! Cocktail My Future. Shaken, Not Stirred!!

Rejection on one end opens multiple other doors. I was lately asked to write an article on Molecular Mixology which I misread as Molecular Gastronomy and wrote a 1300 words saga about the branch of cookery I was alien to. I learnt a lot reading passionately about it. But the editor rejected it, of course, and it ended up landing on my webbie. (Every Dish Has A Mole To It) Still the work was to be done and molecules played with.

Any good piece requires better study before finally framing it in to a timeless read. And while studying and exploring my way to a gullible molecular mixology piece I found out about the ‘Mojito of the Future’. Mojito, (pronounced Mo-hee-to) is a simple classic drink with five basic ingredients: White rum, sugar, mint, lime, and sparkling water. The recipe is a play of proportions and certain logics. Rum is made from molasses, one of the bi-products (read waste) from sugar production. It is overly sweet and husky and its spirit, thus, is not the smoothest drink to shoot. To cover its harshness and cut through easily its aftertaste sugar and lime were accompanied by it. Mint would make the drink much edible and wouldn’t let the sour aftertaste dominate. Soda was, well, just to dilute the effects.

Making it is simple but making it simple is difficult. In its basic form a bartender would mix lime juice and sugar syrup along with mint leaves and muddle them to bring out the essential oils from the herb. To this white rum is added and gently shaken. With shavings of ice, or a lazy man’s crushed ice, chilling the glass the mix is poured over it with a splash of sparkling water to make it refreshing. Sparkling water has been replaced and the thrown is now bestowed upon commercial sparkling soda water. How simple was that?

Eben Freeman, one of the legends of this branch of fixing drinks, is a New York based mixologist. He is well respected in the trade and not knowing him is almost a crime. He, along with Bacardi Rum, painted the future of one of my favourite classics. And boy I was impressed. To understand how he did it you must understand the basics of how molecular gastronomy works. Cocktails are nothing but mere inspiration of what chefs do in the kitchen; play of culinary techniques and food science. Simply put it is the amalgamation of ingredients to make a perfect dish which’s a play of flavours, textures, and most importantly human emotions. Coming to the liquid side of it the principles remain the same but the inspiration alters. And that’s what Eben did.

Starting with mint leaves, briefly blanching them followed by shocking them in ice water seals its pours and concentrates its flavours and essential oils. Eben then blends them (in a blender) to take their juice away and later mixes it with gelatin to form a puree-like consistency. Same goes with the lime juice, no blanching done their though. The two mixtures are then drop-by-drop poured over liquid nitrogen to form lime juice and mint puree pearls. The logic is simple, liquid nitrogen freezes the gelatine outside to form an edible film around the liquid inside making it look like caviar, or simply a balloon. He then takes rum and adds soda to it. To make things more fun he adds Xanthum gum to this mix. This gum increases the density and viscosity of the mix and makes it slow, or lazy as I see it! In a Collins Glass he then pour all his green mint puree pearls and straw-coloured lime juice pearls and to this rapidly pours the lazy mix. The pearls stay suspended due to altered density and viscosity and so does the carbon-di-oxide from the soda water. No ice, no garnish, pure magic!

 

Molecular gastronomy came as the scientists tried developing a more polished appetite and started messing up with the dynamics of our daily meals. Chefs were happy as this gave an edge to play with in their boring fire-play cooking. And to accompany their technologically-mastered dishes they introduced molecular mixology. The moral yet remains the same, surprising the human senses. And this study of food and beverage guarantees that. To that Bon Appetit and Cheers!!

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Bartender, There’s a Mole In My Drink!!

With humans advancing from hunters to businessmen one act has remained grounded, that of cooking. With the evolution of cookery mankind settled down and went for a nomadic existence to a more stationary existence. Water from nearby sources wasn’t always safe and that is why mankind processed alcohol, from the natural flora available to him. Alcohol would assist in digesting inappropriately cooked food as also guard against contaminated water. And so it came to be that alcohol was had with food. But that’s not where the origins of cocktails lies.

Monks used medicines to cure patients. But they would only heal them from the outside. The internal diseases were hard to disinfect as those medicine couldn’t perfectly penetrate. Thus, they mixed alcohol along with curing ingredients and fed the sick. Alcohol, having antiseptic values, killed the microbes and the ingested medicines cured the infections . A simple example of this is Gin which is distilled neutral alcohol mixed with Juniper Berries to cure stomach-related diseases. From thereon, liquor turned commercial and better. Though it remained a royalty for centuries,  the poor had their own elixirs. Some spirits came as a result of prohibitions, some due to agriculture revolutions, while some were illegally supplied to circumvent various forms of excise and tax bill regulations. But in the end they existed together and kept us animated at all times. Many would agree that a much classier and funkier way of relishing this liquid treat is not in its pure form but blended with  others in one form or another, aka cocktails.

The origin of the term cocktail is a mystery and has only mythical explanations. Since long there have been trends to improve the art of mixing and surprising the world around. But where did it come from? The principles of mixing are same as that of cooking; playing with ingredients, their flavours, and forms, to create a new concoction that play with all your senses at the first touch. Cocktails, in their most basic form, are inspired from cooking itself. The diners keep looking for new artistic meals and then eventually also seek new mixes to support culinary delights. Cooking and its techniques are the parents of cocktails. Thus it is maintained that good chefs are good mixologists. And with all that wooing in culinary department, the latest development in its beverage form is that of Molecular Mixology.

Molecular Mixology or ‘Lab coat Mixology’, as it is wittily referred to, is an extension of Molecular Gastronomy. Hervé This (pronounced Tees), the father of Molecular Gastronomy, simply puts it as science-meets-cooking. It’s a branch of science that toys with the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of ingredients and with applications of various techniques alters their forms to interchange them from their real form of solid, liquid, or gases.  It is the play of textures, density, weights, shapes, pressures, and most importantly, flavours that are adopted and converted into other ways of presenting them. Food has interested many scientists for long. And molecular gastronomy is a result of that lengthy study. When this is applied to beverages it is called molecular mixology. It is believed that the oldest forms of molecular mixology came from the basic principle of weights to prepare layered cocktails. Heaviest to lightest ingredients poured slowly atop each other to create a mix with visual appeal and a wow-factor. Lab coat mixology then is a far-out version of the same.

So how do they do it? A mixologist needs to have a firm grip on the science of what lies behind the ingredients used. The study is tough and the execution even tougher and for this they have their own weapons. Using high-tech ingredients like blowtorches, smoke guns, vacuum sealers, high temperature percolators, infusing machines, foam guns, liquid nitrogen tanks, food dehydrators, centrifuge mixer, spherification kits, ultrasound machines, and tongue-twisting chemicals like malto-dextrin, hydrocolloids, sodium hexametaphosphate, lecithin or gelatine, edible paper, and the likes. All these put together makes a bar no less than a colourful funky laboratory, hence the term ‘lab coat mixology’

But is it safe? The ever-old cry of natural versus synthetic argument. It surely involves numerous scientific techniques and elements but it’s completely reliable. The chemicals are edible products and are merely used to alter the forms of the ingredients. Advancement of technology has made it all favourable for our sensitive palates and dying immune systems. So generous!

So where is the Mecca of molecular mixology? There are masters of this trade too spread everywhere. Mainly restaurants offering molecular treats have opened a bar offering surprising beverages with a similar art. World’s leading Chef Ferran Adria with his world’s best restaurant El Bulli in Spain has a bar doing justice to his technically-solid molecularly advance menu. His bar has introduced iconic products like cocktail caviars and cocktail raviolis as also a solid Cava. 

Allow me to give you a trial run. Juice/puree’s viscosity is enhanced by adding sodium alginate and then is dropped in calcium chloride to convert flowing liquids into drops. The gel converts the outside into a small firm film and allows it to be liquid from the inside, much like a balloon. As you bite into them they burst with all the liquid to release a captivating sensation and texture. Based on this principle, New Yorker bartender Eben Freeman created a surprising revival of the classic Mojito. He converted mint leaves and lime juice to pearls by glazing them with gelatine and freezing it in liquid nitrogen. They are then added to sweetened and thickened rum in which the pearls appear suspended. But he came into critics notice with his Gin and Tonic Jelly cocktail. Freeman now heads the bar at Chef Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50 restaurant in New York, USA.

Latest addition to this league is Chef Gran Achatz’s Chicago-based restaurant Alinea’s bar, Aviary.  Headed by the chef himself the bar has created new waves with amazing cocktails and revivals of the classics. But that’s not the only talk of the town. MIT molecular biologist-turned-bartender Eben Klemm has headed bars like Blue Water Grill and Don Caminos that set the trend of such mixology in the country and gave it a supreme platform. Only renowned lady bartender in this field is Audrey Saunders after attending the Master Mixologist seminar in 1996 turned towards this profession and added many gems to its crown. Today she heads New York City’s well-established and highly-esteemed, Pegu Club.

Away from the US shores is the leader in this race bartender Tony Conigliaro, at my favourite chef Heston Bluementhal’s culinary Mecca, The Fat Duck at Bray, not far from London.  Known for his accuracy and principle-driven exciting cocktails he has been practicing the art-cum-science for long now. Once he headed the famous Detroit and Isola bars in UK and now is also in-charge for the Shochu Lounge in Londons’ Roka bar. Making waves in France is bartender Colin Field at Hotel Paris Ritz’s Hemmingway Bar as the head bartender. Crowned as the World’s Best Bartender by Forbes Magazine in 2001, Colin remains grounded with the mixology of classic cocktails presented in surprisingly new forms with his molecular tricks. Japan’s Joe Choi at Tokyo’s largest and most successful bar Ageha impresses fellow Asians similarly. And the Aussies aren’t far away either. Linden Price, once a bartender at Chef Neil Perry’s Rockpool restaurant, he has become the face of molecular mixology in Australia. With work stints and skill-honing in London he’s now back to head his own team.

So is molecular mixology the future of our cocktail scene? If so, how far can it go? For now, it appears that this trend is here to stay. Scientists will keep experimenting to form now elements and design new principles and culinary masters will keep taking advantage of these revolutions. It may not become the mainstream of our bars just yet but it cannot be entirely ignored and no, it won’t just go away.

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Wine Diary From Italy

Italy has fodder aplenty for the wine-geek. The Greeks started growing vines here back in 800BC and the Romans improvised to produce some truly treasured wines. They loved these wines so much that they named the country ‘Oenotria Tellus’, the land of vines. Recently, I visited the country to explore and educate myself on some of the world’s most famous wines.

Our trip started from Venice in the sparkling wine paradise called Prosecco. Glera (white) grape flourishes here and makes easy-drinking young, fresh, and fruity bubbly. Cartizze, a special small hill here, produces the most prestigious sparkling wine of the region, hence expensive too. We appreciated the wines of Le Colture, Extra Dry Prosecco and Cartizze, and also at Le Contesse winery, which also established Italy’s most important Oenology school marked for sparkling wine production. They claim to have invested over five decades in finding the perfect colour for rosé sparklings and their award-winning Pinot Rosé Brut showed exactly why. En suite were the grandmasters, Carpene Malvolti. Antonio Carpene, scientist and oenologist, was the first to start teaching local farmers the techniques of Prosecco. Their Extra Dry remained our favourite and luckily it’s also available in India. We wrapped up the region by visiting our final destination at Villa Sandi which is set in a 1622-built Palladian-style mansion with underground cellars running approximately 1.5 miles. Their Cartizze is pure gold. 

Moving into the heartland of Veneto one must try Valpolicella (red) and Soave (white). Valpolicella earlier was always considered too light. It was Cesari Winery that decided to dry the grapes (appasimento) on straw mats to intensify its structure and make heavier wines. This gave birth to a wine-style called Amarone della Valpolicella in 1971, first at Cesari. The basic style is still made today and is considered to be an everyday-drinking wine but it’s the Amarone that entices the palate. Soave, on the other hand, has always been an easy-drinking, minerally, crisp, and slightly buttery white made from Garganega grapes. Located in the Soave Classico area is the Fattori Winery that produces no reds as yet but their Runcaris and Motto Piane Soaves make up for that along with a surprisingly commendable Sauvignon Blanc.  A dessert wine is also produced here by naturally drying Garganega grapes that concentrates the sugar and increases the body and alcohol of the wine. This then becomes Recioto Soave which earns high accolades in the area. We found some great drops at the two family-owned wineries Monte Tondo and Vicentini Agostino. While the former offered us beautiful Soaves, it was the Recioto di Soave of the later that we decided to end our regional trip on a sweet note with.

Piedmont, meaning the foot of the mountains, welcomed us with Barolo, home to Nebbiolo (and Dolcetto) red grapes. Barolo is a masculine wine that’s also blatantly called ‘the king of wines and the wines for the king’. It matches well with the game and beef dishes of the area and also the special black truffle that is found here. Brezza Giacomo e Figli’s owner is also the consortium president that works towards preserving a traditional bottle shape called Albeisa that was originally destined to carry Barolos. The wines here tasted rustic and had a touch of the old-school to them. This was refreshing as most winemakers seem to be catering to international styles now. His cousin also owns a winery called Cantina Bartolo Macarello, a small backyard operation but with wines of substance. A wittily controversial label directing towards their present country president is their trademark, ‘No Barrique No Berlusconi’. This indicates that the winemaker is as much against the new approach of using barriques as is towards their president’s policies. Her 2001 Barolo took us by surprise as the wine showed elegance and was still firm. Our last winery in Barolo was Renato Ratti having a long history, including the claim to have started the trend of single-vineyard wines in the region with their 1978 vintage. All their three wines we tasted, Ochetti Nebbiolo d’Alba, Marcenasco Barolo, and Ronché Barolo, are all award-winning champions and were a delight to taste. As Dogliani area awaited us as we were only to be a short guest in Barolo.

Dogliani, a small region neighbouring Barolo, produces a completely different avatar of Nebbiolo. Poderi Luigi Eianaudi, meaning production for eleven farmers, regaled us with their wines as they were much more refreshing and palatably lighter than the robust Barolos. Though there Barolo impressed us too but it was the Dogliani wine-style that won us over. Pecchenino, located at an uphill location offered the perfect sunset view for our day-end. Again, the wines were of a completely different character. Their Dogliani, Barbera, and Barolo were definite winners on our lists.

From Dogliani we went north to reach Ghemme and here we encountered yet another version of Nebiolo. The area is closer to the snow-covered hills that provide the wines a different character altogether. Also, we were introduced to two new grapes, Vespolina (red) and Erbaluce (white). At Torraccia Del Piantavigna winery, aka Francoli Center, was our first taste of a copper-coloured Nebiolo Rosé, and boy was it good! Their Ghemme and Gattinara rated high on our sheets but the unique Vespolina and Erbaluce will linger in our memories for long. The company is also one of the biggest producers of Grappa in the country and the people behind introducing Black Sambuca.

Moving into the Lambrusco territory of Emilia-Romagna we were now cruising towards the centre of the country. Though the area is home to many other varieties, Lambrusco rules through-and-through. The grape expresses itself best in a fizzy style. At the region’s official enoteca we were prepared to taste an army of Lambruscos and other local favourites. As the tasting ended it was clear to us now why sparkling Lambrusco is the biggest export success of the country. Fattoria Zerbina offered us a tasting at their plush winery and we were amazed from the first wine itself. The winery also trains Indian vinos to be winemakers. Marzieno Ravenna Rosso, a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon was a great award-winning wine to try. Also their luscious Scacco Matto (Checkmate) Passito was quite a delight. Our last visit in the region was at Drei Dona winery, a well-known brand in the region. Their Blanc de Blanc Brut, La Vigna Nuove blend, and Magnificat Cabernet Sauvignon (a must-try) were cherishing memories to take away.

Chianti Classico was next and we were ready for it. Following the GPS here is not recommended and the good old map is the way to go. Chianti Classico is the oldest and the most important area of the region. Sangiovese thrives here along with some indigenous and international varieties. Exploiting the versatility of the soil, oceanic and mountainous weather influence, and the dynamicity of graper variety the region produces wines both ways, good for early consumption and also decade-long laying down. While Chianti Classico style is briefly aged, its Riserva version is more complex and oak-kissed. Super-Tuscan was a rebellious wine-style that originated as a revolt initiated by new-age winemakers against the wine legislation guidelines as they saw potential to make great wines without following the set regulation. It became a huge phenomenon worldwide and today includes some of the most expensive reds from the country. To begin this journey we reached Cecchi’s estate and saw a big winery ahead of us. Their Chianti and Riserva di Famiglia impressed us the most amongst their other wines. Spadaio Piecorto, a small family-operated winery, produces wonderful rustic-style wines including some Super-Tuscans. From smaller to larger wineries, we moved to Castello della Paneretta. Set in a 15th century castle the winery looks big and classy. It’s a beautiful site and is a shame to miss. Their much-demanded Caniolo-based Rosato was a great way to start the tasting, again a must-try. The Chianti Riserva, Quattrocentenario, and Vin Santo impressed us the most. The latter two are absolute celebration wines meant for the best occasions. The small farmers having limited resources come together to make their wines at a joint winery, called co-operative, and amongst them one of the biggest in the area is Geografico. Their production runs even outside the Classico area with four wineries in all. We settled for tasting all at one spot and sparing the run. Their Colli Sensi Riserva, Contessa di Radda, and Montegiachi Riserva Chiantis were were our dear favourites. A small private village within Chianti Classico, San Felice, invited us next and we were overwhelmed at its first sight. A small town all run by themselves with everything you need on a holiday. And because no Italian holiday is complete without good wines, their Il Grigio and Poggio Rossa Riservas, and Super-Tuscan Vigorella serve the thought well. Elegant wines with traditional and international sense.

Our last stop was at Abruzzo-based co-operative Cantina Tollo in Abruzzo The winery has over a thousand farmers supplying grapes and it appears to be an industrial setup like none other. Each year they release their first wine, also the first in Italy, in September and thus without much thought it’s called, Settembri Chardonnay. A simple fresh clean wine with no frills attached. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a subtle fruit-forward red wine with hints of spices made using Montepulciano grape variety grown locally. The wine is generally aged for a brief duration and enjoyed best with some local delicacies. Their Cagiolo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, having strong varietal appeal and impressive character, made it to our favourites’ list.

Italians love their food and wines and they offered their best to us too. Food and wines here walk hand in hand and it’s amazing how every household lets them share the table on a daily-basis. Winemaking in Italy is not only a profession but a way of life, with generations continuing it further. Big or small, almost every winery has some precious masterpiece worthy of being exported but the fact that it may sometimes barely make it out of the village is a big enough deal. No wonder they say that Italians truly know how to live the good life, La Dolce Vita!

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The Era Of Cartizze

Sparkling wines are always in vogue. They’re not only a symbol of simple joy and celebration but also stand for prestige, luxury, and of course, romance. For those who like their wines soft and fruity, Italian Prosecco can be a very good choice.

Prosecco wines hail from northern Italy, from the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in Veneto. The wine, made with a local grape Glera, is sealed with the highest Italian wine standard of DOCG ensuring strict quality control. 

Between these two hills is a smaller hill called Cartizze, one that is considered to produce the most treasured of Proseccos. Since the land is so highly regarded everyone wants a piece of it and this is why about 140 owners share this 106 hectare stretch. This demand has made it the most expensive agricultural land in Italy.

The steep, white chalky low-yielding soil, along with cool breezy climate, and bright sun produces the best quality Glera in the world that winemakers turn into a divine bubbly. A unique winemaking process, known as the Charmat Method, adds bubbles to the wine by fermenting it under pressure in stainless steel tanks to preserve its true flavours and keep them intense and fresh.

General Prosecco wines are fresh, fruity, aromatic, and soft palate and are most expressive in their Extra Dry version (with residual sugar upto 17 grams per litre). But what differentiates Cartizze from the others is its range and depth of notes, ranging from pears, bananas, and honeydew melons,  to a seamless, rich minerality. And one of the best producers of this is the Villa Sandi with their wine called the ‘Vigna La Rivetta’.

Villa Sandi is one of the most respected family-run wineries. Set in Treviso, in a Palladian-style villa dating back to 1622, the winery is a destination in itself. Their Cartizze is one of the most awarded wine in its group, including accolades from the prestigious and revered Gambero Rosso guide of Italy. Produced in a small quantity, its complex multilayered flavours range from the midly aromatic to the intensely perfumed, citrus and white fruits to floral touches, with toasted almond flakes on the finish. All this is well held together with great minerality, structure, balance, and finesse. Perfect for drinking not just by itself but also alongside food. Try it with scones, fruit flans, focaccia bread, Bavarian chantilly cream, or even traditional Italian Pandoro cake. If not with the sweets, try it with fried white fish dishes, cheese soufflé, creamy pasta dishes, polenta, or, more locally, Navratan Korma.

Though the wine ages well it is best enjoyed young. Prosecco wines are a great addition to the world of bubblies. They marry well with food and are easy sips, not only on the palate but also on the pocket. Try having this eloquent yet simple sparkling wine next time around and see what makes the wines from this little hillock so special. Cín!