A pleasant and delicious afternoon, spent with people
passionate about wine and food has turned me into more of a wine enthusiast
then I already was. The wine tasting
held by Four Seasons was hosted by the lovely Shamita Singha, Femina Miss India Earth 2001 and the brand ambassador for Four Seasons Wine.
The Four Seasons winery, situated in Baramati (an hour and a
half’s drive from Pune),will be open to tourists from this year, and seems like
a perfect, exotic getaway.
From the site : The lush undulating hills
of the Western Ghats offer not just a breathtaking landscape but are also
endowed with perfect natural conditions to nurture fine varieties of wine
grapes. These hills are blessed with gravely soils that are rich in iron and
have good drainage. Not so warm sunny days and cool nights ensure a good
temperature variance – a must for quality wine making grapes. Set amidst this
environment, near the village of Rotti, in the Baramati district, is the Four
Seasons Winery, where this exquisite range of Four Seasons Wines is produced.
Shamita guided us through the wine tasting process by
following the 4 S’s.
See. Swirl. Smell. Sip.
“The first step is to
just to see your wine. Wine is about bringing
all your senses together. The colour of the wine can also tell you a lot about
it, in white wine if you see a really pale coloured liquid, you know it’s a
young wine. Young white wines are pale coloured and get darker with age. With
red wines it’s exactly the opposite. Young red wines are very deep, dark
coloured and as they grow and mature they get lighter.
The next step is to
swirl your wine. A good way to do so, is to put your glass down on a table, get some
support and swirl it, that way you won’t spill it. Give it a nice swirl so that
the wine opens up.
The third step is to
just smell it. Stick your nose deep into your glass and take a nice big whiff.
What you want to smell is something that is appetising, to know if the wine is
fresh or not, because sometimes wines can get infected. You want to smell
fruit, something that is appetising, something that you want to taste.
The fourth and the
final step is to sip your wine. Take a nice big sip, swirl it in your mouth so
that your pallets can absorb full flavours of the wine. Try and assess the
flavours and then swallow it.” says Shamita.
Our Menu for the evening was:
Aloo Panch-Foran (Sigdi BBQ'd Baby Potatoes marinated in Mango Pickle) and Murgh Nawabi Tikka (Tandoor roasted, yoghurt marinated Chicken) was served with The Four Seasons Chenin Blanc.
Aloo Panch-Foran (Sigdi BBQ'd Baby Potatoes marinated in Mango Pickle) and Murgh Nawabi Tikka (Tandoor roasted, yoghurt marinated Chicken) was served with The Four Seasons Chenin Blanc.
Bhoona Paneer Kathi Roll and Tulsi Patte Ka Jhinga (Tandoor
cooked, Holy Basil flavoured Prawns) was served with Four Seasons Blush. The off dry, fruity blush was my favourite wine of the day.
Peshawari Paneer Tikka (Crushed Spices rubbed Paneer,
Tandoor cooked) and Bhoona Gosht Kathi Roll was served with Four Seasons Shiraz.
Kesari Khumb Tikka (Saffron marinated Tandoori Mushrooms)
and Lucknow Seekh Kabab (Sigdi cooked, coarsely ground Mutton Seekh) was served
with the complex and earthy flavoured, 2009 Four Seasons Special Barrique Reserve Shiraz.
There is no fixed format of wine and food pairing, as long
as you are enjoying your food and you are enjoying your wine side by side. There
are a few thumb rules that can be followed, but no right or wrong as such. The
most basic rule being, that the flavours of the wine and the food paired with
it should not dominate each other.
Photo courtesy: Mumbai Eyed |
I had to leave early from the event, but i got to know from
fellow bloggers that tasty Rabdi Kulfi was served as dessert. J
Got to meet these amazing people at the event. Do check out their blogs.
wow! gr8 event :D
ReplyDelete:D
Deleteu look beautiful in the last pic :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Pooja!!
DeleteWhat a wonderful event to be invited to!
ReplyDeleteI've always been a big fan of wine. That's some really handy info you gave! :D :D The four S's! Nice!
ReplyDeleteYou look absolutely pretty! :D
Blessed Be!
Karishma,
ReplyDeleteThanks for tips. Mouth watering menu. Thanks again for links. I will surely visit them soon.
Take care
Awesome! Now my turn, soon :)
ReplyDeleteBeen so caught up at work, hardly get time these days.
Ditto. Have been so busy with work.
DeleteI am happy though that i am not the last one to be writing about this event..hehe :)
Nice, trip ke beech mein wine ka revision :)
ReplyDelete