Whether you are planning a quiet party at home or if you are heading out to a private do this New Year’s Eve, there’s nothing that breaks the ice like the right bottle of wine. Fine wine is an elegant, personal and universally acceptable gift that your host will surely appreciate.
Depending on whether you fancy champagne, sparkling, a rose, red or white, here are a few wines that are affordable, available in India and perfect for gifting.
Sparkling If not champagne, sparkl ing wine makes as good a gift and costs less — sparkling wine is made in the same way as champagne but cannot be called champagne because the grapes don’t come from the Champagne region in France. One excellent example is Bouvet-Ladubay’s Rubis Demi-Sec (Rs 1,500* a bottle onwards), marketed in India by the UB Group. This sparkler is unusual in that it is a bright cherry red with lovely fruity aromas and delicious berry flavours. Château Indage Marquise de Pompadour Brut and Vinsura Brut are Indian sparkling wines that are also worth sharing. Sula or Reveillo’s Late Harvest wines are sweetish and very flavoursome. Good to present too.
Champagne Champagne is expensive but makes a wonderful gift if you want to splurge. Moet & Chandon is probably one of the best known brands but there are other excellent champagnes like Bollinger that make good presents. Marketed as ‘‘the gentleman’s champagne,’’ you could also choose Pol Roger champagne, Winston Churchill’s favourite.
Red Lovers of passionate reds have quite a few options from Indian winemakers. Among them are Grover’s Cabernet Shiraz (Rs 800* a bottle) and Sula’s Dindori Reserve Shiraz (Rs 700* a bottle). Full-bodied with firm tannins, Shiraz wines are popular for their hearty flavours of wild berry, spice, herbs, smoke and sometimes a hint of pepper. There is also Nine Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Rs 500* a bottle) from Seagram’s or the Chilean Paso de Luz Cabernet Sauvignon (Rs 800* a bottle), which make an affordable gift. Cabernet Sauvignons tend to be full, dry and deep, with firm tannins and flavours hinting at black currant and herbs or spices
Ros é Rosé wines are another popular option.
Mateus Vinho de Mesa (Rs 760* a bottle) and Pink Elephant (Rs 980* a bottle), both from Portugal, are attractive wines to drink and very p r e s e n t a b l e .
Refreshing, soft, fruity and light, rosés pair well with Indian food.
If you are looking for an Indian rosé, try Vinsura Rosé Blush, a wine from Nashik.
Rs 380* a bottle.
White Crisp and fresh, white wine is perfect as an aperitif and, with well balanced acidity, also pairs well with our food. Among the whites, chardonnays are known to be dry, well balanced and complex, with flavours ranging from apple to tropical, with an oaky overtone. Good for gifting are wines such as the Australian Jacob’s Creek Semillon Chardonnay, which is a blend of two grapes (Rs 760* a bottle) or the Chilean Valdivieso Chardonnay Reserve (Rs 1,100* a bottle). South Africa’s Hill & Dale Sauvignon Blanc is also a good choice (Rs 1,030* a bottle). For something closer home, try either Indage’s Chantilli Chenin Blanc (Rs 440* a bottle) or Sula Chenin Blanc (Rs 420* a bottle).
Chenin Blanc wines tend to be dry to semi dry with a smart crispness. Oily in texture, the wines have hints of fruit and spice. Big Banyan Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc, with their attractive labels, make a good gift too. Château de Banyan is a Bangalore-based company as is Grover.
*Prices vary according to different state taxes (Sommelier India is a leading wine magazine and the author can be contacted at www.sommelierindia.
com)