Wine – N – Dine Hosted By Hyderabad Wine Club & Sula Wines   On  23^rd April 2006  Sunday At The Crystal Palace – A – Hall,  Hotel Manohar.

It is more than a year, after wine label charges were reduced officially, and a year while wine was being sold in most of the restaurants.    While the early birds, Sula and Grover are making their presence felt, it is still a trickle of wine available here compared to Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.

While Hyderabad Wine Club was planning to organize ‘Wine Event’ to commemorate “One year of wines in Hyderabad” and Mr. P. Kishan, Area Manager, Sula Wines,  readily came forward to provide wines for this evening.

The wines for this evening were Sula Brut (Sparkling), Chenin blanc (white),     Zinfandel (rose), Cabernet–Shiraz (red).  The food is mainly Continental with a touch of Orient with an interesting mix of flavours, to allow the wines to be mix-and-match event.  Group of 29 people including seven couples mixed well in an informal get together to share their experience. 

The way the gathering went on, looks wine knowledge is slowly picking up among interested members.  Fortunately or unfortunately,  Hyderabad is the latest entry in India’s wine scenario, and wine lovers are improving their knowledge with the wine development here.  The way members asking and deciding what wine goes better with what food is itself a small contribution in this way.    Then there were declarations from our member Mrs. Laxmi that she totally shifted to wines, after having the opportunity in joining the club.  There is Mrs. Vijayalaxmi asking ‘Chenin Blanc’ instead of ‘white wine’ to be poured.  And there are Mr. Laxman and Sudha to try all the wines, in the order they are supposed to be tasted  finally shifting to the one they liked.    They only hitch is members enjoyment was so involved,  consuming almost 0.85 bottle pp, which is far beyond the average.

These are the experiences we share & debate while gathering around wine.  Each guest/member will learn from each other.   Discovering flavours that one is not aware of, etc.  will permit to gain confidence in their own taste buds, which is the most precious gift of the human being.  There is no “right” or “wrong” answers with wine.  These events certainly help to enjoy wine that you or drinking, otherwise, to appreciate what you do not but someone else may.

Different palates develop at different rates. Different experiences create likings for different flavours. Novices usually find difficulty in handling dry tannins and usually like a little sweetness in their wines. Brandy or whiskey drinkers prefer a wine with stronger, upfront flavours and tastes. A more developed palate is able to handle stronger tannins but at the same time able to appreciate nuances in subtle aromas.