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Delhi takes a peek at the world - through a wine glass

New Delhi, March 24, 2008  - Look, swirl, smell and taste: Though experts make wine tasting sound simple enough, the sessions at Shangri-La hotel’s Wine Club - the newest in the block — is not for the uninitiated.

Each sip is accompanied by a description of the wine, its region, the grapes used and the taste. And Delhi is lapping it up.

Started in January 2007, the club already has 32 members. But even so, the older clubs, The Delhi Wine Club and The Wine Society, started in 2002 and 2000, are thriving. The basic premise of these clubs is to educate guests about fine wines and encourage the habit of wine drinking.

Says general manager of Wine Club, Andrew Steele: “When I came to India a few years ago, I was surprised at the absence of a wine culture. Even the ‘wine by the glass’ concept at restaurants had not matured. So we started 32 wines by the glass here. And then we thought of forming a club, where a guest could sample his favourite wine.”

The club meets twice a month on alternate Fridays and the sessions last approximately an hour.

For 40 something Steve Harfst, COO Indigo, member of the Wine Club, it was regular visits to the Shangri-La that got him initiated. “I am a regular wine drinker but find it difficult to select wines. So sparing an hour every alternate Friday seemed reasonable. I chat up my friends here and taste the best wines from across the world.”

The members at the Shangri-La Wine Club are mostly expatriates. But the hotel will like to see local participation as far as possible and is working towards that, says Steele, “this is just a start and we are hopeful of changes”.

For Subhash Arora, President, Delhi Wine Club, the change has been noticeable. Though the club already has around 160 members, each day he receives more and more queries from youngsters. “Till five years ago, the club saw members in the 40-plus age group. That profile has changed lately,” he says, “we started encouraging youngsters as we had to maintain a homogenous mix.” For 27-year-old Nikhil Asrani, the club’s youngest member, joining up was just adding another dimension to his passion. “I was legally drinking wine even before I heard of this club,” says Asrani. “I like swirling the wine in the glass and drinking is a pleasure. Joining here meant enhancing my knowledge of wines.”

Each club has different criteria for membership. The Wine Club at Shangri-La and the Delhi Wine Club entertain anyone who has a keen interest. The Wine Society, however, is for the privileged. “Each member has to undergo a three-stage screening, where we assess his ability to contribute to the organisation and his reasons for joining the club,” says Bunty Singh, treasurer, the Wine Society. Currently, it has 130 members and does not want to go beyond that. Singh, however, believes that targeting the youth is where the sense prevails.

“I see more and more youngsters being able to afford wine and showing keenness for it. With 35 per cent population comprising youth, they will be the future wine drinkers. There is no clear strategy to target them, however. So far I am encouraging youngsters I meet to join this club.” His belief is that getting youngsters to take to wine will lead to responsible drinking.

But even women have taken to wine clubs with gusto. Sangita Singh (43) joined The Wine Society a year ago. She has found a lot of satisfaction so far. “It is a good forum since you meet people from all over and share opinions,” she says. “You also taste a fair range of wines, which you would not have otherwise tasted.”

The clubs are gearing up to meet the challenge from this whole new generation of drinkers. Among the activities planned are visits to chateaus and visit to wine festivals abroad.

These clubs work mostly on subscription basis and charge an annual fee. At the Wine Society, each session costs Rs 700 and one tastes 5-6 different wines. But the Wine Club at Shangri-La is also a social club, where members pay for Rs 1,000 per session. a billion litres of the liquor annually.

Source – Indian Express