Having been publishing the Thailand Wine Gazette for the past 5 years, I felt compelled to embark on a similar project for the Indian wine industry. With 6 varietals from Chateau Indage, I approach their importer CanPac Beverage to see if they were interested in sponsoring an article about their wines, have get them onboard I approached Eric Hallin, GM of the Remrandt Bangkok to host a dinner to pair the Indian wines with the dishes he serves in his award winning Rang Mahal Restaurant.
Here is what we experienced With culinary regards Laurence Civil
Managing Editor & Gourmet Lifestyle Writer
IndianWine Gazette
Your Resource on the Indian Wine Industry
Issue 1 . June 2009
India is currently the most productive wine producing country in South and Southeast Asia. Indage Vintners Ltd (formerly known as Champagne Indage Ltd) started their production in 1982 and are pioneers of authentic wine making in India. Their vineyards in the Sahyadri Valley in the State of Maharashtra are on the outskirts of Pune, 160 km’s southeast of Mumbai at an altitude of between 700-800 meters above sea level. Due to its lime rich and chalky soil combined with a controlled microclimate it was seen as ideal for cultivating grapes free from diseases to make extremely high quality wines. Their vineyards are spread over 2, 500 hectares with 20 different grape varieties, both international and domestic grown for wine production and 137 in experimental lots. The state of the art winery in Narayangaon has a production capacity for 15 million liters of wine and a bottling capacity of 15, 000 bottles an hour.
CanPac Beverages Ltd are currently importing six of their wines into Thailand; under the Ivy label they are Brut (Méthode Champanoise), Sauvignon Blanc-Semillion and Shiraz and under the Chantilli label Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. “I decided to import wines from India for two reasons,” says Ekachai Mahaguna. “Firstly, no one else was importing these wines and secondly we have seen a rise in interest in popular Indian culture and food. The timing just seemed right to me.”
To see how these wines paired with Indian food a dinner hosted by Eric Hallin, General Manager of Rembrandt Bangkok at their award winning Rang Mahal Restaurant. The restaurant up on the 26th floor has a spectacular view of the city and is named after the part of a Mahraja’s palace that he and his court would relax and enjoy the finest Indian cuisine and music, the perfect setting for our tasting. All of the wines were from vineyards in the Deccan plateau of Sahayadri Valley 800 metres above sea level.
Ivy Brut Chateau Indage paired with Tandoori Prawns 2006
The wine is a blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc grapes The wine is first aged in stainless steel tanks then battle aged methode champenoise, the same way Champagne is made in France. In the glass the wine has a clear straw colour with a strong peralage of bubbles; on the nose there is a delicious aroma of apples and pears with a whiff of milk chocolate; then in the mouth the taste is rich and creamy with a full bodied flavour and a long clear finish. Before the meal we had enjoyed it as an aperitif downstairs in the lobby bar and then with Jumbo prawns marinated in a charcoal oven. There was a nice match with the acidity of the wine in balance with spices in the prawn dish.
Chantilli Chateau Indage 2006 Chardonnay with Murgh Malai Kebab
Made from Chardonnay grapes of which 40% were aged in oak barrels and the remaining 40% in stainless steel tanks. A golden yellow colour in the glass this is a rich fruit wine just a hint of peaches in the taste. The winemaker chose to age 40% of the fruit in French oak to extract elegance and complexity with woody overtones. The pairing was a delicate combination of chicken and cream cheese and again the wines and spices balanced nicely. There was comment from the table that the wine was flat, not quite reaching their expectation. As a comparison when going back to the brut and taking a second sip of the brut several felt this dish worked better with the first wine rather than the chardonnay, but taste is subjective.
Ivy Chateau Indage 2006 Shiraz with Burra Kebab
The wine is 100% aged in oak barrels. In the glass the wine has a very deep purple colour; on the nose gradual evolving aroma of mulberry fruits and a touch of vanilla extract from the new French oak. In the mouth flavours of red berry fruit with a spicy overtone, it’s very full bodied with an over the top pungency of camphour, eucalyptus with some black and white pepper. There is a subtle spicy edge with a long almondy finish. This was paired with mutton that had been delicately flavoured and finished in the clay oven. The wine went nicely as expected with the lamb but tasted a little too young and would benefit if left to age for a year of two.
Ivy Chateau Indage 2006 Savignon Blanc-Semillion with Mahi Masala
A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion aged stainless steel tanks. This light dry fruity white wine has a distinctive bouquet of lemon, peach and gooseberry with a clean smooth finish. The taste is close to that of an Austrian wine. It was paired with boneless fish that had been tempered with onions tomatoes served with creamed spinach and basmati rice flavoured with saffron. A slight sour taste could be detected with the fish that worked well with this wine. With multiple food taste elements the wine seemed to be comfortable with all of them.
Chantilli Chateau Indage 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon with Murgh Khada Masala
A dry red Cabernet Sauvignon matured 80% in French Oak barrels and 20% in stainless steel tanks. A full bodied wine has just hint of blackcurrant. Its get it’s rich and complex finish from the element of the wine that enjoyed oak maturation. The pairing was chicken tempered with onions, tomatoes and spices, chicken with red wine may have been a surprise to some but heavy wine such as this needed such a heavy curry sauce, the meat itself wasn’t the deciding factor. Having said that when going back to the previous wine the Sauvignon Blanc Semillion, several at the table thought this match also worked well.
Chantilli Chateau Indage 2006, Merlot with Raan-E-Khyber
100% Merlot fruit aged in French oak for 6 months produces a round and opulent merlot with a warm red colour in the glass; on the nose intense aromas of cherry backed by the warm alcohol structure which at 14% is the highest of the six wines. The tannins are soft and silky becoming more expressive with hints of blackcurrant and black pepper at the finish. The pairing was
one of Rang Mahal’s signature dishes a leg of lamb that has been marinated overnight in rum and spices cooked in the Tandoor served with Tandoori Roti. The food and wine mach was perfect and dhall and roti also made a good combination. This was the table’s wine of the night.
Kulfi and fresh mango was served for dessert with masala tea.
In addition to Rang Mahal Chateau Indage Wines are available at the following Indian restaurants in Bangkok;
1. Masala Art
88, Eight Thonglor Complex, 2nd Floor,
Unit-L 205,
Sukhumvit Soi -55
Thonglor Soi 8,
Bangkok – 10110
Tel 02-713 8357 - 8
2. Himalai Cha – Cha
Branches in Soi Convent,
Charoengkrung Road
Sukhumvit Soi 31
Tel 02-2596677, 02-259-6900
3. Indus
71 Sukhumvit Soi 26
Bangkok 10110
Tel 02-258-4900
Retail
Chantilli label at branches of Tesco Lotus Ivy label at branches of Villa Supermarket.
Published by Gourmet Media
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E-mail : Laurence@csloxinfo.com