Two things were clear from the special dinner organised at the Hyatt where a Masterclass was held on December 8th, by the visiting German wine expert and author of the well-known German Guide Gault Millau and where he, Joel Payne gave a presentation accompanied by 4 Rieslings from top VDP Estates.
First that the lower number of members registering was either due to the heavy wedding and party season or the members are generally not interested in any formal type of educative programmes. Otherwise why would they not jump at the historical event which the well known Australian Sommelier, Kavita Faiella from the Amanresorts had rated a day earlier at the German embassy, as ‘the best and most professionally conducted presentation since she has been in India? I am sure the reason was the former-all the same, several members missed a unique opportunity of learning a lot about German wines.
It could also be perhaps because German wines are not too popular in India yet. Here too, there was a lesson for everyone. What was tasted was an array of 12 wines, all of which were dry wines-with a sugar content of under 9gms. Most with a level of 5-8 gms were quite fruity with just a shade of sweetness which makes them a wonderful companion with Indian cuisine.
That brings me to the second point- the professionalism, dynamism and the flexibility of Hotel Hyatt which despite the heavy season, was not only able to provide a room for the Masterclass along with all the accompaniments but the dishes selected by Chef Khurana complemented the food very well. We had selected an Indo-German cuisine which turned out to be more of Nouvelle Indian cuisine and the food-wine match was quite successful, even though we had to restrict the quantity of each wine-traded with more varieties for the same course.
Nothing could have been more ingenious than the stuffed idli with prawns on top that were heavenly with the Riesling. Pan-fried Sea bass was an understandable partner with the Riesling and so was the red Pinot Noir with the lamb shank which was very tender and succulent.
By now, it is well neigh established that the vibes at Hyatt are always nice with members coming out of their shell and into their natural selves, which may or may not be in consonance with the people sitting near our tables but we do know that whether it is a Riesling or a Rosé, a Bourgogne or a mere upcoming Pinot Noir from Ahr or Pfalz, there can be fun around good food and fine wine like what was served at Hyatt this evening with all details handled superbly by the hotel, yet another time.
An earlier training programme organised by the DW/C through the Indian Wine Academy for the hotel staff was also a resounding success with the staff swearing that they had not experienced such wine training sessions earlier.
It helped that Joel is quite Jolly and loved to move around from table to table, talking about wine, food and anything you wanted to talk about under the sun, to have made it an extremely entertaining and educational meeting for those who could come.
Subhash Arora
|
