With over a 120 wine events
held by the DWC over the last couple of years, it
is indeed quite a task for the club management to
decide where to hold the next event keeping in mind
the very high standards of food quality and table
service that our wine club members now expect . 5
star hotels usually fit the bill but then their costs
are not always easy to be borne by our members, so
we have no option but to have a mix between the 5
stars and the stands alone restaurants.
With not too many quality stand alone
restaurants opening up who could service a sit down
pre-plated 5 course meal with wines ,it is but natural
that as we go along, some restaurants would receive
repeat visits from the Club.
Ploof in Lodhi Colony market has
been a staunch supporter of the Delhi Wine Club and
though in the past some members have had indifferent
experiences in the service department, one cannot
fault their management and staff for a lack of enthusiasm
to improve. This was clearly to the fore as the staff
under the guidance of Chef Manav Sharma executed a
professional dinner service for the 35 odd members
who had the foresight to log their reservations with
the Club well in advance.
The wines for the evening were masterminded
by Paul Vaughan the Trade Commissioner for New Zealand
–and yes no prizes for guessing, the wines were
all from New Zealand! .It was indeed educative to
have a native New Zealander talking about his country's
wines on offer that evening.
Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2006 which
got the seal of approval at the 2007 International
Wine Challenge was the first off the block. The Spy
Valley was bursting with fruit aroma with good level
of acidity and a pronounced passion fruit flavour.
This complemented both the finger foods of assorted
bruschettas as well as the appetizer course when we
sat down for our dinner. I had the Greek salad and
the crumbly feta cheese in it was a good balance to
the Spy Valley.
Moving on to the soup, I couldn't
resist the Lobster bisque –in fact against the
benchmark of the Orient Express's lobster bisque which
we had last year , Chef Manav Sharma's offering came
very close. The wine for this course was a fruit driven
Chardonnay – the Villa Maria East Coast Chardonnay
2005. I could taste pear, pineapple and melons on
the palate and the mouth feel was buttery and soft
with a hint of oakiness.
For the Entrée, I had selected
sautéed Asparagus spears with assorted mushrooms
–the asparagus was done just to a turn –cooked
yet crunchy and succulent. This was paired with Shingle
Peak Marlborough Pinot Noir 2004. A hint of the varietal
sweetness did not detract from the refreshingly crisp
fruity flavours of melon and citrus of this quality
wine.
Though we had a choice of 5 main
courses, wherever I looked, I noticed members happily
tucking into their Lobster with black beans and fried
rice – probably a reflection of the refined
food tastes of our members! The Chilka red crab, was
also "mentioned in dispatches" by a few
members, as outstanding.
As part of our mix and match approach,
a Babich Lone Tree Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon
was paired with the predominantly seafood options
in the main course. This wine, with 60% Merlot, was
medium bodied, had low tannins and went well with
the lobster.
A dipstick to gauge whether our members
had enjoyed themselves was the sound level in the
restaurant when the desert of chocolate cake with
the Kahlua Mousse was being served – the animated
chatter was so loud one could barely hear what someone
seated opposite you was saying !!
But then with such excellent wines,
great food and service, I could only commiserate with
those members whom we had to turn away for lack of
space. Moral of the story: reserve your table for
the 29th May at the Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon right away!
Arun Batra is a Delhi based management
consultant, a food and wine enthusiast and a long
time member of the Delhi Wine Club
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