Unless you have been to this 45-room beautiful boutique hotel in Gurgaon you would not know what a rocking place it has become since the last time we had a cheese and wine tasting event here. A very lively and vibrant place, it has a lot to offer in terms of good food and we found that out during this dinner.

The starters were delicious and went so well with the Prosecco Moletto and the Sauvignon Blanc that it was hard to get people move away from the bar. It was bursting at its seams with 28 people catching up over glasses of wine and the stream of snacks predominantly char-grilled cheese. The jalapeno corn sticks were simply ‘you just can't have only one'- fried a bit much for the Sauvignon but perfect with the sparkler. Fish sticks were the right choice for the Sauvignon. Lamb tikkas were too powerful for the two aperitif wines. So we opened a Chilean Merlot Reserva. With its ripe tannins and the luscious mouthfeel it pared perfectly with these kebabs.

The dinner also emphasized on a couple of pointers about wine drinking. One was the right temperature of service. We experimented with the first glass of Merlot at ‘room temperature'. Chilean reds are generally high on alcohol. One could practically sniff the alcohol vapours. But the next serving at cooler temperature of 18 degs brought out the right flavour of the merlot and Carmene`re- both of which went rather synergized with well with the medium body fish. Of course a Chardonnay would be a perfect match

The last two fine wines Ad Vinum (blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot) and Venere (Carmene`re, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot blend) served with Pan-seared chicken breast proved another point- the carefully selected red wine can meet and match a chicken dish prepared keeping the wine in mind. Both the wines were a good match with it because of ripe tannins that were well rounded in the mouth. It was a medium-to full bodied preparation due to the sauce chef Vineet had used. Again, a classic combination for a Burgundy white or an unoaked Australian or New Zealander Chardonnay that meshed well because of the sauce.

The presentation of different dishes was excellent, especially the Tiramisu with Blue Berry Sauce. Wine glasses were an obvious abrasion. Too small. One could not get the best out of the reds, for sure. Perhaps, before the next dinner we shall hear good news from the management. The service was very courteous, relaxed and warm. Some people are always unhappy about the pace of service. Our fault…our take is that wine dinners are meant to be relaxed evenings- based on the ‘Slow Food' concept. With almost a bottle of wine to sip through, and plenty of catching up to do with other members, time needed to talk about the wines, all nibble away at the time. Any specific suggestions are always welcome and are given the due respectful recognition.

Menu was as under:

CARTE DU JOUR

Starters

Corn jalapeno cheese cigars , Pickled cottage cheese char grilled

Lamb mint & red onion , Long fish fingers

First course

Green peas terrine, rocket and lime with wild strawberry emulsion.

Chicken , liver timbale and mix lettuce with beans tartar.

Second course

Vegetable and ricotta cannelloni with basil and curry cream

Nut crusted river sole fillet with ratatouille and baked potatoes.

Third course

Corn and asparagus parcels with bell pepper coulis

Pan seared chicken breast with pepper, mashed potatoes and asparagus morel cream.

Fourth course

Tiramisu with blue berry sauce.

Chai spiced crème caramel with raspberries.

Subhash Arora