After a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon under our belt, we were in high spirits. The great food'n wine and service at ACSA- the U.S. Embassy Club restaurant where our wine dinner was progressing , had something to do with the bonhomie that was going on with 26 year olds to 78 year young enjoying themselves alike . That's when a member asked me if I had read a recent article in some newspaper or a magazine where the writer had compared Delhi Wine Club and the Wine Society.

Since my answer was in the negative, I was curious to know more, naturally. Apparently, we had been typecast as a younger, more boisterous lot while the latter was a lot of older people, more serious about wine and life in general. With a couple of our new members over 75 years of age how could anyone say that, I felt? But then, we also have a new member who is 26, female, single and pretty. And she enjoys wines and our events as much as the other, older members. And if wine can keep you young and boisterous, adding fun to life, why not? This has been our objective and I was glad we were recognized publicly for this achievement.

To be honest, the statement is like comparing a Bordeaux that ages well (never mind the classification-Premier cru or fifth) with a big and boisterous California Cab which is less subtle and more fruit-driven, drinks easier while young, will also age nicely if matured with patience. In my lexicon it is not fair to compare the two – you take your pick.

But seriously, a few things about our club with three year old vines stand out. We like to believe we are passionate about wines and want to share with others. Our events are designed to be enjoyable experience centering on wine as diversified as possible. Food and wine are just two of the most important instruments of our orchestra. If wine were guitar and food the keyboard then, it is not as much about Educating Rita to play the guitar as coordinating with the keyboard and other instruments to have the best symphony. Of course, we do talk of different guitar styles and types and the specs in different countries where they produce them guitars.

We believe that wine is a fun thing. It is not alcohol but a beverage that gets its flavours from the alcohol. We know it can be healthy but not in the quantity of .8 bottles plus that each member consumes through the evenings. We may not even be able to tell the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca, Nashik or Marlborough. But we make sure we taste'm from USA, Australia and South Africa too.

We believe that wine is a fun thing. It is not alcohol but a beverage that gets its flavours from the alcohol. We know it can be healthy but not in the quantity of .8 bottles plus that each member consumes through the evenings. We may not even be able to tell the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca, Nashik or Marlborough. But we make sure we taste'm from USA, Australia and South Africa too.

It is interesting how many of our members can now recognize the better quality wine in a lot of five wines we taste and drink at a dinner, even if they may not be able to differentiate between a Sauvignon and Chardonnay or a Cab and Shiraz. Most of the members complain light-heartedly that their wine expenses have gone through the roof after becoming members and they cannot drink the plonk anymore. That's the best compliment for us. ‘Drink less wine, drink better wine' seems to be working for us.

One last word about sharing this fun. I believe wine can be fun only with some basic knowledge and understanding (more on this at a later date). And we like to share wine information knowledge at our dinners and through the open medium of our website for non-members. We disseminate India-centric wine information to the virtual visitors and are optimistic about the impact it has on people who are keen learners. We are investing a reasonable amount to develop interactive software to make the learning process also fun. But we hope to continue to enjoy the 20 or so events every year.

And therefore…welcome to our wonderful world of fine California Cabs where wine is a fun thing!

Subhash Arora