PGC’s long delayed lunch meet finally happened on Sunday
Oct. 11, 2015. The motivating factor was our good friend and long time
supporter Dr. Rajesh Rasal, India’s most well known independent wine maker who accepted
our invitation to showcase his new wine.
Space limitations forced me to cap the number of attendees
to 20. First preference was naturally given to members who showed their
willingness to help with the cooking. The Europartial menu was emailed to all
along with cooking tasks.
The responsibility
of the bread basket was given to our skilled bakers Vivek Mannige and Shubha Nafrey. Vivek brought
fresh baguettes and the latter not just a multi grain loaf but Brioche
and Focaccia. The wine selection was left to the guest of honour, Dr. Rajesh Rasal who presented 5 wines.
The first was a Sauvignon Blanc Gold 2014 from Soma owned by Pradeep Pachpatil who had a long stint as VP at Sula. Rajesh informed
us that this wine is made in the New Zealand style – dry on the palate with
herbaceous, grassy notes, citrusy on the tongue and with just that hint of
green capsicum. It was refreshing to discover that our boutique wineries are
treating wine lovers with respect. Somanda’s Sauvignon Blanc Silver apparently
is fruit forward. Those who tasted this
wine in a Riedel glass found it more than satisfying.
The most important rule about food and wine pairing they
say, is there ain’t no rules. So no attempt was made pair the dishes with the
wines. To each his/her own was the motto.
It soon
became evident that the pleasure of an oozy baked Camembert/Brie stuffed with
fresh thyme on a baguette slice and a glass of the SB Gold did offer a most
satisfying experience. All I did was put in the wheel of Kodai Cambrie for 10
minutes in a 180⁰C oven.
As everyone helped themselves to the New York style Iceberg wedge with a blue cheese dressing prepared by Muriel Pinto, many wondered if a litre of dressing was a tad too much. I was not surprised at all when just a few tablespoons were left at the end of the afternoon. I used Kodai Blue which is not as smelly or sharp as Roquefort or Stilton but still offers a taste acceptable to the Indian palate.
By this time Rajesh opened Soma’s Chenin Blanc Gold 2014. Unlike Indian Chenin Blancs which are on the sweeter side, Soma is rather dry. Rajesh told us that the Gold and Silver were made using different processes. Apparently Mr. Pachpatil wants to give his clientele a choice since the whites are available in both versions. The dry ones appeal to the European palate while Indians prefer more fruit accents.
Purnima Singh and Abijit De presented their own versions of the French farmhouse staple – coq au vin. Purnima tinkered with a recipe from The lllustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking and Abhijit did his own version without shedding light on the origins. Purnima’s was darker of the two with the chicken parts well braised in a full bodied red wine. In the end one pot had just a few chicken pieces and the other had only the sauce. Both were very, very good.
As everyone helped themselves to the New York style Iceberg wedge with a blue cheese dressing prepared by Muriel Pinto, many wondered if a litre of dressing was a tad too much. I was not surprised at all when just a few tablespoons were left at the end of the afternoon. I used Kodai Blue which is not as smelly or sharp as Roquefort or Stilton but still offers a taste acceptable to the Indian palate.
By this time Rajesh opened Soma’s Chenin Blanc Gold 2014. Unlike Indian Chenin Blancs which are on the sweeter side, Soma is rather dry. Rajesh told us that the Gold and Silver were made using different processes. Apparently Mr. Pachpatil wants to give his clientele a choice since the whites are available in both versions. The dry ones appeal to the European palate while Indians prefer more fruit accents.
Purnima Singh and Abijit De presented their own versions of the French farmhouse staple – coq au vin. Purnima tinkered with a recipe from The lllustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking and Abhijit did his own version without shedding light on the origins. Purnima’s was darker of the two with the chicken parts well braised in a full bodied red wine. In the end one pot had just a few chicken pieces and the other had only the sauce. Both were very, very good.
After the first hunger pangs were assuaged, Rajesh presented
for tasting his 500 bottle latest limited edition creation, Reisha (Spanish for
root), a Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz blend (85/15) aged for 30 months in new French
oak barrels. The bottles were uncorked,
emptied into a degustation decanter and poured. The wine had a very good
bouquet and the tannins were distinctive but not harsh. One can read reams of
tasting notes, but ultimately the proof of the wine is in the buying. Rajesh
explained that the wine would be ready to drink out of the bottle by March 2016
and would age very well for the next 7-8 years in the bottle. Perhaps this wine will
break the myth that Indian wines do not age well.
The next wine was Arros 2012 by York. This Shiraz / Cabernet
Sauvignon blend (ratio not mentioned) aged for 13 months in French and American
oak barrels limited to 4,709 bottles. It’s a nice smooth wine -
eminently drinkable. The necker has extensive tasting notes with references to
coffee, black currant, nutmeg, cloves, chalky tannins etc. For a wine buff high
on curiosity and low on sophisticated palate and nose, I thought it best to let the wine
do the talking. And it asked, will you buy me for Rs. 1,045? Yes, I certainly
will, said I.
Arjun
Chowdhry, I suspect, did not expect to end up cooking when he suggested baked
fish be added to the menu. To his credit, he did not demur when given the task
and by all accounts, he outdid himself. He presented not one but three black
pomfrets, each with a different marinade. One had pesto, another garlic and
thyme and the third an oriental accent. He neatly sliced them into fillets and
served the guests. I feel this firm fleshed fish lends itself to baking and grilling
better than the silver pomfret.
Dessert included not just a rice gelato – a Florentine treat
- but also a dessert wine with a difference. Not the usual late harvest Chenin
Blanc but a Sauvignon Blanc from Soma. I’m not a great fan of dessert
wines but most who tasted this version were quite intrigued.
Working on the rice gelato, I wondered if it would be just
another version of a Lucknowi Phirni or a glorified rice kheer. Surprise,
surprise, it was anything but. Arborio rice, milk and sugar were twice baked in
an oven with vanilla bean and orange zest. Then half of the mix had to be
blendered (an invented word) fine and then blended with the rest and so on. Not
as simple as making payasam, that’s for sure. Ultimately the palates of 20 had
to pronounce a verdict. The proof of the gelato, lies in the eating. Hardly
100ml was left. The other two desserts – Banana ice cream made with overripe
Kerala Nendira Payam and the Lemon
ice cream made with the highly aromatic Bengal Gandharaj were devoured in a
blink.
At the end of it all, I asked everyone how much they thought
the lunch was worth inclusive of food and wine. It ranged from Rs. 850 to 1500
per head. We did the numbers and discovered it cost just Rs. 600 per head!!! That’s
what I call value for money.
And so another PGC leisurely lunch meet came to a satisfying
close around 4:30pm, half an hour before closing time.
B.Shankaranarayan
Moderator
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