A few years ago, it seemed every banker you met wanted to pack in the 9-to-5 and live the good life as a winemaker. Prime property was bought all over Nashik and the grape growing began. The fruits of that labour have finally been picked, bottled and are now ready to be served. But how do the products measure up? We asked two sommeliers and a professional wine taster—“We spit, so you don’t have to”—to taste four recently launched brands: Zinzi, Nilaya, Big Banyan and Tiger Hill.
Do you like Indian wine? Share your opinion with us.
We bought the bottles directly from the companies, took over a private room at the Q’ba restaurant in Delhi and sampled one red and one white from each brand. Here’s an edited transcript of what the professionals had to say:
Zinzi
Launched by Vijay Mallaya’s United Breweries label, this wine targets the wine newbie. Its flashy label boasts “French varietal” and an extra tag around the bottle’s neck offers recipes for wine-based drinks. The tag reads: “They come from hand-picked French grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Shiraz.” The wine is available in Karnataka, Goa, West Bengal and Maharashtra and sells for Rs270 (all prices before duties and taxes).
Our experts say:
Stephane Soret (SS): This is a pretty cheap marketing ploy. People see it’s a French wine, so it adds a bit of quality to it. But “French varietal” means nothing.
Magandeep Singh (MS): This is French wine because the original cuttings were French, but this might be the seventh or 70th grafting of the wine. It’s Indian wine. The label is a gimmick. And Zinfandel is not French at all. It’s Italian, maybe, but not French. This is absolutely wrong information on the label.
Zinzi White
The company says:
A mixture of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, it is easy to drink—fresh, fruity, light and sweetish.
Our experts say:
MS: The colours are fine; it looks like any wine (tastes wine, starts coughing). Wow. You see, I judge a wine a lot by its finish, just pure finish; nothing else to me is more important than a smooth finish that isn’t too jarring, too metallic or too steely. And this wine is all three.
SS: For me, there is no concept, no identity. It’s very imbalanced, very green. Overall, the acidity is overpowering.
Gurjit Singh Barry (GB): It starts out medium sweet, but by the time it reaches your mid-palate, it’s dead, finished; you don’t even realize you had anything. It has a nose, but that’s it.
Zinzi Red
The company says: The red is a blend of Zinfandel, Shiraz and Cabernet. The aroma is freshly crushed red fruit with spicy notes. It is easy to drink, light to medium-bodied, with soft tannins.
Our experts say:
SS: It’s cooked. From a tasting point of view, it has that sweet red pepper, but not in a good way. It has very earthy roots.
MS: It is heated grape juice.
SS: Okay, next.
Nilaya