Most people have their own version of a comfort food. Well if I had my own little version of a ‘Comfort food’ it would probably be the ‘Riesling’. It had been a terribly disturbing first four days of the week. I seemed to have ruffled more than my usual quota of feathers for the week and wanted to take a break and seek out my Comfort food.

The Taj in Nungambakkam is one of the very few places in the city, which maintains an extensive cellar, affords a certain degree of sanctity to the wine in the storage department. I dragged a couple of friends and headed out to Chipstead. Usually I would carry my ‘Terroir  Card’ with me, but due to some terribly stormy weather of late at the Terroir, I wanted to experiment ‘Card Abstinence’ to try out “life without the terroir card” :-))

The Usual menu card at Chipstead offers only the ‘Per glass’ options. You will have to prompt them a couple of times to bring the “extended wine list” unless one of the regulars spot you.
I decided to go for the Domaines Schlumberger Riesling, 2009, which is a part of their ‘Taj Exclusive collection’
This Wine is from the Domaines Schlumberger estate which is in Alsace, the Eastern end of france. It is a Reisling. It is pale yellow in color.

Nose:  Lime and green apple

Palate: It is an extremely dry wine, full bodied citrusy on the palate with and very refreshing acidic finish.

Pairing: This wine pairs extremely well with Seafood (The wine maker’s recommendation),  though I went for my usual Chicken Tikka and Paneer Tikka (Tip: The Dry Reislings pair very well with the mildly spicy Tandoor based food)

Price : The Wine retails for Rs 3500 at Chipstead all exclusive. (I was very conscious about not splurging because I wasn't going to get a discount today :-)), I did order two other wines which I will review in one of the upcoming posts.

Post Script : The terroir storm seems to have weathered, maybe I still can get to use my Terroir card after all. I have been spoilt rotten with the Wine Club perks !!!

How many times have you been to a fancy restaurant, ordered a good wine and have had the Maitre D hand you over the freshly uncorked Cork from the bottle and you have ‘Frozen’ about what to do next ? Well it has happened to most of us at some point in our lives. A friend saw one of my wine blog articles and asked me this very question and it struck me that this something I should shed some light on! So what next..?

The first step would be to inspect the cork to see if the cork is moist or dry. You want the cork to be moist and not cracked. Also it would be a good idea to inspect the cork to check if the label matches the bottle. This would ensure that you haven’t been fobbed off with either a counterfeit product or a recorked wine (It has been known to happen!!)

DO NOT SMELL THE CORK.. You are more likely to pick up any fault in the wine once the wine in poured into the glass.

The Maitre D is next likely to pour a small amount of wine in a glass and hand it over to you.

At this point the first step would be to inspect the wine. If there is discoloration i.e.  red wine turning brick red or Brown and whites have a peculiar oxidized look. (Whites are more prone to Oxidative damage because of lesser tannins). This discoloration points to either faulty sealing or faulty storage.  Also look for sedimentation in the wine (Not necessarily bad)

At this point also notice for any additional bubbling in the wine, if it isn’t a sparkling wine, there shouldn’t be any bubbling, which would point to unwanted secondary fermentation, which may be a Big NO NO (unless in very rare cases the winemakers employ this as a technique for the  wine)

Next step would be to gently swirl the wine, about three swirls should be sufficient (please ensure that the wine isn’t violently shaken )..Take a whiff of the wine. The smells to watch out for would be mouldy or a wet newspaper smell (Signs that the wine has been ‘Corked’), Stale fruit, vinegar or a cough syrup kind of smell (signs that the Wine has been ‘Cooked’ ) or the smell of Rotten Eggs (Sulphides).

If the Wine passes all the tests above, you should be happy to have the Maitre D serve you the wine. If it doesn’t please do not hesitate to return the bottle. Most establishments will gladly replace the wine.

This is Classic Bordeaux blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot.) is a product of the Glen Carlou Vineyard, situated in the Paarl Valley of South Africa. This wine is Oak barell aged.
Its nice Ruby red coloured wine

Nose :  berry and Plum with hint of Cinnamon

Palate : Plum and Dark Cherry, with ripe tannins, Has a long Oaky finish

Pairing : Pepper steak and Rack of Lamb

Tip: With a steak, when in doubt always go for a Bordeaux Blend :-)

Yalumba is the oldest family owned vineyard in Australia. Located in Borossa Valley, it was established in 1849.

This particular wine is Non Oaked Chardonnay. 

The wine is pale straw coloured wine

On the Nose the wine has a citrus and fruity (melon and pineapple) flavor.

On the palate  It is a full bodied, mildly acidic with a fresh melon, pineapple and peach flavor and has a crisp fresh citrus finish.

Pairing  The Vineyard recommends pairing this wine with Grilled Haloumi Cheese (Greek Goat Cheese) and Cherry tomato and Watercress salad.

Traditionally unoaked Chardonnay’s pair better with foods that are lower in sweetness and higher in salt and have moderate oil or fat. Typically Chicken tikka, herbed chicken, Mildly marinated grilled fish pair well with this wine.

Incidentally the bird on the label is a ‘Cape barren goose’ an endangered species native to southern Australia.