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| The Pull of Wine |
| By Ravi Joshi |
| The sprawling 670 keys twin hotel complex Pullman Novotel in the New Delhi Aerocity hospitality district is the latest offering from the French hospitality giant, Accor. It has taken a long time coming and it finally rolled out the red carpet to pop the first corks for its inaugural wine dinner at Pluck the all day restaurant hosted by Tristan Beau de Lomenie, the General Manager and his wife Isabelle (a chateau owner from Barsac, Bordeaux) around the visit of Daniele Cristanelli, Export Manager of the famed Italian producer, Sartori di Verona. |
| There was much anticipation in the air as Tristan and Isabelle (acknowledged vinos) and their team got ready to play their part in upping the wine quotient around them. The dinner had all the right ingredients sparkling decor, carefully selected wines, innovative cuisine, exquisite tableware, and most importantly a 'spring in the step' of the team. |
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Daniele Cristanelli, Export Manager, Sartori di Verona |
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| I stole some time with the charming Daniele exclusively for vino india (thanks to Sagar Nath, the Marketing Manager for Brindco Sales the exclusive importers in India) and learnt that Daniele has been visiting India for the past 10 years to cement his company's long-standing partnership with the Indian wine giant. He understands well the wine trade and the channels, as also preferences of the Indian consumer - he shared with me his view that Indians pronounce Italian wine names reasonably well! |
| The first wine of the evening, Ti Amo Prosecco Spumante Brut DOC did the rounds around delicate hors d'oeuvres Quail egg with balsamic caviar and mustard cress, cherry mozzarella with champagne mousse and basil cress, prosciutto de parma with kalamata and truffle emulsion that worked like lace around fine fabric. |
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The wines for the evening |
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| We sat down to the amuse bouche, which was eye-catching enough to be an amuse yeux the platter was almost straight out of a space station and presented a colourful melon gazpacho with Prosecco Spumante going into the dish just in the right measure. |
| Next on the course was the soup a warm vichysoisse with parmesan ice cream and olive powder. Executive Chef Ajay introduced the course by pouring the warm vichyssoise around the parmesan ice cream that was placed separately. With the ice cream melting in the mouth instantly, the palate-coating emulsion gave a satiating finish. |
| The entrιe of baked and flaked fish, cauliflower mousse, grape fruit (NV) and sous vide fennel, cauliflower mousse, grape fruit (V) was served with Sartori Pinot Grigio, Friuli Grave DOC. I had chosen the non vegetarian option and found the wine to have a delicate demeanour with ample acidity that complemented the flaky cod fish with creamy and citrusy components rather well. Daniele introduced the wine as crisp, dry and minerally and from a terroir similar to Graves in Bordeaux (hence the nomenclature). |
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Food to match the wines |
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| Our palates were refreshed with a lime sorbet, and the first mains arrived. Lobster ravioli, asparagus herb nage (NV) and baked pumpkin ravioli, parmesan whey (V) were served as a sauce was poured around. Daniele did the honours again and introduced the Sartori di Verona Bardolino Chiaretto DOCG as a fruit forward wine, quite similar to the Beaujolais style. The wine undergoes carbonic maceration to get this kind of affinity. I found the wine to be juicy mouth filling with mild yet well structured tannins and plenty of red berries on the palate.
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| The second main course of duck and fruit, mille feuille truffle potato (NV) and three mushroom, pressed puff, porcini and mascarpone (V) was served with Sartori di Verona Valpolicella Classico DOC. This pairing packed the punch as the dégustation bell curve reached its peak. It remains important to note that the Valpolicella Classico denotes the original Valpolicella DOC before the appellation expanded outwards. Hence, it is identified as best of the region. And it lived up to its reputation.
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| The finale was provided by the luxurious dessert as Yuzu flan, rhubarb compote, olive oil streusel were accompanied by Prosecco Spumante Brut DOC. It was an intelligent dessert pairing that harmonized the citrus-fruity and savoury dessert with the crisp dry wine. |
| During the post dinner round of coffee, Amit Sangwan, the Director of Outlets and Kriti Malhotra, the hotel's enthusiastic Sommelier told me that they had built a wine list of around 65 labels keeping both the Pullman and Novotel in mind. In doing so, they have tried to strike a balance by adhering to the Pullman standards while at the same time being conscious about keeping prices reasonable enough to appeal to their Novotel guests. The result is a mid range wine list that is value driven. |
| I hope that the customers too notice the pull of this value proposition at the Pullman in the interest of the wine cause! |
| Ravi Joshi was invited to this wine dinner by Tristan Beau de Lomenie, General Manager, Pullman & Novotel Delhi Airport. |
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