A fair tale

THE WINE CLUB

Having just returned from Singapore after attending the Wine for Asia fair held at the spanking new Singapore Expo centre from November 10-12, I thought readers might be interested in knowing a little more about these jamborees: how they operate, when and where they are held, and how to attend them.

The fair just attended was the third such event, and my visit as organised through Subhash Arora's Indian Wine Academy (Delhi) "" one of about 24 delegates from India (the others were from Delhi and Mumbai), out of some 3,000 trade visitors.

I was there as a "VIP Buyer" by virtue of both representing potential importers (through my wine consultancy) as well as being president of the Bangalore Wine Club "" and so enjoyed a free hotel stay for three days.

Some delegates "" who had been accepted as "VVIP Buyers" "" even had their airfare paid for.

There were some 400 exhibitors from all over the world: the Aussies were there in force, as were the Argentineans, although in general all major winemaking countries had some representation.

None of the biggest or best-known winemakers were there (notable exceptions being Banfi from Italy and Concha y Toro from Chile), so while 25 per cent larger than last year, this remains a lightweight event in international terms.

What happens at a wine fair? In general, the first few days are reserved for trade visitors, while the public is normally admitted only on the last (or last few) days.

The exhibitors participate so as to get wider distribution, while importers ("trade") have the benefit of being able to meet many different producers at one venue.

One goes up to a counter, asks to taste the wines; the guy (or girl) manning the stall dutifully pours you some wine "" which you sniff and swirl knowingly.

If you value your sobriety, you spit the wine out "" remember, there are many, many stalls to go, and drinking the wine will put you under the table in no time (yes, we get those types, too).

Then, if the wine interests you, you ask for prices (FOB whereever), exchange business cards, take the literature, and move to the next stall.

Invariably, some of the wine will be imbibed (there are some wines you just don't want to spit!), so by the late afternoon the atmosphere is quite convivial.

To promote their "Casillero del Diablo" (the Devil's Cellar) wines one company had a bunch of curvaceous belles dressed in red satin devil costumes (complete with the horns) going round getting people to try the wine!

The effect was quite dramatic "" and I suspect that very few men declined a sample. There are also specialised wine-tastings as well as seminars taken by experts.

In all, a great way to spend a day or two "" and one gets to see and taste so many more wines than the limited selection currently available in India (some of the fairs have thousands of exhibitors).

There are any number of wine fairs happening worldwide round the year, and the website www.greatwinecapitals.com/events/ lists a decent selection.

The major wine fairs in Europe are Vinitaly (Verona, Italy) in April; the London Wine Fair held in May, and the Vinexpo event held in Bordeaux, France in June.

Most wine fairs welcome visitors, and anyone wanting to participate could just check out the respective websites to see details.

It's probably too late in the year to catch wine fairs this year "" but do start planning for fairs in the next. Believe me, it's worth the time and trouble. Sante'..... al_chandra@vsnl.net