Diwali in a bottle

THE WINE CLUB

While traditionally we send sweets or dry fruit as Diwali gifts, a few discerning people have started including a bottle of wine in the package just to differentiate their offerings.

But let's not just pick up any old bottle off the shelves "" remember that old adage about "peanuts and monkeys"? So, what are the best wines to gift today?

There's no question that the finest wine to present is still champagne, the perfect expression of celebration "" lively and effervescent, the liquid gold contained in heavy bottles with punted bottoms, restrained from breaking free by a wire-cage.

The wine bubbles forth on release in a joyous ritual of spontaneity, a perfect accompaniment to the Diwali mood: exuberant, aromatic, titillating the senses and uplifting the emotions.

Krug Grand Cuvee will set you back Rs 9,000-12,000 a bottle, while Dom Perignon is a tad more economical at between Rs 7,500-10,000; both are for the Big Bosses.

You could flirt with Tattinger (Rs 3,825 in Bangalore) or Bollinger, go with James Bond's favourite bubbly Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label (Rs 3,000-Rs 3,500), or just settle for Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial (Rs 2,650-Rs 3,550).

The next best wines to present would have to be the Bordeaux reds "" if you can find anything even halfway decent outside of the five-star hotels. As you well know, Bordeaux is both the region in western France as well as the wine made there from a blend of three black grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

The most famous area of Bordeaux is the Medoc, where wines were classified in 1855 into five "growths" "" with the topmost being termed "First Growths" (Premier Crus): Château Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Haut-Brion and Château Mouton-Rothschild.

Of course, Primer Cru Bordeaux wines are impossibly expensive (upwards of Rs 25,000 per bottle), so even a Fifth Growth Bordeaux is worth dying-for "" witness the lovely wines from Chateau Pontet-Canet I had the privilege of tasting recently: beautifully structured and smooth, with complex aromas of fruit and leather and a finish that went on and on.

However, while the best French wines have few equals, most residents of Terra Firma can only dream of tasting (or affording) these very occasionally. Which is why wines from Argentina and Chile have made such a great impact "" these typically deliver a value far exceeding their price, and so make for great gifts.

Among the best-value wines available in India today are Paso de Luz and Villa Tarapaca (Chile) "" tasty and easy-drinking and only Rs 700-750. In the same category would be the three Terrazas wines from Argentina "" priced at between Rs 950-1,100, grown at altitudes of over 900 meters (hence the "Alto" tag), the wines have an unmatched exuberance and presence.

Among the best Chileans are the wines from the Valdivieso stable: an amazing range of reds and whites, priced from Rs 750 all the way up to over Rs 2,500, with an equally-wide quality spread.

And so to what would probably have been the first choice for most: Indian wines.

Once again, the first choice here would be the sparkling wines: Marquis de Pompadour or Sula Brut are both in the Rs 500-600 range, and deliver good value as gifts "" there's a whole industry out there that specialises in making and delivering baskets of the stuff.

Among the still wines, my wines of choice would be Grover or Sula: the former are still about Rs 300 per bottle in Bangalore, and are nice, uncomplicated and consistent wines that give you the best value possible.

If you know that the person you are sending the gift to is a wine buff, then it would be better to go upmarket and include either the Grover La Reserve (Rs 400-550), the Sula Dindori Reserve (Rs 650) or even the Reveilo Cabernet Sauvignon (Rs 750 "" but available only in Mumbai and Pune).

Here's wishing all of you a Happy Diwali. Enjoy!

(al_chandra@vsni.net)