Fair game

THE WINE CLUB

The wine fair Vinexpo is held in Bordeaux every two years. This year it was held from June 17-21: 2,400 exhibitors from 45 countries were expecting some 45,000 buyers (and upto 1,200 journalists) from 140 countries "" the event is a veritable Mecca of the wine trade, considering that the first vinexpo (1981) had only 524 exhibitors.

The Bordeaux appellation, of course, is known to produce the best-known (and most expensive) French wines, and, as is only to be expected, most of the exhibitors at Vinexpo are French.

Nevertheless, the organisers are pulling out all the stops to tom-tom the fairly extensive international participation at the fair: Constellation Brands and the E & J Gallo Winery from the US; Marques de Cacres, Miguel Torres and Domeq Wine Espana from Spain; Concha y Toro and Santa Rita from Chile; Trapiche from Argentina; a whole flight of wineries from Portugal...the list goes on.

But without a doubt the stars of the show are French wines, and the superstars the Big Boys from Bordeaux ("Bordo") and Burgundy (also confusingly called Bourgogne). There is no question of the top producers (say the Premier Crus of the Medoc) bothering to exhibit "" they ration their output, and most would have already sold their entire 2006 production en primeur (still maturing in barrel) earlier this year.

However, there are 61 chateau classified from the Medoc alone, another 247 Cru Bourgeois (also from the Medoc), and hundreds more from the other areas in Bordeaux alone "" and we haven't even scratched the surface of Burgundy, where the wines are classified geographically.

No wonder French wines are so confusing "" and so fascinating: it's every wine merchant's dream to discover this great little wine from an unknown winery that scores over something 10 (or a hundred) times more expensive "" and Vinexpo makes this possible.

While the fair is open only to trade professionals (including people from the food and hospitality industry) and journalists, it is always possible for wine aficionados to get entry. Wandering round the fair pavilions you'll come across a fairly large contingent from India "" dedicatedly sampling their way through the wines, asking for (and receiving) sample bottles, and generally being received with open arms by an industry that sees great growth potential in India.

Those who missed Vinexpo 2007 in Bordeaux can take heart: Vinexpo Asia Pacific 2008 is scheduled in end-May 2008 in Hong Kong, building upon an initiative in 2006 to take the exhibition to the key Asian markets. No prizes for guessing their target; China, which already imports over 2.5 million cases of wine (versus India's 150,000) and whose total wine market is estimated to be over 60 million cases (versus India's 1 million).

Wines I've been drinking
If you haven't tried the Sula Dindori Shiraz Reserve (Rs 595 in Bangalore) as yet, you're missing one of the top Indian wines. The 2006 vintage we tasted requires another year or two in the bottle, but I still marked it 90 points "" the wine is a dark ruby red, great aroma of wood and fruit and smoke (almost game), with smooth balanced tannins and a nice long finish.

One of the group said "betel leaf"! There were mutterings about leather and spice. Suffice to say, it's complex and very drinkable "" I would decant and allow it to breathe for an hour before drinking. Sante' (as the French say).

al.chandra@gmail.com