In the summertime

THE WINE CLUB

"Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring, My summer wine is really made from all these things. Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time, And I will give to you "" summer wine. Ooh-oh, summer wine"

"" Nancy Sinatra, 1967

Old hat, perhaps, but laden with infinite possibilities ("Does she mean that?!") "" just like wine, and so perhaps an appropriate introduction to the dilemma facing wine consumers in India: what is a suitable wine for summer?

Of course, we know that in Europe and the US the grapes are harvested in September/October, and that most of their wines are ready to drink by summer, whereas in India even the most basic whites cannot be released before August/September.

However, since Indian grapes are harvested when temperatures are as in European during summer (our February/April range is 15-35 degrees C), one could argue that Indian wines are the real "summer wines".

Be that as it may, the wine for me on a hot summer's day is a rose "" made from red wine grapes, but with limited skin contact, and bottled early. These tend to be a little sweet, light, low alcohol, and most refreshing drunk chilled "" and match well with both Indian as well as Continental cuisines.

The Sula Rose (actually a Blush Zinfandel) is very nice: a beautiful light pink colour, a fruity nose, and demi-sec taste. Quaff it at Rs 395; alternatively, try the Grover's Shiraz Rose (Rs 317 in Bangalore): a salmon-pink colour presages an intense aroma and a crisp, balanced taste. Indage, too, makes white Zinfandels, under both their Chantilli (Rs 362) and Ivy (Rs 442) brands "" I personally prefer Sula or Grover. Try a rose wine this summer "" I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Then, of course, there's the all-time summer drink: sparkling wine or champagne (you know, of course, that champagne is a sparkling wine made in the Champagne district of France from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes using the in-bottle fermentation method first perfected by Dom Perignon). I'm going to call both "champers" (very 1920s, no?) to simplify matters.

Champers is best drunk ice-cold, accompanied by light non-spicy snacks or cheeses, but also makes some wonderful cocktails: the Bellini (3 parts chilled Champers, 1 part peach puree/juice); the Champers Cocktail (1/2 peg brandy, lemon twist, dash of bitters, top with champers: the evocative Kir Royale (with creme de cassis) (with white wine its plain Kir) "" and my favourite: Black Velvet, a mix of champers and stout! Careful, though "" champers is strong, and can put you under the table if imbibed freely (on second thoughts, indulge!).

Domestic sparklers: Sula Brut comes for an affordable Rs 490 and the venerable Marquise de Pompadour at Rs 535. Of imported sparklers there's the Deinhard Cabinet Trocken at Rs 635, the Henkell & Trocken Brut (Rs 750), loads of the Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut floating around (you'd laugh if I told you the duty-free prices), as well as the Green Point Brut (Rs 1,400).

The most widely-available champagne is the Moet Chandon Brut Imperial (Rs 3,000); Veuve Cliquot at Rs 3,350 is less popular, while stuff like Dom Perignon (Rs 8,750) and Champagne Krug (Rs 9,525) are out of reach to all but a privileged few.

With a Sante and a Prost!

al.chandra@gmail.com