The Hindu Business Line : Chateau Indage opens wine club in Pune

THE country's largest wine manufacturer, the Chateau Indage group, has launched its first wine club at the upscale Athena bar and Merlot, its spanking new casual dining restaurant in Pune.

Wine lovers will now have the opportunity to taste some of the finest wines from across the world in addition to the company's range of house wines, Ms Karen Anand, consultant, Merlot, said.

"Wine drinking is surrounded with myths about the drink being expensive. Also, a large number of people keep away because they do not want to go to fancy restaurants where everything including the waiter's attitude is intimidating," Ms Anand said.

The Merlot Wine Club promises to be anything but snobbish with a line-up of fun events that will encourage even beginners to experiment with old and new world wines. Beginning this month the club plans to bring in wines from some of the best-known wine-making countries, including classic wines from France, Spain and Italy, a range of value-for-money South African wines and full-bodied red blends and wines from Australia, New Zealand, Chile and California. "Canada makes some exciting ice wine which I would love to bring in at some point," Ms Anand said.

The wine clubs first event `Merlot Merlot' will involve a tasting session of a variety of global Merlot wines from various manufacturers, to be presented by Mr Oliver Dixon, lecturer at the Dubai-based Wines and Spirits Education Trust. The event will be followed in the New Year by an event presented by Mr Ch'ng Poh Tiong, Editor Publisher of Singapore's Wine Review and one of Asia's best known wine experts. Mr Tiong, incidentally, is also the editor of a guide to France's famous Bordeaux wines, in the Chinese language.

Ms Anand also has other plans for the wine club. Beginning January she is planning to take wine lovers in the city on visits to Chateau Indage's winery where they will walk through its vineyards, have a look at the actual process of wine making and then head to the company's in-house wine bar where she will demonstrate how wines can be paired with a range of Indian foods! "It is pointless saying that wine can be had with western foods. Indians love their cuisine and it is perfectly possible, with a little effort, to team it up with a range of world wines," she signs off.

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