Grover Zampa Vineyards Visit – And A Little Know Giant Kanwal Grover
Dipankar "Dada" Khasnabish
Trustee & Board Member - Heartcrafted Foundation & Heeya
I had always been wary, if not a shade disdainful of folks visiting vineyards. Well, me being a teetotaller also does not help. Add to this the overt and covert snobbery that visitors add while recounting their experiences.
?So when a recent college hostel get-together plugged in a visit to the Grovers Zampa Vineyards (https://www.groverzampa.in/) visit at Bengaluru, I joined in more for the lunch for the wine.
?I must say that I was wrong. The visit which comprised of a tour of the manufacturing facility, an elaborate wine tasting (yes, yes I too did test), and lunch, chaperoned by competent and friendly staff members was an excellent experience. And a lot of learning too. I submit the ones I found fascinating.
?1.?????? Wine is made from grapes, but not the ones we eat, which are called table grapes. Can we eat the grapes used for wine? Yes sure. But they have different sugar content, thicker in the skin, and will not be tasty.
2.?????? Since wine is made of grapes, it is a continuous process that happens throughout the year. Planning, plucking, processing, making – it runs through the year. And of course, then it is stored for months, even years, to make it tasty as well as pricey. So if one wants to see a Vineyard with produce in Grovers Bengaluru, it will be January / February as the best bet.
3.?????? The wine is stored in the cellar in the Barrels. Well if we have seen the “angry man” movies of the seventies, we have seen the villains rolling around with barrels below them. It was a cocktail of vices – an underworld rich don who not only drinks but stocks “costly” wine to sell in the black market.
They are made of imported oak. Grovers uses French oak-made barrels. Though oak is also available in India, Frech oak is used as the barrels add to the distinctive taste of the wine.
4.?????? The seeds and the skin of the grapes are integral parts of wine-making and contribute significantly to the taste. Yes, they are at the last stages got rid of so that there are no sediments, but this is so unlike the way we consume many fruits.
5.?????? There is a reason why wine should be stored horizontally, in a vertical position the cork dries up over time, and oxygen seeps in to spoil the taste. And when a bottle is opened, it should be consumed as soon as possible. Even when it is stored in the best of conditions, it should not be more than a week.
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6.?????? There are four stages of consuming wine – see swirl, small, swallow. Start with seeing the color of the wine, then swirl for oxygen to enter the wine and bring out the aromas, sniff the aromas, and then swallow after keeping it in the mouth for a few seconds. This is to create a coat of taste and flavor.
7.?????? Glasses matter. Narrow glass for the white wine, red wine for the wide glass, and flutes for the sparkling wine. And hold the glass at the narrow stem, not the body to avoid the change in the temperature (and the taste).
8.?????? There is a whole host of knowledge around the rings, the bubbles, the color, the aromas, which can only be appreciated when one tastes the wine in the company of an expert. I will not go there, but just say – wow!
9.?????? The wine becomes better with age. The maximum storage for Indian wines is 5 years, as beyond this the cost goes up significantly and it becomes commercially unviable. Individuals may be storing it in their cellars, but given our weather it is unlikely. It is cheaper to buy an imported one.
10.?? And yes, Rose Wine is pronounced Roseh (or Roseh) Wine. And it does not have any connection to roses.
?Now a bit of trivia. Who started Grover Vineyard (which later morphed into Grover Zampa Vineyard)?
Kanwal Grover. A lifelong trader of machinery from France, he gave shape to his dream of starting Grovers in 1989, and the ripe age of 60.
?Kanwal convinced his friend George Vesselle to help him set up wine-making in India and, in the process became one of the pioneers. He died in 2011 but left the legacy of an entire industry. It’s a pity we celebrate so less people like him.
?And yes, plan a visit to a Vineyard if you have not done so yet. Grovers Zimpy details are here, and they are reasonably affordable.
Experience? Priceless.