As the President of Delhi Wine Club, I recently planned and conducted a wine Soiree for the club members at the iconic Captain’s Cellar at the historic Hotel Taj Mahal at New Delhi. The flight of wines included two each of red and white wines. Three of these were Old World Wines and one was the New World Wine.
Difference between Old and new World Wines
The difference between Old World and New World wines lies mainly in their geographical locations of the wine regions and winemaking traditions. Old World wines come from regions with long winemaking histories, like Europe, while New World wines come from regions which have taken up winemaking relatively recently, like Australia, South Africa Nee Zealand, Americas etc.
In the succeeding paragraphs, I have tried to describe each of the four wines served during the wine Soiree.
Fattori Pinot Grigio Delle Vinezie
The first wine of the evening was Fattori Delle Venezie, where Fattori is the name of the wine house which produces this wine, the origin of which goes back to almost hundered years and Delle Venezie is the DOC region where it is located.
Three Venices
DOC Delle Venezie was formed in the year 2016 by combining the three provinces of Veneto, Trentino and Friuli Venezia Giulia, all in North East Italy.
There is an interesting story as to how and why this DOC was formed, but before talking about that let me tell you an interesting trivia about these three areas.
About hundred years back these three provinces together were known as the Tre Venezie the Three Venices because these were heavily dependent on the city of Venice. Then as years and decades passed, these developed an identity in their own right and are today major provinces in NE Italy.
DOC Delle Venezie
Before 2016, the area which is now the DOC Delle Venezie, used to produce IGT Pinot Grigio wines, which due to mass production, were not of a very high quality. These often fell into an unfavourable comparison with the Pinot Grigio wines produced in other parts of Europe particularly in Alsace which was producing excellent Pinot Grigio wines.
To overcome this problem, the winemakers in region got together to discuss the issue and as a viable solution they converted this entire area into a DOC region. We all know that a DOC designation imposes strict regulations and guidelines to ensure that only good quality wines are produced. As a result of this, DOC Delle Venezie in NE Italy started to produce excellent quality Pinot Grigio wines which are considered to be best in the world and one of these is the Fattori Delle Vinezie.
Borenia Viura
The second wine in the event was Borenia Viura where Borenia is the name of the wine house and Viura is the grape varietal which goes into making this white wine from the Basque Country in Northern Spain.
This wine comes from the La Rioja wine region in north of Spain and within it, the winery is located in the sub region of Rioja Alta. Alta here means High or Higher which implies that the area has a a high mountainous terrain. This wine region also has the major river called as Ebro which flows from towards south east to finally empty into the Mediterranean Sea.
Borenia Winery
The story goes that way back in 1973, near the city of Haro in Spain, a group of friends used to get together around fine gastronomy. They used to prepare excellent cuisines and pair these with wines. Soon their gastronomic passion grew so much that they decided to produce their own wines by starting a wine house and that’s how Borenia Winery was formed.
Fast forward to about nine years, by 1982 Borenia wines had garnered much international acclaim for their excellent quality and now it was time for the wine house to upscale and expand their business.
As luck would have it, during the same time there was a huge Sherry Wine House in the city of Jerez in southern Spain, which had its origin going back to 150 years. Called as Gonzales Byass this historic wine house was looking towards diversifying its portfolio into non fortified wines.
This led to a mutually beneficial collaboration and Borenia became a part of Gonzales Byass hereafter.
Viura Grape Varietal
Let’s also talk about Viura, the white grape varietal from which this wine is made. Viura is also called as Macabeo in other parts of Spain especially in Penedes, Catalonia where it is one of the three grapes which go into making of the CAVA – the famous sparkling wine of Spain.
In words of the Borenia winemaker who’s spent more than 40 years with the winery- Viura is the perfect expression of Rioja Alta.
Scaia Corvina Veneto IGT
Next wine and the third old world wine in the evening was the Scaia Corvino. In the Venetian dialect, the word Scaia means Crumbs as in Parmesan Cheese crumbs or stone crumbs etc. Here this refers to the kind of soil existing in the vineyards from where this wine sources the grapes. The soil here contains small loose stones, which if you squeeze them in your hands, turn in stone crumbs, hence the name Scaia.
However, Scaia also refers to the line of wines produced by the wine house in its wider portfolio of wines. This wine house known as the Famiglia Castagnedi, is presently owned by four brothers who run all the operations, however the vineyards, were inherited by them from their father.
Human Element in Terroir
In their own words these brothers say that they have actually grown up playing in these vineyards and thus have an excellent knowledge of all parcels there and they also have deep emotional connect with their wine estate.
This is as per me is the Human Element in Terroir. The fact that the owners have this bonding with their wine estate surely means that they shall put their heart and soul in making wines which fares well for their wine house.
Glass Closure
Scaia Corvino has a glass closure rather than the usual cork or bottle cap, which is something unique. This innovative closure method minimizes the risk of oxidation and cork taint, ensuring that the wine retains its vibrant flavors and crisp acidity over time.
Single Varietal Wine
This wine comes from the Veneto wine region in NE Italy, and within it, the wine is from the sub region of Valpolicella. Notably however, Scaia Corvino is not a DOC wine. This doesn’t means that it’s of a lesser quality though, infact it’s just the opposite.
Here the winemaker decided to go beyond the restrictions placed by the DOC (since DOC Valpolicella permits only blended wines) to produce a single varietal wine which would express its nuances in a more focused way.
A Food Friendly Wine
Corvina is a grape which has a thick skin and is known to produce wines which are light in colour and has softer tannins with a higher acidity. This sharp acidity enable the wine to pair well with a variety of foods, ranging from rich and creamy cuisines to dishes made with a base of tomatoes or tomato sauces.
Valdivieso Cabernet Sauvignon
While the first three wines were from the old world, the last wine of the Soiree was a new world wine from Chile – the Valdivieso Cabernet Sauvignon.
Valdivieso was one of the first wine houses to be established in Chile whose origin goes back to 1879. Interestingly, that time it was called as Valdivieso Champagne, since it used to produce only sparkling wines then. With passage of years and decades, the word Champagne got dropped from its name.
Curico Valley
Valdivieso winery is located in the Lontue valley which is in the southern part of the Curico valley in central Chile. It’s about 200 km south of the capital city of Santiago.
Geographically the DO Curico valley wine region is sandwiched between the mighty Andes mountains on its right and the coastal mountains towards its west. These coastal mountains range protect the valley from the cold effects of the Pacific Ocean, which ensures that the wine region enjoys a warm climate. The Lontue river emanating from the Andies also flows across the valley and caters for much of water needs of the vineyards.
Volcanic Rocks and Limestone in Soil
An intriguing aspect of the vineyards in this wine region is the presence of volcanic rocks and limestone in the soil alongwith clay and sand. This unique phenomenon is attributed to the fact that in ancient times this entire region was under the ocean. Due to geological action the ocean bed was forced upwards to form the Andes mountains and all the organic aquatic material got deposited on to these newly formed mountain chain. Over the centuries that followed, due to snow melt, the limestone so deposited flowed down, taking along the volcanic rocks enroute, and got deposited in the valley floor thereby adding a lot of fertility to the soil.
A Structured Wine
On the palate this Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon revealed a robust body and grippy tannins, balanced by a sharp acidity to give a structured wine feel. It provided a perfect ending to this wonderful wine Soiree of Old World and New World Wines.
So that was about all the four wines served in the wine Soiree. I tried to keep it brief and hope you all like reading about these. I leave you here with some pictures from the Soiree. Cheers !!
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