As the Founder of Wineglitz India, I organised the 2nd Wineglitz Dinner at the upscale San Gimignano Restaurant at the historic Hotel The Imperial in New Delhi on 19th April 2025.
The event which featured four wines from Piemonte Wine Region in North West Italy, was well attended both by the founder members as well as some new members.
Piemonte Wine Region
Piemonte Wine Region lies in the extreme northwest of Italy (see the extract from the google map below).
A Unique Geography
As can be seen from the map above, Piemonte is bound by Alps mountains in the north and the Ligurian sea on its south. A unique geographical aspect here is that from the sea in the south to the Alps in the north, the google map distance is just about 300 kms. This implies that Piemonte region, one one hand is subjected to the cold effects arising from the snow covered Alps in its north and at the same time it also experiences the effects of the warm Mediterranean climate from sea in its south.
This climatic phenomenon results in a condition where there is a vast difference between the day and night temperatures in the vineyards of Piemonte (which is also called as the diurnal range of temperature). Such a condition is considered to be beneficial for the viticulture / grape growing.
Nebbia and Nebbiolo
Pic: Ozagama
The above climatic condition also results in a thick fog enveloping the vineyards in early mornings especially so during harvest months. Now Fog in Italian is known as Nebbia. And from Nebbia comes the word Nebbiolo, which as we know is the most prominent grape varietal of Piemonte (and which was there in two of the four wines served in this wine dinner).
Famiglia Berta Paola
Let me also mention about the winery from which all the four wines for the wine dinner were sourced. It’s called as the Berta Paola Family, whose origin goes back to 1842. Located on the border of two famous grape-growing regions: the Monferrato and Langhe, this winery has been family run for seven generations.
UNESCO World Heritage
The Berta Paolo winery located in Nizza Monferrato and its vineyards span an area which lends itself to exceptional viticulture. Since July 2014, this area has been awarded the prestigious recognition of UNESCO World Heritage Site “for the exceptional quality of the wine-growing landscape and the profound culture of wine“.
San Gimignano Restaurant
Coming back to the wine event, the venue we selected was the San Gimignano restaurant at the legendary Hotel The Imperial in the heart of the capital city of New Delhi, which is is best described as a fine dining limited seating restaurant. A truly unique space, it sticks to its Italian roots. The personalised unobtrusive service and authentic Italian fare here, instantly transports one to its culture of San Gimignano in Italy.
Exceptional Menu
The highlight of the wine dinner was its exceptional menu which subtly announced that it’s a quintessential “Fine Dining”. Same is above to see and believe.
The Wines Flight
The wine dinner featured a flight of four wines, all from Piemonte wine region. One of these was a sparkling wine and remaining three were still wines. A short brief of each of these wines and the paired food is elaborated in succeeding paragraphs.
Emotion Metodo Charmat Vino Spumante Brut
The evening started with a starter course in the open courtyard adjoining the restaurant in the pleasant April weather. The first wine served here was an elegant sparkling wine called as Emotion Metodo Charmat Vino Spumante Brut.
Let me break down that longish name for you. Here, Vino Spumante means that it is a sparkling wine (where in Italian Vino means Wine and Spumante means Sparkling). Metodo Charmat implies that the wine has been made with the Charmat Method (Charmat means Tank and Metodo means Method in Italian). And Brut, the last word in the name of the wine, is a wine term which indicates the sweetness level in the wine (Technically ‘Brut’ means that there’s minimum residual sugar in this wine and practically it is a dry wine, where dry means absence of sugar. The wine is made with 100% Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir in French) grapes.
Emotion, the first word in the wine name, indicates the product line of this sparkling wine. Here it is also used to evoke a sense of feeling or experience associated with the wine.
Pairing
The guests loved the lively character of this bubbly with a range of starter snacks which included Avacado Beetroot Mille Feuille, Tomato & Burrata Panzerotti, Patte di Fegato di Pollo and Lamb Ragout Croquette.
Proposta Cortese Dell’Alto Monferrato DOC
This wine made from Cortese grapes was in the next Amuse Bouche course. It comes from the Dell’Alto Monferrato which is a DOC wine region about 30 kms to the east of the province of Asti, as seen in the map below.
Cortese is considered to be an ancient Italian grape variety, however its modern documented history goes back with 1659. It is a prolific grape with a high level of Acidity which it can retain even in warmer years.
Pairing
The wine was paired with the ‘Butter Poached White Asparagus, Cauliflower Espuma, White Truftle Oil, Parmesan Crisp’.
Grown in a controlled environment, White Asparagus is a delicacy, however it can slightly challenging when it comes to pairing it with wine. But Cortese proved to be a perfect pair with it wherein the sharp Acidity of the wine cut into the subtle vegetal and bitter flavours of the white asparagus to produce a harmonious pair. It was certainly a well thought of and an intelligent pairing by the Chef and the guests loved it.
Proposta, the adjective to the name of this wine means a Proposal in Italian. Whereas it indicates the line of wines produced by the winery however it may also be interpreted to signify the the proposal by the winery to relish this wonderful offering from the Alto Monferrato region.
Ritorno Barbaresco DOCG
The next wine in the Appetiser course was Ritorno Barbaresco DOCG which is made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes and comes from the Langhe wine region adjoining the province of Alba, as seen in the map below.
Interesting Stories about Barbaresco
The first story goes that in ancient times the mighty Gauls attacked the Piemonte region to get hold of a wine of fame being produced in this region. This wine was called as Barbaritium, from which Barbaresco got its name.
Another interesting story goes that the present location of the Barbaresco village was once a thick jungle in the Roman times. This was used as a hideout by the Barbarians who used to attack the Romans. And it’s felt that the name Barbaresco name came from the word Barbarian.
Modern History
However the modern history of Barbaresco starts from 1854. Before that all the Nebbiolo grapes grown in this region were given away for making of the Barolo, which is another prominent wine of Piomente. But in 1854 Domizio Cavazza, a researcher and the founder of a local wine school found that the Nebbiolo grapes grown in the area (which is now Barbaresco region) were actually having different characteristics. He segregated these grapes and called them as Barbaresco.
Pairing
In the wine dinner, the Barbaresco DOCG was paired with a dish called Warm Tatin of Squash & Courgette. It consisted of ‘Shaved Butternut Squash, Green & Yellow Zucchini, Saffran Goat Cheese, Stuffed Piquillo, Red Pepper Sauce’ which paired well with the Barbaresco due to its high level of fine tannins and a high acidity.
Ritorno, the first word in the name of the wine which means Return in Italian, indicates the product line in the winery. Philosophically it may also imply a “return”, perhaps to traditional winemaking methods or the winery’s roots thereby balancing modernity with tradition.
Evolution Barbera D’Asti DOCG
The last wine for the evening paired with the main course was the Evolution Barbera D’Asti. which is made with the Barbera grapes. As a wine region, Barbera D’Asti DOCG is centered around the province of Asti in Piemonte.
Barbera D’Asti got its DOC designation way back in 1970 and it got designated as a DOCG in 2008. The DOCG certification means that the wine should be made with 90% Barbera grapes (rest 10% can be from a notified variety).
Interestingly the DOCG also stipulates that as on 1st March of the year following the harvest year, the wine should be ready to be sold in markets (means all winemaking activity has to get completed by this date) and also the wine should be reached a minimum alcohol level of 11.5%.
Pairing
Barbera D’Asti is a versatile grape. The high level of its Acidity helps it to pair with a variety of cuisines, ranging from rich and creamy dishes to those made with a base of tomatoes or tomato sauces.
In the main course this fruit forward and food friendly wine had three pairing options viz Homard De Roche au Bisque (Rock Lobster) or Agneau Filet Mignon & Morel (Tenderloin Lamb) or King Trumpet Scallop (Mushroom).
The Dessert Course
The dessert for the evening was the Deconstructed Bailey’s Tiramisu (Bailey’s Mascarpone Custard, Italian Finger Biscuits, Irish Cream Espresso, Mocha Crumble).
Needless to say that it was both decadent and heavenly.
And thus came to an end the 2nd Wineglitz India Wine Dinner which turned out to be an epitome of fine dining where the guests savoured the wines and the cuisine in an unhurried and relaxed manner soaking in the luxurious setting and feel over some intense wine discussions across the dinner table.
Here I leave you with some visuals from the event.
You can also click the link shared below to see all the photographs from the event.
Cheers !!
Mukul Manku, Founder Wineglitz India.
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