Gurgaon – officially known as Gurugram is often referred to as the “Millennium City” of India. It is considered as New Delhi’s twin city and is a part of Greater Delhi or the Delhi NCR (National Capital Region). As President Delhi Wine Club, I was always keen to hold a wine dinner for the club members here. This finally reached to fruition this month when we had our monthly wine dinner for the month of May 2025 at the iconic Italian restaurant called Prego in the upscale Hotel Westin.
The Wines
This event featured a flight of four wines – one sparkling wine and three still ones. Three of these wines were from Italy and one from South Africa. I shall be covering brief details of all these wines in succeeding paragraphs.
Martini Asti
The first wine for the evening was Martini Asti, which comes from the renowned wine house called as Martini & Rossi, (now only Martini), the origin of which goes back to the year 1863 and which got so renowned soon after that in 1868 The Royal House of Savoy granted it the right to use its coat of arms at it establishments and on its labels.
This DOCG wine comes from the province of Asti in Piedmont wine region in North Western Italy and is famous as a sweet sparkling wine with a low alcohol content. The wine is made from the grape called as Moscato Blanco, the traditional name of which is Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains, where Muscat Blanc means that it is a white grape belonging to the Muscat family of vines and ‘a petit grains’ is a French term meaning a grape with small seeds. So it is a small grape with even smaller seeds which go into making of this sweet sparkling wine called as Martini Asti.
The guests appreciated the aromas and flavours of ripe tropical fruits in the wine, prominently of the Three Ps – Pears, Peaches and Pineapples alongwith notes of honeysuckle.
Collefrisio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
The next wine, which was also the first one during the sit down courses, was the Collefrisio Trebbiano d’ Abruzzo. Collefrisio denotes the name of the winery, which further takes is name from the hill feature called as Frisio where it’s vineyards are located. And Trebbiano d’Abruzzo is the name of the grape which goes into making of this white wine.
Abruzzo Wine Region
It is evident from the name of the wine that it comes from the Abruzzo wine region of Italy which is located on the east coast of central Italy. This area is sandwiched between the Adriatic Sea on one side and the Apennine mountains on the other. As a wine region this is marked by a diverse soil conditions as also it is known for the prevalence of different micro terroirs.
Diverse Soil Conditions : the areas adjoining the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo have a sandy – clayey soil with marine sediments. This kind of soil is known to produce wines which are lighter in body and style. However, as we travel inwards in the landmass, the soil gradually changes and becomes prominently limestone near to the Apennine mountains, which favour production of concentrated wines with a good body and structure. Similar change in soil profile is also seen from North to South in Abruzzo with northern area being more hilly than the south.
Micro Terroirs Abruzzo also displays diverse micro terroirs. For example the sea facing vineyards on hill features near to the Adriatic Sea may show subtle saline notes on the wines. Similarly vineyards facing the Apennine mountains near to these mountains will experience effects of cold winds and can develop slightly higher Acidity levels.
Due to above conditions, it may also happen that the same wine shows differences in its profile when produced in different sub regions in Abruzzo.
Infact in my visit to the Gambero Rosso Wine Road Show at Mumbai recently, Natalino Colantonio (above picture). He is export manager of the famous Masciarelli Wine House, had also highlighted thus same point and to prove the same he made me taste two of his Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines – one from North of Abruzzo and the other from the Southern Abruzzo, and I did notice the subtle differences between the two in their body and structure.
Pairing
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo served during the dinner shined well as a light and a refreshing wine and paired nicely with the paired dish – the creamy pumpkin soup.
Ruffino Orvieto Classico
The next wine was the Ruffino Orvieto Classico where Ruffino denotes the name of the winery, the origin of which goes back to the year 1877, Orivieto is the name of the wine as also the name of a place in Umbria region in central Italy and Classico refers to the original and traditional vineyards which are known to produce exceptional Orvieto wines (akin to Grand Cru and Premier Cru etc in France).
Orivieto however is not just another Italian wine – it is the very essence of Umbria. This wine is deeply ingrained in the history, culture, customs and traditions of this place, since time immemorial and is considered as the flagship signature wine of Umbria.
Origin
Pic : The Brain Chamber
The origin of Orivieto goes back to the 7th century BC when the Etruscans used to plant this grape in their vineyards. They also created multi level underground wine cellars caves carved out of the soft Tufa Limestone soil peculiar to this area.
Medieval Times
Fast forward to the medieval times, Orivieto was a famous as a prominent sweet wine. It used to be called as the Wine of Popes which was served to the popes and the aristocracy.
The high stature of this wine in that period is also evident from the fact that some of the renowned artisans who were involved in construction of the Orvieto Cathedral that time, preferred to take the compensation for their work in Orvieto wines rather than money.
Modern History
By the turn of 20th century, Orvieto was still an eminent sweet wine. So much so that the famous Italian poet of that time, Gabrielle D’Annunzio described this wine as the Sun of Italy in a Bottle, in an obvious comparison of golden hues and rich flavour of this wine to the warmth and brilliance of the Sun.
Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863 – 1938) was a famous Italian poet, playwright and journalist. He was was also a professional soldier, rising to the rank of General.
Orvieto DOC
In modern times, the character of Orvieto has undergone a change from sweet to a dry style (where dry in wine terms means the absence of sugar). After formation of the Orvieto DOC in 1971, this wine was designated as a blend whereafter 60% wine is required to be made with the Grechetto and/or Trebbiano Toscano grapes and rest 40% by other grapes notified by the DOC rules, which include Verdello and Drupeggio etc.
Pairing
Known for its food friendliness, Orvieto paired wonderfully with the paired dishes which had the options of the Truffle & Duck Tortellacci or the Fettuccini Alfredo.
Juno Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier
The last wine of the evening in the main course was the Juno Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier, with which we entered the realm of blends. Made in the Western Cape of South Africa, this wine takes inspiration from the famous southern Rhone valley blends.
Now when we talk of blends, each component grape has its own peculiar characteristics and adds something beneficial to the blend thereby resulting in a well balanced and a structured wine, as envisioned by the winemaker.
In Juno, the Shiraz provides robustness to the wine and acts like its structural backbone, Mourvèdre with it thick skin adds a deep colour to the wine and also adds herbal notes and Viognier provides the wine with floral aromas and adds a softness to the blend which makes the overall wine more appealing and approachable.
Juno is produce by the Cape Wine Company which is renowned for its ethical practices and has also been awarded with the Fair Trade Certification.
Pairing
The wine made a delicious pair with both the choices in the main course – Baked Seabass and Risotto Al Salto
A Sweet Finale
The scrumptious wine dinner ended with serving of the delicious Dessert – Hazelnuts, White Chocolate & Pomegranate.
The Final Swirl
With the exceptionally curated food and wine menu, the evening unfolded as a delight for the culinary senses and turned into a memorable wine dinner for all members.
If you’re reading this, I take it that you liked this blog post, coming this far in the longish write up, heartfelt gratitude to you for the same.
I leave you here with some more pictures from the event. Till we catch up again, Cheers !!
Mukul Manku, Founder Wineglitz India and President Delhi Wine Club.
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