The Woodside Inn Beer Tasting Fest Feb’12

This is our second blog about a beer fest by Woodside Inn but that’s because we can’t help ourselves from doing so. These guys are so good at what they do… Serving Beer! Most pubs in the city stick to keeping a standard beer menu. Some have an elaborate beer offering and very few (can count them on fingertips) enjoy serving the beer. One of these few places is Woodside Inn. They take the task of beer serving very seriously, quite often they have seminars, tastings, fests, whatever one likes to call it. We’ve spoken about the Beer and Burger Festival earlier.

We feel lucky to have been able to cover one of the two tasting events which happened just a few weeks apart. Hosted by Mr. Nikhil Agarwal from All Things Nice, he has formal training in the art of tasting from a reputed institute in London.

What happens when a knowledgeable man, a keen audience, a variety of beer, delicious finger food and a dash of humor are put together in a room? Well, we could only try to narrate them with words as best as we could, but it is something one personally has to witness!

Beating the heat with a chilled welcome beer glass of Kingfisher Draught and some nice soothing songs in the background, the guests settle down in their seats eagerly waiting for the event to kick start.

Nikhil introduced the event to the crowd by asking ‘What is Beer’. Trust us, when he asked that question the crowd went silent!

‘Everyone at one point has had alcohol (Beer). Be it an underage teen, a retired 72 year old man or even a 50 year old Marwaree lady for that matter (referring to his mother!). But unfortunately most of them really don’t know what they are drinking! This is the niche that needs to be addressed in Mumbai, and in India overall.’  Nikhil told us later.

So, with the help of some funky slides on the projector, he started off explaining what beer actually is, how it came into being some 8000 years back, how it consists of barley, water, hops etc. He spoke about beer from the Mesopotamian era, about the Ninkasi Hymn (A recipe devoted to goddess of Beer), etc. Beer is good, God is good – Yes, God meant men to consume beer! He educated us about the different types of beer like Lager, Ale, Stout, etc.

To keep the audience captive as well as happy high at the same time, Nikhil went back and forth between the beer tastings and the beer background. In tasting he emphasized on the importance of smell by a small practical demo using a mixture of two powders (we won’t spoil this secret for you). Then for all the six beers, we started by noticing the appearance of beer, then the aroma of the beer and the finally the taste of the beer. This often followed by some other trivia about each specific beer. Sometimes even from the audience!

In the order of the Beers we tasted that night:

• Erdinger Weissbier: German, Wheat Beer.
• Asahi Super Dry: Japanese.
• Brooklyn Lager: United States.
• Fuller’s London Pride: UK.
• Murphy's Irish Stout: Ireland
• Liefmans Fruitesse: Belgium

If you thought, in INR 995 per head, this was it then hold your horses! Throughout the event some really delicious and mouthwatering finger food like onion rings, beef burger, veg burger, etc. where circulated. And oh boy! We still want more of those burgers! As if this wasn’t enough, the sweet guys at Woodside Inn were adamant on getting us drunk! At the end of the tasting they offered us bottomless beer glasses for a mere INR 500!

In a one on one interaction, over some Murphy’s Stout, we discussed with Nikhil about the event. Most people are unaware about the beer they drink, even their favorite/regular ones. The aim of events like these is to make people see their beers beyond the social lubricants that they are considered!  Apart from differentiating beers from one another the people would be able to make a better judgment call the next time they buy beer.

In the end, both of us appreciated how Woodside Inn is trying to bring about an informed change in the upcoming drinking culture of Mumbai! Hope to see more of these fests! Our best wishes to Woodside Inn on this noble and honorable venture.

Mumbai Wine Fest Feb'12 - Wine Exhibitors

Meeting the Wine Exhibitors

Kingfisher Bohemia:

Yes, ‘Kingfisher’ is into wines as well! Most people at the venue were sweetly surprised to see the Kingfisher brand at a wine fest. So far they’re importing wines from South Africa. They had three varieties on display

• Pinotage Rosé
• Pinotate Red
• Chenin Blanc Chardonnay White

 

The Pinotage Rosé was an instant hit with ple. Most people that we spoke to really liked the refreshing wine, we loved it! Walking into the venue from the hot sun and being greeted by the chilled Rosé was just an amazing feeling. Now we know one of our summer drinks already!

The wine experts at the fest commended the Chenin Blanc Chardonnay White. The lovely mixologist, Ms. Nupur, made some really mouth watering wine-tails using it.

Zampa:

Next in line was Zampa, a winery based close to Igatpuri. Their range on display was:

• Sauvignon Blanc
• Syrah Cabernet
• Chenin Blanc
• Rosé
• Syrah

Chief winemaker Nicolas Van Aarde hails from South Africa. Their One Tree Hill (White and Red) range was impressive. They claim its unique feature is that its a blend of three varieties of grapes unlike other wines which are a blend of two types. The One Tree Hill White is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Viognier and the One Tree Hill Red is a blend between Cabernet, Syrah and Zinfandel.

Zampa’s Rosé is blended from Syrah. Apart from this, Zampa boasts about winning several laurels in international fests. We think that Zampa were the underdogs of the fest and have a huge potential. And they seem to be doing just fine!

Tabuni Gvino:

Georgia is considered to be the oldest wine producing nation. A wine fest without Georgian wine would be incomplete in that respect. Tabuni Gvino are into importing wines from Georgia.

We spoke to Kartik who informed us that he, in partnership with a friend, launched Tabuni Gvino somewhere in early 2010. Currently, they are distributing in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon at prominent retail outlets. As a MBA grad, he saw an opportunity in the Georgian wine segment and jumped straight into it. Their focus is more towards Premium Wines.

They displayed three varieties of wine from Tbilvino:

• Saperavi
• Tsinandali
• Rkatsiteli

Wine Stories:

 Wine Stories is a recently launched brand. Currently unavailable in retail outlets, they are working on setting up their distribution network with a prominent megastore. As of now, one can order either online or on the phone.

They are into imports of wines and have quite an interesting collection from Bordeaux. We got to taste the Haut Piquat by Lussac-Saint-Emilion which was amazing!

 Ixora

Although Ixora wasn’t selling their wines at the venue, they were a hit with patrons on both the days. Being the only stall that offered sparkling wine for tasting at regular intervals (every hour or so). They are basically importers of Italian, Chilean, Australian and French premium brands.

 

The crowd hovered near the Ixora stall like piranhas, waiting to attack the moment the sparkling wines were opened! No wonder Ixora was so confident about its products and their sales in retail market! Ixora wines are available in Mumbai at most wine retailers between Mulund and Colaba though not under the same brand name.

Riedel Glasses

  

A special thanks to Riedel glasses here for complementing the wines we drink with the superbly built glasses. They say - like diamonds bring out the twinkle in a woman’s eye good glassware brings out the same in a wine! And we quite agree with that school of thought! Thanks to Mr. Ader Gandi some people went home with the complete experience of good wine and glassware! Reidel holds a reputation worldwide for quality products. Their decanters are quite famous.

Vinsura

Nashik based Winery, their range on display was:

• Zinfandel (Red)
• Chenin Blanc
• Rosé (Pink)
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Shiraz (Red)
• Merlot (Red)
• Cabernet Syrah (Red)
• White Zinfandel (Pink)

By the time we got to this stall there stocks were pretty much over and all that we could taste were the Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Merlot and the Rosé. The Merlot was a refreshing change from the usual selection of wine put up by other stalls.

Reveilo

Another Nashik based winery. The stall bustled till late on both the evenings. The guys at Reveilo were really dedicated and knowledgeable about what they were selling, very well-mannered and were very patient with every query. Reveilo offers a wide range of wines, perhaps the biggest on display at the venue.

On display were:

• Chenin Blanc
• Syrah
• Grillo
• Nero D’avola
• Sangiovese
• Chardonnay
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Chardonnay Reserve
• Syrah Reserve
• Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Their Cabernet Sauvignon reserve was quite talked about. We helped ourselves with a second helping of the Sangiovese. Their Rosé is in the making and is expected to come out anytime soon and we await its arrival!

Kiara Wines

Kiara wines imports and markets  its wines from old wine countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany and new wine countries such as USA, Chile, Hungary, Argentina, Australia South Africa etc. They also bottle and market wine under their own brand name. These were up for tasting.

They had showcased a wide variety of some choicest wines from around the world. Sommelier Omkar, who was also the expert host for the fest, gave us some detailed information about the displayed wines.  

Seagram’s Nine Hills:

This stall was talked about a lot. Looking at the reputation that preceded it, we kept this for last and we didn’t regret it at all! Seagram’s was not selling their wines at the fest. However they had put up five wines up for tasting:

• Viognier
• Chenin Blanc
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Shiraz Rosé
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Shiraz (went out of stock by the time we arrived at their stall)

 

Their Viognier is worth commending. One of the best domestic wines in the fest, it comfortably lands in our recommendations list. Their Shiraz Rosé was well liked by the crowd as well. In our opinion, they have a modest pricing considering the quality of wines they have to offer!

Our Recommendations from the fest:

Reviello: Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Sangiovese
Kingfisher Bohemia: Pinotage Rosé
Seagram’s Nine Hills: Viognier and the Rosé
Tabuni Gvino: Tbilvino’s Tsinandali
Vinsura: Merlot
Zampa:  One Tree Hills

Mumbai Wine Fest Feb'12

The Mumbai Kala Ghoda Festival pulls in crowd from all parts of the world. It is an art festival Mumbai eagerly awaits every year. What better place to showcase the art of winery? Knowing about different wines? Or even the introduction to wines for some?!

Away from the bustling crowd of the Kala Ghoda Fest, somewhere in Rampert Row a chirping crowd was enjoying sipping on their wines, indulging their palettes and senses. If one had been to the Mumbai Oktoberfest, Race Course, they might have seen the resemblance. If you wonder why, then that’s because they were the same benches used there! Comfortable seating and a lot of place to move around, the fest was very well organized!

Hosted on the 11^th and 12^th Feb’12 the Mumbai Wine Festival was a phenomenal success! If little birdies are to be believed, the foot flow at the event was close to 2,000 during the two days!

The crowd was a healthy mix across the ages, between the seasoned and novice, and a heavy presence of men proved wine isn’t just for women! We were blessed to have bumped into an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Tolani. Being avid wine enthusiasts they had an interesting perception to offer. Despite having been to various wine fests both internationally and domestically they found this wine fest quite a thing!

Mr. Yogesh R. Bhada, a Wine Making Consultant for several wineries in India was quite positive about the fest. According to him, per capita consumption of wine in India is just about 7-8 ml/annum as compared to about 100 ltrs per annum in European nations. He was happy with the turnout and expects the wine culture in India to grow leaps and bounds.

One Gentleman Mr. Ajay Gupta was happy to see so many youngsters taking interest in wine. After tasting several wines he was commending as to how far Indian wines have come.

Apart from wine tasting the event had special activities like talks by prominent wine connoisseurs, sommeliers, etc. Here is how the days went…

Prahlad Kakkar

Although we need not give an introduction for Mr. Prahlad Kakkar but we must tell you, apart from being an Ad-Guru, he is a connoisseur of fine wines and Vice President of Terroir One (Mumbai Chapter to the Delhi Wine Club).

Wine culture in India is growing second to none.

It was nice of him to grace the occasion on the second day and share his thoughts with the crowd. He made the crowd chuckle every now and then, especially when he pointed out the way men differ under influence of whiskey and wine! He rightly said: Wine spreads love; Makes people beautiful. And, well... whiskey makes them aggressive.

Throughout the event Mr. Kakkar went around mingling with wine enthusiasts, speaking to youngsters about wine etc.

Sommelier Omkar Phadke

Sommelier Omkar Phadke is a very soft spoken and humbled host. He has trained under prominent people like Gary Rhodes an English restaurateur, cookery writer, and chef. He has done hotel management and wine courses.

 

From time to time he would address to the crowd on the art of opening and uncorking wine bottles. How to preserve wine, The art of using the right type of glass for the selected wine, etc.

While speaking to him we got some of our fundamentals sorted, which we think he should be doing for the crowd as well, next time. He also spoke about the art of wine making, how various things go into the making of wine and how different things affect the wine during its process of transition from wine selection in the farm, crushing, bottling till it eventually reaches in the drinkers hands.

Apart from our passion for alcohol we both share one more thing… our love for Buddha Bar. How we both wish one in Mumbai!

Mixologist Nupur Joshi:

 

She spoke about the art of mixing wine into cocktails or as she calls it wine-tails. Simple concoctions, easy to make, simple yet amazingly refreshing! With a sweet charming smile on her face, she did what she likes the most ‘getting people to drink’

 

Here are the wine-tails she prepared:

LemoSpice: Honey, nutmeg, Cabernet Sauvignon
Aloha Bubbly:
Valentino: Strawberry, Vodka, Mint, Chardon chenin blanc for valentines!
Ocean: Coconut water, blue curacao, Chenin Blanc Chardonnay White
Piink: Strawberries, Vodka, Pinotage Rose
Sangria: Fruits, Red wine and white wine and some cinnamon.

 

While she was at it, she kept the crowd engaged in some activity or the other. A few lucky guests got to shake the concoction, a few tips about it followed by a glass full of the wine-tail!

Bartenders:



The in house bartenders were present to mix some stunning mock-tails for the fest.

Wine Stomping

Clearly the stomping was one of the highlights of the event! It was an instant craze with people! Guests who came during the stomping sessions kicked off their shoes and got right down to business! It definitely was an added experience!

Although some folks did leave disappointed due to lack of cheese and wine but in all fairness it was cheese tasting and not hogging! There still remain some areas of improvement. But then again, the finest wines took time to develop into what they are today. Some day the Mumbai Wine Fest will be that fine wine!

P.S: For those who missed it this time, you're in for a treat. Sooner than you think. Soon!

Kala Ghoda Wine Festival ‘12

Boasting a fine collection of wine from across Maharashtra and some international players, The Mumbai Wine Tasting Festival is back as the Kala Ghoda Wine Festival 2012!

What is wine tasting without cheese? So there is a variety of artisan cheese from across India accompanying the wine!

Although the festival was marred with a few snags, delays and change of venue it all looks to be for the better! The Festival appears to be bigger and livelier than before!

They’ve gone a step further in the buildup to the festival. If you followed them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/winefestmumbai) you would see how they actively let out tips about wine, wine tasting, wine storing, etc!

The promotion on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/WineFestivalMumbai) is pretty intense as well!

The fest is hosted on the 11^th and the 12^th of February’12 at Rampart Row, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai from noon till 10:30 pm.

The fest seems to be well planned as well, with a wide variety of veg/non-veg Indian and International food and finger food being available for purchase, Cheese tastings obviously, Cheese and Olive platters, Barbeque Cookouts, etc.

There will be live band, music and karaoke to add to the whole feel of the festival.

For entertaining the guests, and here it gets better, they’ve hosted grape stomping! Wine enthusiasts can meet sommeliers, wine experts, and wine makers and even join wine clubs!

Ms. Nupur Joshi - mixologist will talk on wine cocktails - creative, refreshingly different ways to enjoy wines. Easy to make delicious wine-based cocktails or "winetails" on 11th and 12th Feb from 4.00pm till 4.30pm!

And to top it all up, there are exciting games, vineyard getaways, discount on wines etc!

Stemware and other wine accessories are up for sale. There is an art for charity planned as well!

Here is the list of wineries participating this year:

• Kiara Wines
• Wine Stories
• Tabuni Gvino wines
• Ixora Vineyards wines
• Vaallee de Vin ( Zampa & One Tree Hill)
• Vintage Wines (Reveilo)
• Vinsura Vineyards

It only remains to be seen how well they actually execute their plans! But never the less, this fest does look very promising indeed! Hope to see you there!

P.S: Please carry you age proofs, the festival is for 21 and above only!

Mumbai Oktoberfest: Prost du Sack!

The festival hosted by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with DHL was a huge success the first time it came to Mumbai back in 2010. This year it went bigger (Duh!). Need we speak any more about the trend of the world’s most popular festival? These fests are hosted in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi.

The first day of the festival witnesses the ritual of the first keg being ‘Tapped’. With that out of the way, the festival gets kick started! (Can’t believe we missed that this time!)

Now, let’s not compare the German Oktoberfest with that of Mumbai’s. They are 200 years (1810 – Bavaria; 2010 – Mumbai) apart for god’s sake! A three day festival is a good start for us, unlike the 16 day counterpart which is well, Legendary! 

 

Apparently about 120 tables (each seating 10) were sold out for all three days! We got in on the last day of the festival and walked out with mixed emotions. The cover charge for walk-ins was INR 3250, which included 2 litres of beer, a beer mug and a meal. 

This year’s beer sponsor (like last year’s) was Erdinger. Oh boy! What a delightfully refreshing beer! 

Although the fest started from 5:00 pm, crowd only started pouring in by 7:00ish. The band was to play 6:00 pm onwards, but started playing only post 6:30 pm.

It was a little confusing, initially, to get used to the layout. But we sniffed out our beer! We walked towards the counter to pick up our beer mugs and first litre of the complimentary beer. OANS ZWOA DREI! G'SUFFA! (One Two Three! Drink!)

Since we were the early birds (reached around 6:15pm), getting our hands on the beer wasn’t very difficult. By this time the band kicked off and soon we were swaying to their tunes. By 7:00ish the crowd started pouring in and within no time the ‘Beer counters’ turned into a standard fish market! 

The band ‘Die Oberbayern’; plays at the Munich Oktoberfest for 14 days! They played several folk songs, and then shifted to more popular tracks like the German version of 99 red balloons, some Bryan Adams songs, etc. 

 

The Band leader instructing the crowd.

 

All this while we thought we were the most sober crowd those chaps have played for, Ever! No hooting, no shouting, no whistling and very few were even dancing! Things changed, however, once the band got the audience to participate in the song 'So a schoner Tag (Fliegerlied)' with certain choreographed movements. We would flap our arms like wings for flying, pretend to swim for swimming, hold our hand over our heads for tall, etc. But soon the crowd went crazier when the sweet ladies in the group started singing Waka Waka tweaked a little for this fest with the lyrics being ‘It’s time for India!’ 

The Lovely Ladies who won our hearts!

The people who fell in love!

One of the other audience related activity was the teasing. The band leader says "Prost ihr säcke!" which means “Cheers, you pricks/morons!” to which the crowd is supposed to reply in unison "Prost du sack!" meaning “Cheers, you prick/moron!”

Every once in a while they would raise a toast to the crowd with:

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit

Der Gemütlichkeit

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit

Der Gemütlichkeit

Which translates into:

A toast, a toast
the comfort
A toast, a toast
The coziness.

So much for the highlights and the good part of the fest, Am not sure if it was the Indian crowd or the management, but we were in line for a refill for a good hour and half! Made us think that Germans are only good at brewing beer, not refilling them! I don’t know why there were no beer-maids who would refill our glasses for us?! That would’ve added to the whole experience of the fest.  

Most people waiting on the refill rather than enjoying the fest!

We overheard a German participant saying this is probably a tactic to prevent the crowd from getting drunk. The high would wear off while they waited for their refills! We kind of agree with him there!

Neither were the walk-ins provided with seating nor were they given complimentary tidbits to munch on. Even on the paid tables, we saw very few tables had the complementary pretzels and tidbits.

As if this mess wasn’t enough, by 10ish the open air dining area was pretty much shut. The makeshift tent collapsed under the weight of the rain water. The lights were shut because of the rains. 

Sure the rain gods spoiled the show, but this could’ve been avoided, considering it’s been raining in the evenings for few days consecutively before the festival. The food wasn’t that great either. But then again, we didn’t go there for food ;)

Post dinner when we went for a paid refill (INR 500/Ltr.) we were shocked to see that the venue ran out of tapped beer! They were now serving beer from pints! Since we loved the beer so much, we quickly got our refills (thank God we didn’t have to wait this time) and headed out of the festival.

Our advice to the organizers:

• You could vary the table sizes and offer for 5, 10 or individual basis. Most people (talking about people we know) weren’t able to form groups that big!
• You know how many tables have been bought. Be prepared for the turn out!
• Some free tidbits per table wouldn’t really harm!
• Get some beer-maids, adds to the effects, plus they’ll decongest the beer counters.

Our friends kept contemplating if this festival was worth the price. We think it sure was! The beer and the band were worth it all! Besides the wait for refill, and them running out of kegs and some minor arrangements here and there, we think this festival is worth the price.

 If you ask us, we'd love to be here again! Hopefully for the tapping ceremony!

4th Annual Beer & Burger Fest’11 at Woodside Inn

On a Saturday evening we headed to Woodside Inn. Battling the weather, the heavy downpour of Bombay’s rains, traffic snarls and slowed down trains, nothing was going to stop us in our quest to taste beers and burgers from around the world that day!

 

 

  

Having finally made it to our destination, drenched from head to toe, we made our way inside and were warmly greeted by very well trained and courteous staff. Thoughtful people that they are they handed us hand towels to dry ourselves and be comfortable, damn we felt invited!

We settled on the first floor, we’ve spoken about the interiors of Woodside Inn in our previous blogs.

  

 "So we decided to hit on last bar, Woodside Inn, a friend suggested. We hit the place, and oh boy! What a fantastic place! Tucked away in the architecture of old Bombay, this little place is a smooth blend of the old architecture and modern life. Pleasantly lit up, they retain and flaunt the wrought iron support beams! A lot of wood work has been done, and very tastefully indeed! A bunch of black and white photographs donning the wall remind of the bygone era. A close look on one of the photos however will reveal a Toyota Corolla!  The service was quite prompt and the beer refreshing! I think it's become one of my favorites in town!"

We browsed through the menu, and were left baffled! So many options to choose from and we wanted to taste them all! We ordered the Belgium four cheese Beef burger along with Hoegaarden Wheat Beer and the German beef burger along with Schneider Weisse Wheat Beer. 

 [While we were ordering, I was refraining from ordering beef and thought of ordering Belgium Potato burger instead and was discussing the same with the waiter aloud. Just then the company I had gone along with me asked if I ate beef and if we should order beef burgers. Thinking that ‘she’ wanted beef I changed my preference and ordered a beef burger instead. Turns out she doesn’t eat beef!]

Swiftly we were served our chilled beers and asked to wait for a moment for our burgers although it wasn’t even five minutes since we placed our orders! Before we said “Cheers”, our burgers arrived, each carrying its respective country flags. Neat.

 To be honest, the burgers did taste as good as they looked! Perhaps even better! We would like to see these burgers on the regular menu at Woodside! Oh boy were they filling as well! This was an amazing event held by Woodside Inn, a really commendable effort! (sorry by the time our burgers came we were too busy munching, thus no pics)

Although we wouldn’t do justice if we spoke just about the good points! Now let’s talk about what we thought could have been better or different. 

•  Firstly, the menu is a little overpriced for a ‘Festival’. An average rate of 400+ for every burger and about the same for beer pints is a little out of reach for a lot of people (explains why we were still sober when we left). To think of it from a broader perspective, you could use this festival as a promotional event to attract larger crowds. Later on these items could be put on the regular menu at these rates.

 

• Another thing that we found odd were the combo meals, although were very economical, they weren’t quite attractive. The thing is people have had different beers at different times in their lives but not necessarily these exotic burgers. A country’s burger can be combined with that specific country’s beer only. It would’ve been better if one could pick any burger and any beer as a combo, just a thought.

• Also, considering the Indian diet it would be nice to see some non beef and some more veg options.

But overall the experience is worth it. I’d say visit this fest next time it comes to town.