As I was ensconced in a corner at Café Dali, enjoying the 8 magnificent wines including the two iconic GAJA IDDA Etna wines by the iconic wine personalities GRACI & GAJA being presented by the charming importer Kay Kapoor of Gusto Imports Mumbai, devouring the signature Napolitana Pizzas of this exquisite boutique restaurant in the non- descript Mehar Chand Market in Lodhi Colony, the Shakespearean thought started nagging me: To drink, or not to drink, that is the question.

The question never disturbed me when I started drinking wine over 30 years ago, crossing the line between being a Teetotaler to a Vinotaler (a term I coined, implying a teetotaler who drinks only wine as the alcoholic beverage).

Wine was and is, a lifestyle and aspirational low-alcohol food drink. It helped to ;earn then of its health benefits, especially from red wine as several studies showed in the nineties when ‘The French Paradox’ was also coined. Wine in Moderation was good for heart health, blood pressure and many ailments. Subsequent visits to several countries, wine shows and wine estates for 25 years, brought me closer to heaven, this side of the earth. More and more wine was being consumed, in India and overseas.

This turned out to be too good to be true. As more and more studies came out-all pointing to similar benefits but empirical in nature, many fake Studies started doing the rounds (it was easier to get grants). The producers and marketers also started using the Studies as a marketing tool.

If the nineties belonged to pro-vinos, the millennials in this millennium and many anti-alcohol sentiments started coming to the fore. Studies started showing up with ‘negative’ reports, especially Vis-a- Vis cancer. Coupled with these Studies- substantiated or not, the anti-alcohol lobby got into action. However, that has not wavered my belief that ‘wine is not alcohol… it HAS some’! (Though I am well aware of the harmful effects of high alcohol and drink in moderation). Millennials are a big hope to imbibe wine because of their love for experimentation, even if it included Blue Wine and canned wine! But they have been equally enamoured with craft gin, craft beer and various variants even of whisky, cutting into the wine options.

There have been several global factors that have resulted in the lowest consumption of wine since 1996. Luckily, India is still expanding after Covid….. And I went back to focusing on Tasting. With a drought of such Tastings in Delhi since the saga of controversial excise Policy erupted in Delhi, most importers have left the field to Indian producers who are not too thrilled with the situation either. Excise policies around Delhi, in UP and Haryana are more conducive and their Retail stores even snigger at Delhi residents.

It was heartening to see young Kadambari (Kay) Kapoor have more faith in the Delhi market (her passion for wine and hunger to excel in a man’s world made her come to Delhi, bringing 8 samples- 6 being Italians,  including the Gavi DOCG 2022 from Ernesto Picollo, a small family producer from Rovereto di Gavi. The fresh, aromatic dry Cortese wine was really concentrated, fruity, harmonious  and full on the palate, which set the standard for the Tasting high.

The next 2 wines IDDA Etna were simply delectable wines from Gaja collaborating with the local Sicilian producer Graci.  The white was a 100% Carricante, not using the plebian Catarratto that does have a unique flavour in the volcanic Etna Mountain. Similarly the red was a Pure Narello Mascalese and Narello Cappuccio, the local grapes of Etna. Both were Terroir in the Glass and a lot of passion and exquisite knowledge to boot. Etna wines are Flavour-of-the-Millennium and they deserve a place for that special occasion-the white wine is so full of minerals and personality!

What followed was also awesome. Tua Rita, a true garagiste wine, was there to enchant us with 2 ‘Baby’ Super Tuscans. The 40-year old winery in Maremma that was started by Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti as a retirement project in 1984 with 2 hAs but has become iconic over the years. The affordable Palazzato IGT and Rosso Dei Notri gave a whiff of how Super Tuscans can nose like, without burning a hole in your pocket.

Kay had next picked a couple of Right Bank Bordeaux wines to address the French wine lovers- Chateau La Frerotte from Lalande de Pomerol and Tour de Segur,owned by Andre Lurton  from  St. Emilion. Both the 2019 vintages were very balanced, slightly soft on the palate and perhaps great accompaniments for Indian food- not that they were not delicious with the pizzas too!

The last wine, Maremmante, from Argentiera Maremma Toscana IGT was a surprise. Tua Rita brought it under its management in 2015. It is being run by her young grandson and his friends, says Kay. Reminding me of Angelo Gaja who brought about significant improvements, revolutionizing Barbaresco in Piedmont at that age, this wine was outstanding also because of its affordable price of around Rs. 3500-4000 in Gurgaon.

It was excellent Tasting, sans spittoons.  But with wines like I tasted at Café Dali from Gusto Imports, I have no inclination to change my healthy lifestyle of drinking, on the average, a couple of glasses of wine, 5-days a week- what I have been recommending to men for the last 25 years, through delWine.

I did not ponder to speculate how much havoc the health concerns might have caused but the world production has been going down consistently and was the lowest last year since 1996.

Drink less, but drink better wines- to stay healthy rains my motto. And if you support the idea of family producers like Kay and I, you will always find an extra dimension of excitement in these wines because of the blood, sweat and tears of the passionate producers.

Subhash Arora