A Taste of California was offered on Monday by Z Group International, a Las Vegas based wine export company. Las Vegas does not produce wine. But it  has every single label of world repute on its menu in the glitzy casinos and numerous fine dining restaurants. It also provides a tax shelter; there are no state taxes. So Ashok Sudhakar, an IIT Delhi alumnus, with a law degree to boot shifted residence from San Diego to Las Vegas a few years ago. ‘Z’ is the brainchild of his pretty daughter Elizabeth, who grew up in California and is in the process of exporting its wines to India .

The event, aptly named as ‘You Be the Judge’ was organised by Indian Wine Academy for the members of the Delhi Wine Club. Eleven wines covering a vast range of $8-$45 wines were selected from Napa Valley , Alexander Valley and Lodi . Each participant of the evening was required to judge the wines based on criteria of sight, bouquet, flavour, end, and overall impression.

The idea was primarily to have fun drinking wine, the basic objective of the Delhi Wine Club. Members were also given the onerous task of assessing the quality and taste of each wine.  It was also a study to evaluate how many would be in a position to cross the 13 th hurdle and still rate the wines fully- first two being the warm up wines from Nashik- the Indian Napa Valley .

Entry level Sauvignon, Chardonnay, White Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet were selected from Crane Lake Winery in Napa . Hundred Acre Gold Chardonnay from Barossa Valley (bottled in Napa ), Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay 2005 from Alexander Valley , Grgich Hills Chardonnay 2004 were the premier Chardonnays. Lodi was represented by a small family owned Cranston Winery. Heitz (2002) and Ch. Montelena (2003) were the super quality Cabernets.

No spittoons, and only bread and cheese-were provided as the palate cleansers.

Out of the 5 Crane Lake Wineries, White Zinfandel was generally rubbished. Too sweet and no personality was the verdict, though a few were happy for the same reason. Sauvignon Blanc was clean, aromatic and zingy but weak on the mid-palate with a simple end. A great summer-time, no brainer wine was the majority verdict.

Chardonnay was medium bodied, quaffable and acceptable daily drinking wine.

Merlot was lacking in personality but Cabernet Sauvignon came out yards ahead. The tannins were mild. It is ready-to-drink wine with a decent balance and even some after taste. Must be drunk now, though. The ’03 is not going to get any better.

The mid-priced Chardonnays had a chequered response. The ‘Gold’ Chardonnay reportedly has real gold wafer-thin chips that keep on dancing in the bottle. Most people found this to be a distraction than an additive, charging up the wine. There was a toss up between Ferrari-Carano and Grgich Hills Chardonnays. Jury was split though the Ferrari has a certain racy ring to its name and the later, named after the Polish owners does have a twisted name but also was more mature, fuller bodied and had better balance – a slightly more complex wine.

Cranston Cabernet 2003 showed the common thread of sharing and enjoying a fine wine, that runs amidst wine lovers and connoisseurs. It was the darling of everyone without exception. Dark red colour-almost inky, it had subtle aromas of berries and spices. The flavour was dry, fruity with soft tannins that imparted firm structure to the wine but were not too astringent. The mouthfeel was full and pleasant; taste of coffee and molten chocolate, dark cherries was predominant. It lingered in the mouth.

Chateau Montelena was the star of the show (Heitz was not tasted due to the galloping time and accelerated levels of alcohol in the body). The pre-disclosed fact that Montelena had been a  winner of the historic Paris 1976  blind tasting (albeit Chardonnay) must have biased the palates of our ‘tasters’. The superlatives were aplenty. Priced at about thrice the Cranston Cab, this was a wine that did not require any explanation, just refills till it evaporated in the nose and the palate. Very smooth, delicious, full bodied wine that dances on the tongue, you don’t want the sip to leave you. The long end makes you savour the taste longer and entices you to drink slower.

Elizabeth Sudhakar, CEO of Z Group International, who grew up drinking California wines, said she is not married to California wines though. (She is not married, period) ‘We shall be importing some interesting Italian wines too and if the market demands it we shall consider other areas as well, since we have access to an excellent working relationship with many regions. But, for now I wanted a select group to enjoy that Taste of California.’