DWC had organised several wine dinners at The Grand Hyatt in its earlier years, including one at their wine library which had a long dining table at the center, giving the feel of an intimate French cellar belonging to an aristocrat wine collector.

An opportunity arose when Col Mukul Manku (Retd), the 4th President of the Club met with Michel who had been the General Manager at The Leela Ambience, Gurgaon for many years before going back to his home country, Netherlands. DWC had organised several events there and we were very comfortable working with him.

It was a pleasure to learn that he had now come to The Grand become even more flamboyant and wine friendly with the same thirst to make guests order wines and not only look at the wine list wistfully with the prices set very high (17-24%) by the finance department- at low beverage cost with Coca-Cola as the benchmark. Organizing such events has been his forte and we knew instantly that we are in the right hands with him at the helm as operational VP.

G Bar and Nexus

To make it a unique evening that started on 10 May at 8 pm at the G Bar with flutes of a premier prosecco doc extra Dry with a beautiful Venetian Dress-slightly sweet and delicious with all 4 snacks. We then moved to Nexus with a capacity of 60 seats on 2 rows of long tables, where Michel and Mukul welcomed the guests.

It was interesting to learn that this was the first wine dinner organised by Michel at this hotel. The all-Italian wines, a Pecorino from Abruzzo, followed by a very mineral white wine from Etna produced by Torre Mora from the Carricante grapes in the volcanic soil won hearts and palates of all the members. But the best was yet to come.

Red Etna

The medium bodied red Etna was also very mineral in character, flavours, complex and full on the palate and soft silky tannins. This well balanced, typical Etna wine with the signature local grapes Narello Mascalese blended with Narello Cappuccio, served for the first time at a DWC Dinner were excellent choices that matched well with the food that caused many interesting discussions in the smaller groups at the tables.

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico in Florence, the first official Italian Association of wine producers, was celebrating its 100th anniversary on 14 May. In the spirits of things, we had organised Valiano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2016 to match with the main course. Ostensibly this was the first Gran Selezione imported into India. This is the recent top quality of the appellation introduced since the 2014 vintage and is relatively still rare in India because of higher costs. Decanted for an hour or so, the tannins had become very velvety and complex and could have matched even the heavier food like Beef Ossobuco, the well-known hearty Piemontese dish but we had settled for a lamb Ossobuco. The matching was perhaps better with the vegetarian Parmigiana.

Hopefully, it gave members a Food for thought: When one talks of top Italian Appellation docg wines like Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco and Vino Nobile, Gran Selezione might also be an option to consider.

The Grand Après Dinner magic

If one thought the evening was over after the 5 wines, there was a big surprise from Michel Koopman. Usually the club opts for two desserts at the table from the Repertoire of the hotel. But in The Grand style, Michel had booked Onyx, a banquet room, comfortable for 80 guests, hordes of desserts so people could let the hair down after a hearty meal.

There were also several coffees like Irish and Mexican with liquors and liqueurs to offer the best the hotel has to offer. Normally, they are out of bounds at DWC events and Vinotaler that I am, we discourage any liquid but wines, but being good guests, most members accepted gracefully. I felt great with my favourite Macchiato procured from one of the restaurants on the ground floor.

Twist and shout…

To ensure the guests had a memorable event, a DJ was at hand too. Anticipating the average of the gang, he was prepared with the 70’s and 80’s music and the members happily got into the groove and were enjoying themselves thoroughly on the floor, as we were later saying goodbyes.

…and the gifts galore

A few of the guests had already left before the Mother’s Day gifts could be distributed to the ‘expecting’ mothers. But the much anticipated boxes of artisanal chocolates from the hotel did get distributed to all the mothers present eventually. A fabulous gesture had also been the Lucky Draw as the Grand Finale that included a Sunday Brunch for two with unlimited quantity of Taittinger champagne, valued at Rs. 9999 + taxes as the First Prize.

The Dinner was memorable for the members as well as perhaps the hotel staff which seemed to be enjoying the renewed experience. Michel Koopman was extremely dexterous to orchestrate an exquisite dinner while showcasing various sections of the hotel. The food quality and variety served matched the excellent service. On their part, the members were happy to come back for another event with another set of premium wines and a variety of food with a slightly different theme.

For the Menu of the evening, click here.

Subhash Arora