Photos by :: Adil Arora
Imagine sharing a bottle of chilled Rosé with your date/sweetheart and while drinking looking at the bottle and alternating at her, reciting a poem:
 Last Night along the corridors,
Looking down at the fields,
A man and woman sang a song of Love,
Drinking Rosé and cheese
In every swirl her eyes shone brighter
His breath now filled the air,
and in this charm of great delight,
the couples were in their lair.
They spoke of things from yester years,
Then spoke of times to come
But all in sync the wine began, to say things from their tongue
Her mane sat rested on his chest the wind began to sway
And from their raspberry breath they knew
The night was slipping away
Well, if it is the first time, she will be really impressed with your love for poetry and romance. You better hope she does not catch on to your eyes stealing perpetual glances at the bottle of Ralph Craven Rose, whose label carries the full poem penned by well known poetess- Laisha Cooper in the front. By the fourth time when she has listened to the different poems written on the Riesling, Sauvignon, Cabernet Merlot and Shiraz bottles, she might be really smitten by you.
Ralph Craven, or rather Associated Wineries Pvt Ltd., owner of the Ralph Craven brand (for some reason, he likes to use RC which reminds me of an inexpensive whisky label from yester -decades during college days) likes poetry and asserts that wine and poetry go well together. So, all the five labels of premium wines with screw-caps, alreading selling or soon-to-be-launched in Mumbai- Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Merlot and Shiraz and costing between Rs.375-550, carry one of her poems.
While some of the poems are not related to the bottle or the grapes or the flavours therein, others have made an active attempt do so. For instance, the Sauvignon Blanc label describes the tasting notes in poetry in motion:
This aroma of gooseberries
With a hint of guava seeds
In this crisp lingering taste
I wish he is in no haste
Ralph Craven, a graduate in Hospitality Management from the Indian Institute of Hotel Management at Aurangabad (Taj Management School) has studied about wines and ‘even traveled to France to study the growing of grapes in Bordeaux and Burgundy ‘and his passion for wines has led him to create this project to bring wine to the people of Maharashtra at affordable price.
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| Wine and Poetry |
The wines are already available in Mumbai and Goa and are ready to be launched in Delhi in December- he has the brands registered already, he says. He is targeting the sale of 20-30, 000 cases annually which is rather small for him but still a formidable task, poetry and attractive labels et al notwithstanding.
The labels reading 12-12.5% alcohol make one wonder if the alcohol level is correctly mentioned on the bottle since most wines from the region have 13.5% or even 14.5% alcohol.
A note about his low end wines. though. He has fallen to the same trap of Goan and Pondicherri producers with wines like ‘matured sherry, vintage port, Vermouth Rosso’. These are neither wine nor legally allowed by EU laws, but one assumes he will cross the bridges when they come. Sherry can be produced only in the designated areas in Spain from specified grapes and specified Solera method. Port is fortified wine which can be made only in Porto in Portugal. Vermouth is usually French or Italian fortified cheap wine, laced with herbs.
This Baramati –based producer has passion to produce a complete range of wines and a plan to distribute nationally, after creating the brand with prices that are within the current range for Indian premium wines.
For more info, visit www.ralphcraven.com |