Sep 30: The legendary Indian tennis star-turned international TV sports commentator Vijay Amritraj would be happy with the Gold Medal his white Reserve Collection produced in collaboration with Grover Zampa Vineyards has finally won a Gold medal by scoring 95/100 points at the 8th edition of Decanter Asia Wine Awards held recently in Hong Kong, writes Subhash Arora who believes Grover has developed the art of winning the DAWA Awards, by cornering 9 out of the 13 medals won with the rest shared by Soma, Fratelli and Indiosa
Amritraj who has moved to Los Angeles but runs a Tennis Academy in India would be very pleased with the result at Decanter Asia Wine Awards announced recently. A wine connoisseur who drinks mostly wine, had told delWine in 2015 at the official Launch of Grover Zampa Reserve Collection in Delhi that he had been keen for years to introduce a wine that would not only sell well in the Indian wine market but also compete in the world because of quality and had felt the confidence only after working with Grover Zampa for a few years and was happy that a world-class product had been released. The first Gold medal won by the white variant is an accomplishment of this goal.
Of course, Grover Zampa had not only won a Gold medal earlier for The Grover Art Collection Series Sauvignon Blanc 2014 but also bagged the International Trophy in its Category at DAWA 2014.
Indiosa, the new Avatar of Nine Hills, the erstwhile introduced Nashik winery from Pernod Ricard which could not replicate the success of their Jacobs Creek top-selling label in India for their Indian portfolio of Nine Hills, makes an entry into the wine awards scene with a Big B- a Bronze with 86 points on its very first participation. It is interesting that the award-winning wine is a 2016 vintage when Nine Hills was in its last stages of production in its First Act. The awarded wine thus appears to be wine in a new bottle- oops- label. But it shows winemaking prowess of the then winemaker.
It has been outdone by Soma Chenin Blanc 2019 produced by Soma Vineyards Nashik, which has scored an honourable Silver medal with 90 points. Grover Zampa has also won 3 Silver medals- La Réserve Blanc, the recently launched La Réserve Royale Brut and Soirée Brut sparkling wines. Fratelli has won 2 Bronze medals.
Indian wines have won 13 medals in total. Here is a table of medals won and the standings based on Olympic system of classification:
| |
|
G |
S |
B |
C |
|
| Grover Zampa |
|
1 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
|
| Soma |
|
- |
1 |
- |
- |
|
| Fratelli |
|
- |
- |
2 |
- |
|
| Indiosa |
|
|
- |
- |
1 |
- |
| Total |
|
1 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
13 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Details of Awards and vintages may be viewed on:
http://awards.decanter.com
During this 8th year of the Awards started by Decanter in 2012 (Subhash Arora who judges at the older and equally prestigious Award- Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Competition regularly, had also been invited to be a judge in 2013), the new Vice Chair, Hiroshi Ishida (replacing perhaps the earlier Vice Chair, Gerard Basset MW, MS sadly passed away last year) alongside returning Vice Chairs - Jeannie Cho Lee MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Li Demei, Andrew Jefford, Michael Hill-Smith MW and Poh Tiong Ch’ng from Singapore were present to oversee the competition. Chairperson Steven Spurrier was again absent this year.
Vivek Chandramohan, CEO, Grover Zampa Vineyards is naturally overjoyed by the awards. He tells delWine, “It gives me immense pleasure to see our wines do so well again this year- especially the Gold Medal won by the Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection White 2018. These awards not only support us in expanding our reach internationally but also solidify our efforts in placing Indian wines on the global map. The wins also recognise the efforts of our meticulous winemakers and viticulture team, while also ensuring that Indian consumers are presented with adequate opportunities to taste the best of wines.”
During the four-day judging week, 3155 wines from 34 countries were tasted blind, according to their origin, style and vintage. Only 112 wines (3.5%) were awarded a Gold medal (95 points and above) including the Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection during the first round of judging. Gold-winning wines then qualified for a second and third round of judging, conducted by the seven vice chairs of the awards, for a Trophy.
Tasting wines blind by a jury of experts is the best way of benchmarking the quality of a wine since the unbiased and expert judges y keep the taste and interest of consumer in mind, with price generally not being the consideration. Thus, JCB No.47 Brut, the most expensive sparkling Indian wine, apparently did not impress the judges as it garnered 86 points and managed a Bronze medal whereas the Soma Gold Chenin managed 90 points and a Silver medal. The newly introduced Chene Chardonnay could get only a Commendation (equivalent of a consolation prize) at an even lower 83 points, indicating work still needs to be done on this wine for international consumers.
For a few of the Articles, please visit:
Grover Zampa scoops maximum Awards at DAWA 2018 in Hong Kong
Vijay Amritraj Charms Delhi with Wine and Persona
Vijay Amritraj stages a comeback through Groverz
GroverZ creates History winning International Trophy at DAWA
Subhash Arora
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