“Wine In Food” Nine Hills Event at Prego, Westin Hotel, Gurgaon

As the Indians increasingly embrace to enjoy wine, the wine companies get ready to roll out newer events to introduce the niceties of this mystical drink to consumers.

I was particularly excited to have received an invitation to attend a “Wine in Food” event organized by Seagram’s Nine Hills Wine at Prego, Westin Hotel, Gurgaon. Outcome of deliberation from Master Chef Deepak Bhatia and Master of wines Michael Swamy, the event aimed at introducing preparation of food in wines from the house of Nine Hills.

The attendants were served a five course meal crafted specially for the event paired with wines. The guests were offered rose wine on arrival. The lighter body wine with subtle pink colour had mild sweetness and delicate flavours.

In starters, Sauvignon Blanc was served with chicken, mushroom and truffle galantine with rosemary oil. This dry white wine variant that carries tropical fruit and berry flavour is terrific for appetizers.

This was followed with serving of delicious  crustacean lasagna along with chenin blanc wine.

In main course, we got served with bold and fully body reserve shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, a very bold and assertive wine that is also most widely recognized red wine globally. Matching perfectly with pan fried tenderloin with mushroom sauce and thyme flavoured mashed potato the wines enhanced the savours of dish.

To wrap up the meal, viognier wine was served along with pannacotta with fruit consomme.

The interaction with Chef MichaleSwamy and Chef Deepak Bhatia introduced me to their passion to amalgamate and introduce usage of wine to cooking in India. The event lived up to the opening statement made by Adrian Pinto (Sr Manager with Seagram Hills),”Wine is an experience! Nine Hills is bringing together award winning wines, great chefs and the Starwood Hotels to give consumers a chance to experience how wine is paired with food, not just through a tasting but by combining it with food when cooking using various methods”

The delicate and tantalizing taste of all the dishes, blended with an impeccable pairing of wines made the event one of the best ones attended by me in long time. I would like to make special mention of the lasagna and the pan fried tenderloin with mushroom sauce. While the meticulous use of cheese tantalized the sea food filling in the patty shaped lasana, the tenderloin was cooked to perfection and the exotic mushroom sauce made it an exquisite dish.

The growing love for wine, India is set to experience host of initiatives being taken by wine producers to unfold the variety of taste and usage of wines.

PS: Seagram’s Nine Hill wine gets its name from the nine hills surrounding Nashik where the company’s winery and vineyards are located.

– Aman Kapoor