Cheers to Alsatian wine

Let the ingredients speak for themselves, says Eva, taking a sip of the Gewurztraminer wine from the Schlumberger estate in France’s Alsace region. “Can you smell the litchi? It’s got a hint of ginger and rose too,” she pauses, swirling this concoction of “les princes des abbes” in her mouth with a slight gargling sound. “Oxygen comes in contact with wine when it moves through the palate and releases its taste,” she explains.
The 2006 blend is the fourth we are served at the wine lunch organised by the Taj Fisherman’s Cove in Chennai with ‘frontier man’ Jean-Marie Winter, a wine expert and Sales Director with the Domaines Schlumberger, travelling the world to promote offerings from vineyards that trace their ancestry to the 16th century. Eva Corvaisier is the international wine brand manager for Brindco, distributors of Schlumberger wines in India.

Hottest Sedans of 2009 | Berry bold, berry beautiful

There are three more wine servings to come and each is paired with a specially-designed menu by master chef Mohammed Siddiq. As the wines metamorphose from fruity and dry to mildly intense to more “expressive” and finally “smoky and toasty with hints of roasted grapes”, the dishes strut along — Californian prunes to beet-and-cheese cake for vegetarians and salmon caviar to soy roasted chicken for non-vegetarians.