In good measure: the mood drink

November 28, 2014 08:30 pm | Updated April 07, 2016 02:22 am IST

Magandeep Singh is India's first sommelier, food, wine and travel writer and TV show host. His passions include studying languages and choking the saxophone. In his free time he works.

Magandeep Singh is India's first sommelier, food, wine and travel writer and TV show host. His passions include studying languages and choking the saxophone. In his free time he works.

Recently, we were at the inauguration of a bar that we helped put together in Goa. To most people, that would seem like an easy project. ‘Destination One’ is what it has been christened and it has already become quite the oasis for not only the young and restless, but also the wise and well-heeled.

Close on the heels of this launch, we introduced Delhi to another new concept: a roof-top bar in the middle of the city, called simply, the ‘Sky Lounge’. It redefines getting high: 95 metres to be precise.

To anybody, these would seem easy projects, compared to, say, making a wine list for a fine dining establishment, one where each dish and wine would have to be precisely matched in order to make sure that nothing is repeated over the course of a meal (i.e. each course comes with a different grape, region, wine style, etc.) Logically, it seems about right: partygoers enjoying the sea, sand and sun by the beach, or the stars and the sky in a city, with high-decibel music would be less mindful of the food and drink, especially given the dim lighting that is standard in such settings.

A formal eatery, by comparison, creates focus on the food and the drink in a manner that makes everything else fade into the background: the music is merely ambient, the service discreet, and the company, equally pernickety.

And yet, odd as it may seem to you, dear reader, the amount of effort that we had to put into both these projects was comparable, if not actually more than, say, an upmarket establishment, even though the wine list at the latter is more extensive and elaborate.

Here is why: when you, as an eager client, go to a party place, you expect to be pleased. You don't want to do any homework, especially if it involves complex math to arrive at an acceptable solution of enjoyment. That is what the F&B pros are there for right? They have to ensure that they list the right cocktails, line up the right menu, and lay the right snacks, all with practised perfection. That is what makes an evening seamless and thus, memorable.

In a fine dining restaurant, you, as a guest, often arrive with an equation already in mind and only solicit the service staff’s help in providing you with the necessary ware to help you balance it all out. Here, you take time making your choice, and as long as choice is aplenty, you will find something that pleases you. And should you hit a road block, having a sommelier at hand is always sensible. In short, have a comprehensive wine list with all the possible options and the battle is half won.

In a lounge or a club, guests will spend a lot less time trying to make this choice, and hence it becomes pertinent to make sure that concise options are available, options that can cover most desirous styles that may be ordered. One out-of-place entry and it can all go downhill pretty quick. Hence the stress on choosing the best possible options which will strike a chord within a few seconds – the first furtive glances – and thereby garner the place much-needed patronage points.

So, to conclude, the wine lists and cocktail corners at both Destination One and Sky Lounge would have taken an inordinate amount of time, as one would imagine. If you happen to be in Goa, do make time for a visit, and do share your experience with me. When they say that a good drink is the ultimate mood setter, they aren’t joking. In corollary, who could have imagined a simple, sincere sommelier can make that sunset so much prettier?

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