“In Argentina, we drink sparkling wine at any time, from breakfast to dinner; one glass of Brut is absolutely OK for breakfast”, says Gustavo Agostini, Senior Winemaker and Operations Manager of Chandon India. It is this philosophy that made Agostini and his team come up with the newest variant of wine for desis. Agostini firmly believes that Chandon’s Délice that was launched recently, is perfect for the Indian market.
On balance
After Brut and Rosé, Chandon Délice is the third sparkling wine to come from Chandon’s winery in Nashik. It is a blend of locally sourced Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc grapes giving it an aromatic vibrancy. “Chandon Délice is a young wine, not very complex, and it’s easy to drink. You will find citric notes, perhaps apple as well”, says Agostini. The bubbly certainly lives up to its name; délice means delicious in French, and the wine has a sweet creaminess to it, which is crisp rather than cloying.
Having spent two years in India managing Chandon’s operations, Agostini believes he now has an understanding of the local palate. “Indians prefer sweeter wines. Also, the year-round warm weather is perfect for sparkling wines. We came up with Délice specifically for the Indian market. It has the same DNA as the Brut and Rosé, but it’s made in a different style and has a good balance of sweetness and acidity”, he describes.
New approach
The folks at Chandon would also have you drink the bubbly in new ways. Instead of serving it in the traditional flute, Délice was served chilled in glass tumblers. The advice: drink it on the rocks, or have it with a slice of fruit, preferably orange. “Or you can garnish it with some mint, ginger, and an orange or cucumber slice, and it makes the perfect poolside drink”, adds Agostini. Because of its semi-sweet taste, Chandon Délice pairs with a wide variety of foods, from fresh salads to light dishes of chicken or fish, and even with desserts like tiramisu and apple crumble. The bubbly also complements Indian food particularly well with its sweetness tempering the spices.
For the launch event at Tote on the Turf, Chandon India collaborated with some of Mumbai chefs, Alex Sanchez (The Table), Shilarna Vaze and Chris Perrin (Gaia Gourmet), Kelvin Cheung (Bastian and One Street Over), Pooja Dhingra (Le15 Café), Prateek Sadhu (Masque) and Viraf Patel (Café Zoe). Each of the chefs prepared dishes inspired from the new wine’s taste and spirit. Sanchez created a French-inspired vada pao serving the vada inside a rich, delicate brioche roll. “I knew I had to pair it with something spicy. The honeyed sweetness [of the wine] was calling out for chilli,” he says. Sadhu paired the bubbly with a moreish brûlée made with caciocavallo (a stretched-curd cheese typical to Southern Italy), while Dhingra presented chilli caramel cake truffles and ginger raspberry financiers to complement the sweetness of the wine. “The sharp, fruity notes have inspired my desserts. I have also added a hint of spice to them, because it works so well with the Indian palate”, elaborates Dhingra.
Agostini is already looking to the future. “This is a good time for sparkling wines in India. The market is huge and young, and open to trying new things.” In an ideal world for the winemaker, he’d like the sparkling variant to be consumed for every occasion. “I think that in 10 years sparkling wine consumption will zoom up in India”, he states confidently.
Chandon Délice is priced at Rs. 1,500
