The father-son sommelier duo of Luis Paadín and Alejandro are in Mumbai for the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower’s ongoing Spanish Extravangza dinners. Luis and Alejandro are part of a troupe of seven culinary experts who have been cooking up a series of authentic Spanish dinners at the city hotel. These include two Michelin-starred chefs, two tapas gurus, one paella master, and of course the two sommeliers in question.
Luis and Alejandro Paadín of course, stand out from the group in that they are related. While Luis is pot-bellied, with long salt and pepper hair and speaks only Spanish, Alejandro sporting a bow tie during our evening interview and has close cropped hair that accentuates his round face. While he speaks English, he’s definitely more comfortable in his native language.
Luis got his start in the industry by setting up the city of A Coruña’s first enoteca (wine shop) about 25 years ago. Speaking for Alejandro, he says, “I grew up around bottles,” before elaborating that he opened his first champagne bottle at the age of four. Growing up, he worked at the enoteca, where he was able to hone his skills and become a formidable personality in his own right. Currently both father and son work with the one Michelin-starred restaurant Alborado in A Coruña’.
When quizzed about what it’s like to travel together for work, as a family, Luis says, “Besides being my biological son, he’s also my work mate, my travelling companion and my best friend.” He waits for the translator, Pilar to finish, and adds after a beat, “This way his wife lets him leave the house as well,” leading to peals of laughter from around the table.
While in the country, the duo will spend a day visiting Grover’s vineyards in Nashik, so that they can get familiar with Indian wines. While Alejandro emphasises that wine has been part of Galicia region for over a thousand years, he’s interested in seeing and tasting newer Indian variants. For them, the chance to visit four cities (Seoul, Shanghai, Mumbai and Doha), is an opportunity to learn more about the local wine industry in each, while also allowing international diners to, “get to know the Spanish land, and the greatest ambassador of that is the wine,” declares Luis. As for what guests can expect, at the tasting menu dinners being served at the Chambers Dining Room, “Each course will have a different wine,” says Alejandro, which may seem standard. However, the duo has also paired each tapas and paella with different varieties including fortified wines like sherry, as well as sparkling wines and of course, sangria.
When asked about sangria, the drink most popularly associated with their home country, the duo make an appropriate comparison to masala chai — everyone makes it differently, based on the spice combination and flavour they are looking to achieve.
For details on the Spanish Extravaganza dinners see, www.tajdining.com
