by Shiv Singh
The Indian Government has cut duties on liquor. The Finance Ministry has finally withdrawn all additional customs duties on imported spirit, wine and beer, following ongoing complaints from the EU and US on the high duties levied by India. An European Commission study had reported that the combination of duties and taxes in some states in India was as high as 550% on imported spirits and 264% on wines. Abhay Kewadkar, Sanjay Menon and Alok Chandra share their opinions. While the Centre has acted on the additional customs duties, which fall within its domain, the government is expected to empower states to levy duties and allow them to recoup revenue losses. The big question is, will you and I benefit? Abhay Kewadkar chief wine maker of United Spirits and director of Four Seasons Wines ...
by Subhash Arora
Following complaints from the EU and US on high duties levied by India the Finance Ministry withdrew yesterday all additional customs duties (ACD) on imported wines, beer and liquor through a notification by Central Board of Excise and Customs. All ACD on wines and spirits have been removed but the government has increased the basic duty from 100% to 150%. Duties on beer and liquor remains unchanged at 100% and 150% respectively. The removal of the duty comes shortly before the meeting of a WTO panel to consider the complaint of European Union and the USA against high Indian duties and taxes on foreign wines and spirits. The government had been saying all along that they would like to settle the issue before the WTO would take a negative decision. The government had removed the import ...
by Subhash Arora
I had started the evening tasting with Moet & Chandon to celebrate the inauguration of the new Bangalore facilities of National Instruments, a billion dollar Texas based IT company. The nine wines selected for tasting were Azure Bay, Kendall Jackson and Fontanelle Banfi Chardonnays, Beaujolais Villages from Louis Jadot, Sula Satori Merlot, Kendall Jackson Pinot Noir, Oxford Landing Cab-Shiraz and as the grand finale, Gaja Promis, all purchased locally from Metro Cash & Carry. A pretty decent selection that, for an august gathering that varied from novices to not- so- novices who were there to enjoy the tasting experience. One hoped that after the end of the evening there would be a few converts to the wine religion. At the very least, they would feel more confident in the company of wine...
by Ron Kapon
To quote from Jan Read’s book “Wines of Spain”- Since the time of Sir Francis Drake Spain has been known first and formost for sherry. Until recently, the image was of sturdy (though often drinkable) plunk. The Spaniard much prefers quantity to quality and loves flavor less than he hates trouble. Better wines were available, like those from Rioja, but they were drunk mainly on special occasions. During the last dozen years there has been an increasing realization among the younger winery owners that Spain’s future as a wine producer lies in quality. With the help of modern technology Spain is now producing characterful and individual growths. Perhaps no other country in Europe makes wine in such a variety of styles. The future looks bright for the Spanish wine industry. In late Sp...
by Darryl Beeson
"Soave, from the Veneto in North East Italy, has a reputation for producing rather neutral, boring white wines," observes wine guru Robert Parker. "It’s partly deserved. Pop into your local supermarket and buy their cheapest Soave. It will be a commodity wine, with some fresh acidity but rather neutral flavors...But to dismiss all Soave as dull and uninteresting would be doing a great disservice to those producers who are doing good work here. What this tasting showed is that the Garganega grape, often with some help from a bit of Chardonnay or some new French oak, can make profound white wines packed full of flavor and interest." Consider the wines from Azienda Agricola Inama. The Inama estate was founded in 1960 by Giuseppe Inama, who owned 30 hectar of vines in the heart o...
by Darryl Beeson
Often set a side for cold, rainy weather, a small glass of any of these wines can offer a sweet or toasty finish to a large meal. Warre's "Optima" Ten Year Old Tawny Port Price $24 Rating 91 The color is a rosy shade of brick. The sip is hottish and chewy with caramel, dried fruit and nutty nougat. Port is a sweet fortified wine, name derived from the fact that such wines are shipped out of the Portugese city of Oporto. There's a specific region in northern Portugal's Douro Valley that has exacting regulations for producing quality port wines, with the four basic categories being Vintage, Tawny, Ruby and White. Tawny Ports, tawny in color and ready to drink when bottled, are made from a blend of grapes from several different years and can be aged in wood for as long as 40 years...
by Darryl Beeson
Nearly one thousand years ago, St. Bruno founded the Carthusian order of monks near Grenoble, within the French Alps. Allow five hundred years of serious contemplation. A gift arrives from the Marshall of Artillery for King Henry IV of France. It is a manuscript with the recipe of an elixir. It is called "An Elixir of Long Life." The base is grape brandy. A hundred and thirty herbs and botanicals later, the secret to long life could be consumed. Being monks amongst men, they contemplated some more. A hundred and thirty years later, they mobilize. Monks will be monks. Thus they begat the creation of the famous Elixir Végétal, known today as Chartreuse liqueur, referred to in some circles as "herbals grown wild." But this is Chartreuse, not charmeuse, another story. The sip is green with...
by Darryl Beeson
Sometimes spirits are malt, or grain based, sometimes neutral or one-dimensional. Aperitifs bring flavors. A step further are bitters, herbal driven. Campari might be called "herbals grown wild," available in video form on a late-night television near you. The fine, but few fans of Campari do find it to be herbal, sweet and pleasantly bitter. To many others, the mention of Campari brings negative or no reaction. Bitter look into this. The sophisticated need only apply. Aperitifs are both eye-openers and meal-openers, awakening the appetite and preparing one's taste buds with the divergent, bittersweet flavors. The proper aperitivo, AKA the apéritif precedes its reputation. Campari fills the bill. Introduced in Italy in the 1860's by Gaspare Campari, he was a master drink maker at the Bas...
by Darryl Beeson
Gasparé Indelicato emigrated to California from a small village in Italy. He would grow wine grapes like his father, grandfather, and several generations before him had done. The first grapes for Delicato Family Vineyards were planted in the spring of 1924. His hard work was rewarded with more orders than he could fill. During Prohibition, Gasparé's grapes were sought after by home winemakers seeking quality grapes for home winemaking and this business kept the vineyard operation solvent when many of his neighbors struggled. But grape sales declined during the Great Depression. In 1935, with Prohibition repealed, Gasparé made the decision to turn a portion of his grapes into wine, using techniques his father had taught him. In the old haybarn by the vineyard, Gasparé, his brother-in-l...
by Darryl Beeson
Located on approximately the same latitude (46ºN) as some of the great French wine regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, Washington State wine "Touring" country includes 9 federally recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVA's), commonly known as appellations; three of them share territory with Oregon State. Climates of individual Washington wine regions differ dramatically, being cross cut north to south by the Cascade Mountains. A variety of climates and soils combine with the long summer sunlight hours of northern latitudes to create prime growing regions, predominantly in the valleys and on the hillsides of areas east of the Cascade Mountain range. Washington wineries benefit from grapes ripening in these areas which experience about two more hours of summer sunlight each day than in Ca...