Interview/ Jancis Robinson, wine writer
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India’s wine industry. This was the Robinson’s fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India’s only Master of Wine.
Robinson was endowed with the Master of Wine title in 1984, becoming the first journalist to earn it. She has advised on the royal cellar at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II and continues to do so for King Charles. Her column in the Financial Times completes 34 years (she has been writing about wine for 50 years now). She was ordained the title OBE in 2003.
Robinson also has her own eponymous website, which she recently sold. She has written more than 20 books on wine; the most notable ones are The Oxford Companion to Wine and the co-authored The World Atlas of Wine. Her website and books are bibles to wine enthusiasts the world over. Decanter magazine called her “the most respected wine critic and journalist in the world”. She also appears in a wine show on BBC 2.
Her first evening in India was at Captain’s Cellar at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. The hotel had invited about 50 of their special guests for a tasting of Californian wines.
Next evening, she was at Mumbai’s Masque restaurant, where India’s leading wine producers were invited to showcase one wine from their portfolio. “We called it the Navratna, and all the producers presented their best wine each from any grape of their choice. It was the first time in several years that all the wine producers came together,” says Holland.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q/ What brought you to India after seven years and what did you discover during this trip?
A/ I was invited to Bhutan in my capacity as a member of the advisory board of the new Bhutan Wine Company. To access Bhutan from London you have to go through Delhi. Knowing how interest in wine is growing in India, I thought it would be fun to tag a few days in Delhi and Mumbai on to the Bhutan trip. So I asked my fellow Master of Wine Sonal Holland to organise a few events there. The interest in wine is growing delightfully and the quality of the wine is gradually improving.
Q/ Sonal had curated a selection of wines for you. What did you think about the new wines on offer?
A/ I shall be publishing my tasting notes on them on jancisrobinson.com. I felt I could now assess and score them in the context of wines of the rest of the world rather than as Indian wines specifically.
Q/ If India really wanted to speed-track its success in the global wine industry, what are the hacks you suggest? Should we take part in international competitions or does it take a global critic like you to give an Indian wine 100 points?
A/ We actually use the 20-point scale. In our database of 2,36,000 tasting notes, amassed over nearly 25 years, there are only 150 wines I gave a perfect score to. (18 is a very superior score for us.) Honestly, given the climate constraints, I am afraid I cannot imagine ever giving 20 points to an Indian wine―but I would be delighted to be proved wrong. As for speeding up India’s wine prowess, I think it is just a question of continuing to make better wine, perhaps seeking out some suitable cooler regions?
Q/ What are the new trends in the global wine industry?
A/ Less oak, less alcohol, paler colours in reds, new regions towards the poles, more concentration on vineyards and soil health than on what happens in the winery, an increase in interest in white and rosé―and climate change effects.
Q/ Is climate change affecting wine production or consumption?
A/ Production, in that harvests are getting earlier and weather events such as frost, hail, floods, wildfires and storms are more numerous and unpredictable. [When it comes to consumption], more refreshment is sought in hot summers, hence the decline in full-bodied reds and the rise of light, chillable reds rosés and whites.
Q/ Did you try any Indian sparkling wines like Chandon and Sula Brut? What does India have a better shot at―sparkling, reds or whites?
A/ I was quite impressed by the Chandon sparkling wines.