I don’t often get invites that reads ‘Ambassador Nancy J. Powell of the United States of America requests the pleasure of the company of Pawan Soni’ and I read it umpteen times in disbelief. This was an invite for the launch of Napa Valley wines Beringer and Stag’s Leap in India.
No point telling that I arrived much before the event schedule time (though this was to beat traffic that starts at peak hours from Gurgaon) at the embassy and patiently waited in my car before being frisked and making my maiden visit inside. 
The event started by the clock and Ambassador, Nancy J. Powell, greeted everyone with her welcoming smile and introduced the wines. Nicole Carter, Regional Business Director-Asia of Beringer gave some interesting facts about the wines while we sipped on Beringer Sparkling White Zinfandel.
Gagan Sharma, Sommelier & Wine Educator at Wi-Not Beverage was luckily with me and mentioned how the ‘icecream glass’ is better than the flute glass for sparkling. In the meantime I was joined by some officials, Julia Stanley (Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs) and Jimmy Mouldin (Unit Chief) who gave me much needed company while our discussion ranged from eating out places in Delhi, Tourist Destination, to the outstanding Chefs at the Embassy and steps taken to ease VISA formalities to the US.
Wines kept changing from Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet to Cabernet Sauvignon to Venoir while some excellent accompaniments from Ambassador’s personal kitchen kept making the rounds. Some amazingly fresh prawns, grilled lamb chops, fish and chicken skewers kept tantalising the taste buds for more.
Jonn Slette, Senior Attache for Agricultural Affairs, gave some figures on these wines’ popularity and guided me to Jackie Matai from Aspri Spirits on the pricing of these wines in India. As per what Jackie said, the pricing seems to be very competitive and am sure this will further fuel the penetration of good wines in Indian markets.
