When few people comment that Indians do not know how to appreciate wine, I cannot but just smile. I agree that India is majority a whisky lover. However, it is more to do with availability, pricing, storage and repeated trials of wine. How many of us really liked the taste of our first sip of beer, vodka, rum or whisky? Not too many! And hence wine is no different.
I am at The Wine Company at cyber hub which has revolutionized and taken the urban market by storm by offering wine and other spirits much below the retail price at most restaurants and hotels. This is a market which was just waiting to be tapped and the trends were always visible from numerous Aahatas (bring your own booze) thronging in the city. The Wine Company provides a middle ground for someone who does not want to shell out a bomb at a restaurant and still does not want to be seen at down market Aahatas with poor service and low quality food. 
Ajay Saini, the ever young fitness freak and partner at The Wine Company beautifully words the concept, “We have taken away the inhibition of people from drinking wine, while retaining the romance”.
The music decibels are not high, encouraging a conversation while lighting is kept low with few spot lights and candles on each table. Perhaps, it is a reason enough to focus on your partner and not to look at other pretty faces. The wines are clubbed as per region with pricing clearly mentioned. Similarly there is a big display for whisky, scotch, vodka and rum too. I am intrigued by the pricing which for low end variants may be marked up by almost 50% but high end are marked up to 10-30% only, perhaps wanting to attract the right crowd. One does not have to buy the complete bottle, as there is an option to choose wine by glass or other alcohol as per pegs like available anywhere else.
It is time to check out on the food which is an offering of Italian and other European cuisine. Karari Roti is a simple and crisp roomali roti just liked a papad sprinkled with paprika, coriander and butter. It is an excellent dish that goes well with any drink, even with the Australian Yellow Tail sparkling rose’ (Rs 2190) that I kicked off the evening. Given the size, the sizzling prawns (Rs 475) is more like shrimps butter garlic, still irresistible with the wonderful flavor of black pepper.
We shift our focus to Cade d’OR Merlot and meat balls (Rs375) done in Jameson whiskey. The sweetish blueberry compote on top is flavorful but missed any taste inside. A little sauce on side is what I needed to savour the dish. Buffalo chicken wings (Rs 425) are juicy and moist, and they get over in no time. Equally good is the grilled pesto mushroom (Rs 290) that has filling of goat cheese, pesto and a piece of pine nut to give it a bite.
My surprise find at The Wine Company is their pizzas. It does not have a wood fired pizza, nor uses the imported flour, but still the base has such a good hold and bite. I tried the pepperoni pizza (Rs 525) and jalapeno aragula pizza (Rs 425) and they are undoubtedly amongst my favorite ones in the city. The thin pieces of jalapeno and goat cheese is a delight in every bite.
D
anzante Pinot Grigio is a floral and crisp dry-ish wine that goes beautifully with the spiced crusted salmon (795). The fish is flaky and skin crisp to the core. A lovely dish! Wish I could say the same for fish & chips (595) where fish is overcooked.
Desserts are ordinary, however after a beautiful wine evening; it isn’t something that I was anyway longing for. The Wine Company is a great new concept. The response that it has got is unexpected and hence can be the reason of the feedback I have heard on service delays and food quality. If I were to go with my experience, I do find the evening memorable and it looks like they have their act together.
The wines are properly stored, food much above good and ambience excellent, the Wine Company could be your next halt.
Ratings (Out of 5)
Food: 3.5 | Drinks: 4.0 | Ambience: 4.0 | Service: 3.5 | Overall: 4.0
Meal for two: Rs.1500 (Without alcohol) | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: Yes
Address: The Wine Company, Shop No 22 & 23, Ground Floor, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon | Tel: 0124-4949684
