Category Archives: Personal

Four Seasons Merlot Review: Good taste at a great price

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Fairly new to the concept of wine culture, India is a long way from ordering a glass of wine with their dinner. But enthusiasts have embarked on a wine-awareness campaign in conjunction with some fine Indian wineries. One such winery, Four Seasons, organises some remarkable Wine Tasting and Appreciation events across the country to spread awareness. Head over to their Facebook page and hit like to stay in touch.

While I have been to such events and even posted about them, it was a first when I received a bottle of Four Seasons Merlot for a review. Now I’m no expert in food and/or drinks, so this a mere enthusiast’s review and please accept my apologies in advance in case this review does not live up to your expectations.

Four Seasons Merlot 1

To begin with, here’s what Four Seasons’ website has to say about this wine.

Type : Still Red Wine
Grapes :Merlot
Origin : Baramati, Maharashtra, India
Style: Dry
Wine Price: Rs. 570 (in Delhi)

Tasting notes:
Colour : Ruby red in colour with a hint of garnet
Aroma : Delicious aromas of ripe black fruits, especially plums.
Palate : Medium bodied with soft tannins and a pleasant lasting finish.

Serving suggestion: Enjoyed best at 16 – 18 degree C with medium spiced Indian dishes as well as roast lamb with all the trimmings.

Four Seasons Merlot 2

When Four Seasons first contacted me for the review (via GingerClaps), I was sincerely hoping to not receive a Merlot. My reason was quite simple: having tasted Four Seasons’ wines before, Merlot is not one of my favourites. I won’t lie, I am biased; I am more of a fan of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Sauvignon Blanc, both of which I’ll rate a 9 on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being ‘Do Not Dare Put it in Your Mouth and’ 10 tending more towards ‘Bottled Heaven’). The Merlot then would rate close to a 7 on the same scale.

Priced at a very affordable Rs. 570 in Delhi, this screw-top bottled wine would not be my first pick for a dinner with friends. But when I received the bottle for review, I decided to make a day out of it. The Merlot gathered a similar response from my friends: not too bad, not too great, but given the price, fairly decent quality and definitely a good wine to cook with. In our case, it was the aftertaste that turned the experience sour, quite literally so. While the first impression was quite average, it would be only fair to mention here that once we let the wine breathe a little, it improved remarkably, and with the wine, the evening also improved.

Four Seasons Merlot 3

To sum up then, while not Four Seasons’ best wine, the Merlot scores highly for its affordability. My suggestion would be to use it for cooking or to let it breathe before pairing it with the suggested mildly spicy dishes, or if you’re anything like some of my old friends from college, forget the taste and just enjoy a wine cheaper even than some regular vodka bottles. Cheers!

Links included in the post:

Four Seasons’ Official Website – http://www.fourseasonsvineyards.com/
Four Seasons’ Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsWines

Stars, up on heaven’s boulevard

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In memoriam, N.

Macro_Glitter

I can’t look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on heaven’s boulevard
And if I know you at all, I know you’ve gone too far

– Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

PS: The photograph is actually a macro shot of a handful of glitter.

Explaining my two-week absence from the blogosphere (and an inscription!)

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The last couple of weeks have been rather eventful and not the good kind. My father contracted typhoid in early December and despite repeated tests, he wasn’t diagnosed.  Two weeks ago, he developed complications and had to be hospitalised, and naturally, blogging took a back seat as I rushed from home to college to hospital. I am looking forward to catching up now that he is back home now and recovering well.

One thing on my list for FPP in 2013 has been better interaction with all you lovely folks. So, if there is anything you want me to write about or a particular destination you would like to see photographs from, just drop me a line. Comment on the blog, message or post on the facebook page (link in the sidebar) or hit me with a tweet and rest assured, I will follow up. 🙂

I leave you with the photo of this inscription I encountered on the mosque inside Purana Qila (Old Fort) in Delhi. Unfortunately, I do not know what it means. Let me know if you do!

Inscription at Purana Qila

All the kids. Ever.

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There is one thing I love about visiting my native place in Rajasthan. As soon as the camera comes out the bag, the kids flock to me like moths to a flame. I don’t even have to go around looking for interesting subjects to shoot.

This, here, is a percentage of kids I had to shoot. After this group shot, they were kind enough to line up and walk up to me one by one for individual photographs. They were not satisfied with one or two photographs either… it took about 10 clicks per kid to satiate their unbridled enthusiasm. I now have enough photographs of kids to last me a few years.

Young Kids_Rajasthan

(Click on the photograph for better resolution)

#100

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I made a short trip to Rajasthan for a cousin’s wedding, or rather, I was forced to by my parents, and dragged along unwillingly. Now, initially, I was thinking about doing something special for my hundredth post, but then I saw this and knew immediately that nothing I can come up with will beat these smiling faces I encountered in Rajasthan.

Presenting, very Happy #100 to FPP.

Thank you all for sticking around, for making this blog what it is and for being forever kind. I will try to be regular and to not disappoint you. If you have suggestions, brickbats, or just want to say hi, drop me a line at the listed e-mail address. See you around. 🙂

Kids_Rajasthan