1) Tell me a little
about yourself and your background.
I was born in New Delhi, India in 1960 and grew up in New Rajindernagar.
Being an entrepreneur all my life, I got an opportunity to experience retail in
the U.S. I paid an investment as a part-owner of a wine and liquor store in DC
since I was very passionate about wine. Which (the store) basically retailed
various brands of beer, wine and liquor all chosen by myself and my partners.
2) Good to know. What
about your background with alcohol?
Apart from being a connoisseur, I was keen to learn about
different versions of alcoholic beverages from all over the world. I started
drinking alcohol at age 18 with beer; my favorite brands at that age were
Kingfisher, Godfather and Thunderbolt. I transitioned into hard liquors Old
Monk Rum, McDowell #1 Blended Whisky and Peter Scott blended whisky (these were
the better known Indian whiskies at that time) in the early 80s.
3) What about your
introduction to wine?
I started drinking wine after I moved to the U.S. in 1997.
In India, Golconda was the biggest producer and one of the only producers of
wine. Wine production and consumption wasn’t very popular in India when I was
growing up. Over the last 10-15 years, there are way more wineries popping up.
People have started consuming more wine now and the industry is starting to
show signs of an upcoming explosion.
I started drinking more wine when I moved to the U.S. since
the culture in India is geared towards hard liquor. Beer is more prevalent
among college students and once you get out of college it is more hard liquor. Now,
wine is a drink that more middle-class people are starting to enjoy since it
was too expensive and selective before the last 15 years to be affordable to
more people.
4) What is your
favorite alcoholic drink?
For hard liquors I prefer gold rum (not spiced), single malt
scotch, and tequila. I also enjoy varieties of beer including Hoegaarden,
Leffe, Heineken, Stroh’s, Negra Modelo. I prefer lighter, lager and pale ale
styles of beer.
5) What is your
favorite wine varietal?
I’m a big fan of Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio and the Cabs.
Don’t like Merlots as much. I’m more of a red wine drinker but I do enjoy
Gewürztraminer wines because of their luscious noses. I also enjoy Spanish
wines such as Malbec and Rioja. Bordeaux is a particular French variety I
appreciate. Acacia is a good maker of Pinot Noir and their 08 vintage is
phenomenal. It has wonderful hints of plum and dark toffee in the body, which
makes for a great wine paired with a strongly flavored meat dish. Erath, an
Oregon winery also makes some lovely Pinot. Oregon Pinots are complex,
full-bodied and have fruity flavors such as cherries and other berries.
My response: That’s
interesting to note, I am on the other side of the spectrum and adore IPAs.
6) Experiences from
your store
It was interesting to see what people were into drinking. I
was surprised to find the low amount of people that drank wine so we had to
reduce the wine selection on our shelves. I think that part of it is due to not
many people having tried wines and our store not being a wine only store. For
the customers seeking wine, new world wines were more popular than old world
wines by far.
7) Any tips you can
give to beginners looking to start buying wines? What should they look for or
pay attention too?
Weather and location are HUGE. When
looking for wines and trying them, compare the nose and body to typical notes
for that respective wine so you’ll know if you like wines from a particular
region or not. Also, go for more wine tastings since you get to sample them and
buy them if you like them. Or go to wine events to sample and find favorite
wineries. And don’t listen to any wine reviewer because what you like is what
you like. Be your own judge and have fun with it!
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