As I entered the banquet in Sheraton Hotel, Saket, my eyes first went on the beautiful spread of chocolates & wine. There were all type of chocolates and they were presented beautifully. The class started half an hour late (as the previous session ended late). There were girls from Dineout who were quizzing about wine & chocolate and giving out prices, so I didn’t mind the wait.
The lavish spread
The chocolates were made and presented by the students of “Art Chocolat”. They explained us the different type of chocolates, how are they made and different health benefits.
The wine tasting portion was handled by a representative from SULA company Zaheen Khatri and this girl was definitely the star of the night. Her knowledge on wines was impeccable and so was her sense of humor (:p). She definitely made time fly! The minute she held the mic, she made us logically reason ourselves why certain things are done in certain way.
For e.g. “why are corked wine bottles stored horizontally?” This is done so that the wine is in contact with the cork, else the cork will dry out and on opening the bottle, it could be brittle (cause of being dry) & fall inside the wine.
I always knew that the corked wine bottles are stored horizontally but honestly I never knew why.
We were served 5 types of wine paired with these chocolates:-
1. Sparkling- BRUT, served with a platter of Fromage noire truffle, Chocolate dipped Strawberries & Pineapple Marzipan.
2. White- RIESLING paired with Peanut carmel domes, Orange chocolate & Ecuador dark chocolate with Sea salt.
3. Rose- ZINFANDEL ROSE, with Raspberry milk cup, Red berry mendiant and Guava ganache
4. Red- DINDORI RESERVE SHIRAZ, relished with Smoked dark wood, Thai coffee and Dark red chilli chocolate.
5. Dessert- LATE HARVEST CHENIN BLANC, paired with White chocolate withe almond praline, Manga cup and Lychee ganache. (I absolutely enjoyed the dessert wine, it was so sweet and yum!)
Wine and chocolate pairing
For the first time I sniffed different spices and fruits in the wine, understood the different chocolate pairing, “Why certain chocolate is paired with a certain wine” and definitely held the glass right (yay)!
I would recommend this class to everyone who enjoy their wines (like I do) and make sure Zaheen Kathri is your emcee (you rock Girl!)
Me with the lady of the eve “Zaheen Khatri”
