Wine culture in Chennai

Developing a taste for new cuisine is passé and the innumerable food festivals stand witness to the fact. But of late, Chennaiites have developed a love for wine; a love that has been cultivated for many years. Certain families in Chennai prepared home made wines for festivals or bought locally made wines from Goa. But this love for the drink is now reaching the next level where most people can enjoy the drink by doing one of the two - Join a club or take part in a wine dinner. A time when wine was thought to be only a woman’s drink while men enjoyed the rest of the hard drinks is all gone. The growing number of wine lovers- men and women only goes to prove that the wine culture is fast catching on, but is an expensive hobby. The clubs not just promote tasting of the finest wines but also give its members an acquaintance through tasting sessions, lectures by wine experts and makers on the cultural and historical aspects of wine, promoting health benefits of moderate wine drinking, screening of wine related films paired with sipping on their favourite wine and organising wine tours. “There is a growing appreciation for wine and much of it is because of the hype that has been created,” notes Captain Arjun Nair, one of the founding members of Terroir- The Madras Wine Club. Wine tasting is not limited to clubs but the fever has even caught among the star hotels in the city. While some promote wine with food pairing in their full course menus, the rest bring experts from abroad to spread the knowledge about wine.
-source EXPRESSBUZZ.COM