Master class International Vine & Food pairing Festival at Taj Bengal, Kolkata

 "FOUR SEASONS, the flagship brand of the company, captures the colors and moods of the four seasons, with three reds (Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot); three whites (Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc and Viognier); and, a Rosé (Blush). The Barrique Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Barrique Reserve Shiraz are the premium offerings of the Four Seasons portfolio. These wines have been aged in imported French oak barrels for 9 months before being bottled." (Source: HERE)

Wine was always deprived from my tasting list unless and until I got the opportunity to go through a long educational wine testing session by the Four Seasons, where the whole show got conducted by Mr. Peter Mitter last year. The event was an eye opener for me and I better understood then how one should drink wine along with which kind of food. The marriage between Food and Wine is made in heaven for sure and we all people in earth taking the full pleasure to savour it.

On an invitation by the esteem Four Seasons team led me to witness the Master class International Vine &Food pairing Festival at Taj Bengal a couple of days back. This was for the first time the more than hundred famous International & National brands came under one roof  to showcase a tasting session along with the choice of best food by the talented and reputed chefs from the Taj group (Some got invited internationally too) to an esteem group of people.   My tasting session started right from the Four Seasons stall where the display of all the  range of wines from Four seasons got sampled including  Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Blush, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon etc and my personal favourite the Barrique Reserve Cabrenet Sauvignon and Barrique Reserve Shiraz.  Four Seasons  produces wines from grapes grown around Sahyadri valley in Maharashtra, India and at its state-of-the-art Four Seasons winery near Baramati, around 65 kms from Pune. It aims to drive interest in wines and wine consumption by offering good quality wines at reasonable price points with packaging options as well as education and engagement.  The Master class session of each brands made the tasting session more interesting when one got to know the birth history  of the a wine till it gets matured. 

Chief Wine Maker of Four Seasons Mr Abhay Kewadkar's  master class was really an eye opener which covered the points like the right Choices of Oaks, Origin of the Oak, the Coopers Craft, The Flavour notes from the Barrel, What does a Barrel do, The Barrel Basics etc.

Moving on to all the other  national International brands what tickled the taste bud was the array of foods on display and that was also direct form the famous Chefs' stalls stationed there. For the first time taste the Rabbit meat sauce with Fettuccine. Though I was a bit skeptical how it would be, it really tasted very nice. Chef Sujan's special Gondhoraj Griddled Kolkata Beckti with Portobello Mushrooms was another dish, worth too mention. The Crab meat cake with Guacamole was just out of the world. Got the opportunity to taste the master class creation by the famous French Chef Marc Thuet too. All the dishes for me were the perfect pairing to complement that evening with the different colours and taste of wines.

Last but not the least the wine that won my heart was the Sparkling wine from Bouvet.  The french wine is the second oldest sparkling wine producer from Saumur in the Loire. The taste will give you the Champagne quality at a very significant price. Now its available in Kolkata Quest Mall too. Overall the whole event was a remarkably educational journey for me, mainly for the exclusive Master Class sessions. Talking with the Brand Sommeliers did break many myth and also gather a plethora of knowledge about the varieties of Wine. Its also a very proud moment to witness such event in our own city Kolkata. Hope to have this kind of event more here. With an ending note would like to convey my heartiest thanks to Four Seasons for extending the invitation for such great event.

 For Photographs please visit HERE..

Also Read what my fellow Blogger Vishal experienced HERE... 

[Disclaimer: Kamalika C participated as a guest of Four Seasons and the post solely based on the author's honest experience..] .

Andrenalize Event 2014 by Four Seasons

This one was the second event I attended by Four Season and the first Adrenalize event. I have heard and read a lot about the event, mainly the fun part of it really allured me since last year. Luckily this time I got the invitation, but sad at the same time that only three bloggers from Kolkata got invited here- Two Beauty and Lifestyle Bloggers and me, the Food Blogger who represented KolkataFood Bloggers group at the same time. Thanks to hubby dear who gave me company as my guest, we reached dot at 7.00pm at the venue, the Tollyguange club. Our dearest Host Peter K Mitter greeted us with a warm welcome, made us sit comfortably and then briefed us about the event. The event has been started by the Gym Section of the Tollyguange Club and every year Four Seasons sponsors it.  

The open air space was ornamented with tinny tiny colourful strings of lamp. Huge artificial grapes hanging from top, gave an impression of the vineyard. The whole atmosphere and the chilly wintry evening carried us to an enchanted world with a romantic aura. The white banquet chairs and tables slowly started getting occupied by the lovely guests. Some treasure hunt event started right from the beginning and all the guests found busy looking for the treasures with a clue in each one's hand. We were not lucky enough to hunt out any treasure. 

To warm us up, Peter no sooner let us enjoy a bottle of Shiraz, the red wine from Four Season.  An assorted cheese platter was already served on each table with some cocktail toasts and mesclun.  All the table got flooded with the Four Season  wines. The guests were started to be seen busy in sips and chomps. 

The DJ on the background slowly got ready to change the mood of the evening in to a music cum dance night. Yes, just in a minute the music banged the party, the dance floor trembled with the tapping feet. From the 20s to the 70s met together happily to get the crown to win the best dancing pair. In intervals the in-house prize distributions kept on ringing but  the music never got stopped. No need to say we also danced with our heart out after a long time.

The best time arrived when the grape stomping session started. Apart from the two beautiful volunteers, some guests too joined their feet to experience the soggy juicy stuff wriggling and tickling  their feet.  Clicking sounds of the cameras, the merriment laugh echoing all around, brought the heaven on earth for a while. All became the angles and divined the peace of utterly pure joy. The Grape stomping session kept on continuing but we have to rush to to the food counter to taste some delicacy before we leave for home.

Grilled Pork Chops with some boiled vegetables and toast and Grilled Chicken with Russian Salad sand toast served shortly for us. I prefer Pork so chose the pork platter. It was absolutely delicious and even the chicken that I managed a bite from the man. The food was excellent and so as the whole experience. Special thanks to Peter from Four Season for his heartwarming hospitality that will embed an everlasting impression in our heart. Thanks to Four Seasons too for this wonderful invitation. 

For more Pictures pls Visit HERE...

Restaurant Review- Tangerine, Kolkata with Four Seasons

Picture Courtesy: Archita Chanda Ray

Location:  2/1, Outram Street, Theatre Road Area, Kolkata 

Contact : 033 22815450, 033 22815460

Gourmate Indulgence Package: 1099/- plus Tax

Cuisine: Multi- Cuisine

Hours: 12.00 noon - 3.00pm and 7.00pm to Midnight

Rating: 4/5

An invitation from the Team GingerClaps led us this time to Tangerine, a multi-cuisine restaurant (that serves a wide range of food varieties covering the world cuisine) in one of the narrow streets of Kolkata just behind the St.Xaviers College back gate. We, Kolkata Food Bloggers are offered three restaurants in Kolkata to review and to visit each outlet with another Food Blogger only. So my fellow blogger Archita (blogs at My Food My Life) and I chose Tangerine  (and 4 Kolkata Food Bloggers the other two) and reached there around 2.30pm for Lunch. Tangerine, located on Outram Street, just beside the Outram Club, looks like an old fashioned Building. To reach to the main lobby of the restaurant one has to climb up the rustic wooden stairs to the first floor and then to enter in the romantic and low light set up. At the entrance upon our introduction we were greeted very warmly by their manager Kuntal Dey. We made ourselves comfortable at a corner table just by the wide window panel which was the most attracted sitting area of the Restaurant. We were invited to review the Four Seasons Gourmet Indulgence Food Package which comprises of a 4 Course meal paired with the Four Seasons Wine served shortly after we settled down. The main concept behind the package is to aware people more of the food pairing concept with wine and the meal package menu not only saves ones money but also offers a very satisfactory wholesome sumptuous meal spread.

The first course a glass of Shiraz was served to each one of us and we concentrated on the menu.  Shiraz hails from the red wine family and a bit dry in taste. As my personal taste is concerned I am not so much fond of the taste of Shiraz. We decided to go for one Veg and one Non-Veg dish. The very courteous manager helped us to choose the the right dishes that we could really enjoy. For the Starter we chose Cheese Barrel from the Vegetarian section and Chicken Ceaser Salad from the Non-Veg.

Though it is written Cheese Barrel, the Tangerine family calls it Cream Cheese Barrel. The concept of the dish has been adapted from the Italian Cuisine. The Chef informed that they always love to give some innovative names to their dishes. Crispy and Crunchy, coated with seasoned bread crumbs, at the first bite it will melt in your mouth along with creamy soft cheese with a tinge of mild spicy flavour. The taste was just perfect with the balanced commixture of all ingredients.  6 pieces of Cheese Barrel were served with Nachos dressed in Salad dressing. The dish is totally a comfort dish that will really satisfy ones taste bud.

Next was served the starter Chicken Ceaser Salad from the Non-veg section.  Grilled Chicken tossed in salad dressing along with the lettuce, croutons and cherry tomatoes honed our satisfaction too. Though we were so busy in discussing about the just finished Cheese Barrel, the salad got finished in no time and we saw our vegetarian entrée dish was ready to serve for us.

Torhino (they pronounce it as TOR-TINO, a name of an Italian dish), we were told that recipe was adapted from Mexican cuisine and the name was given by the Chef team.  It is basically a pie crust very similar to tart shell stuffed with juicy vegetable with rich tomato flavour and creamy cheese served with boiled veggies and some cheese sauce. We got a combination taste of Quiche and Quesadilla. The savoury is class apart with the balanced spice incorporation. We enjoyed the taste of this one too. It was very satisfactory and whole some too.

 Poulet Apulia (pornounced as pu-le a-pu-li-a) came next from the Non-veg Entrée section. Tender Chicken breast stuffed with mushroom served with mashed potato and boiled vegetable topped with brown gravy was a sumptuous preparation.  The chicken was so well cooked and juicy that at each bite we whole heartedly appreciated the dish. While talking with the chef he informed that this dish mainly was adapted from the French Cuisine. Poulet in French means Chicken and Apulia is a name of a place in Italy. So they have given a combination name to highlight the European style culinary adventure. It is the chef team who decides the menu and then they give the name of it.  So mostly all the names they have hired from their experimental journey. We were informed that the secret behind this soft well cooked tender chicken was the three stage processes that they highly concentrated on. Marinade, shallow fry and then oven baked. The taste of the dish really touches our heart.

The dessert came next. Apple Aspen Tart, as they call it is the Chef’s special dish and the signature dish too, again satisfied our taste bud. Two sweet flat tart shells sandwiched thinly sliced apple and then baked. Served with a dollop of scooped ice cream, Caramel and chocolate sauce. The taste was just heavenly and each bit gave an immense pleasure to bask in the contemplated dessert experience.

Lastly we were served our last dish from the dessert section. Noughat(as it is written in the menu card, not Nougat) Chocolate Mousse, topped with fresh fruits, Chocolate Wafer sticks and crunchy nuts in it, was good too. But what we felt it exactly didn't give us the taste of the mousse which melted in mouth because of the soft and creamy texture. This dish was a little thick though taste wise very nice, more tasted like a cake frosting than a mousse. But as I told you the taste was very nice.

After having all these scrumptious delectable dishes along with the smoky red wine, the best experience we cherished the conversation with the chief Chef Subhash Basu and the team Manager Mr. Goutam Kapoor.  We discussed about their food journey, the food culture of Kolkata People and the enhancement more on the package meals that people should know more about it and trust on the food. Our overall experience was wonderful. The food quality was excellent and the atmosphere was very cordial and the team Tangerine very courteous. I will love to visit Tangerine again with my family and friends.
Read Archita's version HERE.

For more Photographs pls visit to the following link. I will really appreciate if you take my permission first before using any of my taken pictures:

 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.300485686757551.1073741838.157011837771604&type=1

Structured Wine Trail Event by Four Seasons wine at The Conclave Club, Kolkata

Dionysus, the God of winemaking and wine, never ruled over my mind with its power of luring and the variant glory of its intoxicating mesmerisation until I visited this event. For me Wine was a good read in the books, good display on the bars and good watch people enjoying their glasses with romance. I had tasted wine once and then decided not to taste it again. 

Being a food blogger attending different food related events and writing reviews on it are real fun and a part of our job too. I read so many reviews on Wine trail Events by my fellow bloggers in different cities and to be honest rendered a likeness to this kind of events. A secret wish list already got created - to attend one so too though the concept in mind is generated to gain some knowledge about wine and witness how the event gets featured. And the dream did come true when we got an invitation from the Team Ginger Claps who organised an Event on Structured wine trail by Four Seasons wine at The Conclave Club, Kolkata. No need to say the excitement spread like a wild fire. But as the invitation came in  a short notice that many of our blogger friends couldn't make out as they were already geared up with some other appointments.

Beauty, Lifestyle and Fashion Bloggers

Excited, enthusiastic we were, Five Kolkata Food Bloggers, along with my husband as a guest representative, reached the venue on  6th July'13 in time though the event started after 1.30hrs as many other expected Lifestyle and Fashion Bloggers were not able to reach at the scheduled time. The session began with a brief introduction by exchanging our blog names then Mr. PPK Mitter alias Peter Mitter, a senior Manager with Four Seasons Wines, UB Group took the charge and presented the whole wine 

PPK Mitter

trail event through some audio-video and power point presentation in such a way, we just drown in to it so much that we couldn't even noticed how time flew away. It was more like an interactive session sharing information and gaining knowledge where we all participated. Starting from the very beginning of what is wine, where it get produced, the Indian Market, The Old and New worlds' wine, the verities of wines, the perfect temperature of drinking wine et al. 

A total novice like me in this wine world just got thoroughly educated and got answered of all the myths that I stored in my mind. I never knew about the legion varieties of wine. I never knew that if a fruit except grape is added to wine it should be named by the fruit…like Peach Wine, Apple wine etc. I never knew how much wine is good for health. The myth that wine is a ladies drink is totally ruled out.  And this one is the only drink that can nicely get paired with foods and only when we pair it with food we get the real taste of wine.

I was pretty scared and feeling embarrassed too thinking of when the tasting session will began how I could manage to avoid it. But I didn't have to. Like the other alcohol intake I also thought that it is like gulping, bottoms up and finish.  But Wine as sophisticated the drink is, it has its own way of imbibing too. And it is the main goal of the event that I found. It is like an eye opener to give us the knowledge about Indian wine and how to relish the drink with the right taste of joy. You have to glance at the beauty, inhale the aroma, swirl it and then taste the edification of the drink. The types and the styles of Wine were introduced with the samples. Three groups each divided it to three parts -

1. Still/ Sparkling/ Fortified

    2. White/Rosé/Red

    3. Dry/Medium/ Sweet

The tasting part is divided in to three parts - sight, smell and taste. The sight gives you to determine whether it a young or matured wine. The smell will give you get the aroma and the flavours of it. And the tasting will give you to decide whether its dry, medium or sweet and also you like it or not. We are offered to taste five best wines from the Four Seasons brand with a set of delicious appetizers though the food was served when we were tasting the last wine.

Vishal,  tKolkata Food Blogger busy in Sight testing.

First we are offered Sauvignon Blanc from the white wine family, a  Pale Yellow Coloured, Clear and young wine. It smelled very brisk  with a gooseberry zest, with the mild tinge flavours of asparagus, capsicum. Taste wise it is mild acidic and dry (with no sweet content). 

Next came Viognier another white wine. The colour of it is clear and yellowish like a straw colour. It smelled more like peach with a mild aromatic flavour of cinnamon. Taste wise it is also acidic, sour and dry.

The next one came from the Rosé Wine Family- Blush. Blush as the name denotes it has a majestic rosy blush colour. It smelled floral and tasted medium.

 

The came Shiraz the red wine.  The colour is dark red and smelled spicy and smoky. When it comes to red wine it is always suggested to pair with red meat.

Lastly came the Barrique Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon,another  red wine. Most of us liked the taste of this one. It is mild acidic with fruity flavoure but gives a very pleasant taste when you sip.

We were served by The Conclave Club group delicious appetizers and thanks to all the member for the wonderful service they did silently and very professionally.

Kolkata Food Bloggers

We thoroughly enjoyed the event. Mainly a wine hater like me really liked all the tastes. Good wines really play the magic.  We look forward for many more events like this, which can enrich our knowledge and open a door to a world which sometimes just kept covered behind some myths. It is also good to see that Indian market is now rolling with the flow of good qualities of White wine and Red wines in a much considerate rate too.

To know more about Four Seasons Wine please visit to the below links:
http://www.fourseasonsvineyards.com
https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsWines

For more reads from other Kolkata Food Bloggers please visit to the below links:
1. Vishal Tupper & Amrita Gill
2. Sarani Tarafdar.
3. Poorna Banerjee.








 [P.S: This is not a paid event review or not a promotion or not I am recommending to alcohol intake. It is an experience what I like to share with you all.]