It is not often that we get an opportunity to meet the Chief Winemaker and Director of Four Seasons Wines. We had a nice quiet evening last week meeting Abhay Kewadkar for a tête-à-tête – on his favourite drinks and place. Abhay has worked with wines and vineyards from all over India for many years now, and was very interesting to get his take on the wine scene in India. If he’s not drinking wines, single malts and whiskey is what he relishes. A life long experience of making wine, and even hands on exposure at various French companies like Champagne Mumms, Champagne Veuve Clicquot, Barton & Guestier, makes him one of the most distinguished and prominent wine authorities in the country.

The Blood Orange Spritz

Aside from meeting Abhay, our evening also comprised of a cocktail making workshop with Diageo Brand Ambassador Hemant Mundkur. The idea was to experience the Four Season Wines in a different light, and the concoctions were designed for the experimental audience.The Blood Orange Spritz was the first cocktail we started with, and made on our own in fact under Hemant’s guidance. The Four Seasons Chenin Blanc with Monin Blood Orange Syrup topped with soda and Orange bitters – was quite a star! This was a twist to the classic spritzer and worked really well for the chilly evening.

The Four Seasons Sour!

The Four Seasons Sour was actually made of the Four Seasons Shiraz is combined with lime, sugar and cinnamon to create a twist on the New York Sour. The Egg white created the froth on top, but was served without for vegetarians. Meanwhile the nachos and herbed paneer kept us going through the drinks and conversations. The Chili Basil Chicken and Fish Taquitos were also quite delicious and spicy.

The Nachos were a delish!

The best definitely came last, and that was the Mulled Wine with spices, cranberry juice, honey and again the Four Seasons Shiraz. It was delicious with honey, star anise, cloves, chopped fruits – absolutely loved sipping it, and even got a second helping! Besides the 3 cocktails we tasted, we also had tastings of the Four Seasons Wines Red, Rose and White.

Cover Photo courtesy: Soham Shoney

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