Yet another great Chilean Wine Gala Dinner was held by
the Royal Cliff Wine Club at the Grand Ballroom, Royal Cliff Grand and Spa
last Friday.
Panga Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff,
invited Pisit Boonchuang, deputy governor of Chonburi, as her guest of
honour. The deputy governor obviously enjoyed the exquisite eight-course
menu, complemented by some of the world’s best wines out of Santa
Carolina and the scintillating company.
Pisit
Boonchuang Vice Governor of Chonburi presided at the dinner.
As usual, there was not even one vacant seat in the
beautifully-decorated ballroom, with magical mother-child ice carvings,
luxuriant plants and floral arrangements at each table. This - the first
wine makers’ dinner of the year - was an outstanding success - even by
the Cliff’s five-star standards.
Wine connoisseur extraordinaire and deputy general
manager of the Royal Cliff, Ranjith Chandrasiri, was “en pleine
forme”, as he jousted with Georges Barbier, the representative of
sponsoring wine company, the Vanichvathana Co. Ltd., while M. Georges
struggled through a charming “franglais” description of the six
varieties of wine served throughout the evening.
(l-r)
Mio Aamlid, Peter Cummins, Jan Olav Aamlid, Panga Vathanakul, Bruce Hoppe
and Ranjith Chandrasiri enjoy cocktails before the main event
Ranjith was also quick to welcome to the gathering the
presence of well known international food & wine expert, author of
several cook books, Ken Hom who is also the world famous celebrity chef on
the BBC cooking series.
Wine
aficionados galore, too many to name here.
All the guests were greeted at the elevators with a
glass of sparkling reception wine, Pol Clement Blanc de Blancs Brut NV,
proffered by the attractive Royal Cliff staff. I was a little puzzled why
one of the guests kept disappearing down the stairs, only to appear again
at the elevator door opening. Ah, that spoke volumes about the wine!
Malcolm
Glenny (left) winner of the wine quiz with Panga Vathanakul and Georges
Barbier.
Ranjith’s address was as entertaining as it was
informative. Chile may be new to many wine drinkers, but Santa Carolina is
hardly new to Chile. It is among the nation’s oldest
continuously-operating wineries, with a history of leadership in a region,
now gaining recognition as the epicentre of exciting New World winemaking.
Viña Santa Carolina’s beginnings date back to 1875,
when the Chilean mining magnate Don Luis Pereira planted a vineyard on the
ancient terraces surrounding Santiago, Chile’s capital.
Kenneth
Hom (left) gave his nod of approval after the extraordinary evening of
excellent food and superb wines.
He invited a group of three French wine professionals
to Chile, led by the prestigious enologist Germain Bachelet, who was in
charge of the selection of the noblest grapevines of the Bordeaux region
in France.
The name Santa Carolina was born from the great love
Don Luis Pereira had for his wife, Carolina.
As the folklore would have it, Don Luis had two abiding
loves in his life: wife and wine and, as he named the vintage Santa
Carolina, one could assume that it was in that order.
Clarisse
Brundo snuggles up to Raine Grady (left) celebrated TV personality.
At the same time, French architect Emile Doyeré was
contracted to design and construct the principal wine cellar of the
winery; a cellar that would have to provide optimal conditions to store
oak barrels in order to ensure the high standard of care evident in the
entire production process of their wines.
The results were so incredible that the cellar remains
intact and functional today. In fact, some 30 years ago the wine cellar
was declared a national monument, for its architectural beauty and
excellent state of conservation. It is the only remaining industrial
building in Chile that was constructed using the technique of binding
bricks with a lime-based mortar (that is lime & egg whites).
Peter
Cummins grills Walter Thenisch, executive chef of the Royal Cliff of the
genesis of Boletus Dust.
As Santiago grew, the company gradually sought vineyard
land beyond the city and, in 1962, it completed the final harvest of its
holdings around the winery itself. Nevertheless, some of the original Viña
Santa Carolina vines are still yielding grapes today-a rare feat, credited
to Chile’s natural geographical protection from the phylloxera plague
that has periodically ravaged the vineyards world wide.
Thus, Viña Santa Carolina’s classic varietals boast
some of the world’s longest pedigrees.
A
thorn amongst 3 roses. Clare with the two Judys and Chitra.
In the 1990s, as Chile embraced a new democracy and
prosperity, Viña Santa Carolina moved to a new, higher level. Winemaker
Consuelo Marํn has been with the company for a decade and has helped
institute world-class winery techniques and technology.
Just as importantly, Santa Carolina has focused
intensely on growing the best grapes possible. Under the leadership of
Viticulture Manager Sebastian Herrera, the company’s 1,600 acres
(approx. 65 hectare) of estate vineyards are taking advantage of Chile’s
stunning natural endowments to produce world-class grapes. The end results
have been remarkable: Viña Santa Carolina now makes not only wines of
tremendous value, but also wines of true distinction - a true reflection
of their origins.
The philosophy of Viña Santa Carolina is based on
privileged vineyards that they have located in zones that are
internationally recognized for their ideal characteristics for growing
splendid fruit.
In the regions of Maipo Valley, Casablanca and Rapel,
as well as in the Colchagua and Maule Valleys, for example, they achieve a
consistently high quality output, the result of years of arduous work and
care. One outstanding example is the grapes of their 80 year old vines
located in Miraflores.
“This is Chile” is not just a motto for Santa
Carolina - it’s a guiding philosophy applied to all the wines, from the
outstanding blends that can be enjoyed every day to the single-variety
Reserva wines, to the powerful and complex Gran Reserva wines.
In closing, Ranjith thanked the sponsors for their
continuing support for the Royal Cliff Wine Club and announced that Mr
Malcolm Glenny was the winner of the wine quiz.
The gourmet menu was specially prepared by the Royal
Cliff’s executive chef Walter Tenisch and his expert team and consisted
of chilled watermelon brochette with tomato mush on consomm้
tagliatelle; truffle sprinkled mango and cream cheese roulade, duck liver
sandwich, with crisp whole wheat bread slices and balsamic port wine
reduction; wild mushroom cappuccino with parmesan tuile and boletus dust;
orange marinated Norwegian salmon rose with golden caviar on fluffy potato
mousseline and tapioca crisp; poached Patagonian cod loin with sun dried
tomatoes and bell pepper confit on black current ristretto; whole roasted
Argentinean beef tenderloin, served with braised celery en branche and
garlic-flavoured soffrito; Tasmanian brie cheese, with fresh fig, orange
and prunes slices, scented with clove oil drops; praline tart with chilled
mocha sauce and golden chocolate truffle.
Wines consisted of Pol Cl้ment Blanc de Blancs NV (Reception
wine); Santa Carolina Chardonnay 2002; Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc
2003; Santa Carolina Merlot ‘Reserva’ 2001; Santa Carolina Merlot
‘Gran Reserva’ 2002; Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Reserva’
2001; and Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Gran Reserva’ 2000.
Success
in Pattaya is often measured in longevity and if that is so, the Green
Bottle Pub must be considered one of the most successful venues in the
area. Last Friday evening the Green Bottle celebrated 17 years of service
at the Diana Inn on Pattaya Second Road. Additionally, it was an extra
special celebration, as Sophin Thappajug, Diana Group managing director
also celebrated her birthday amongst her many friends, regular customers,
family and honoured guests.Elvis was seen in the building, as was Jaruek,
aka Tom Jones, both of whom sang popular tunes, much to everyone’s
delight. There was also a special appearance from Pattaya’s girl band
“The Mustard”.One lucky person received a special treat, as a one baht
gold chain with a Buddhist amulet was awarded as a birthday gift. Numerous
other gifts and prizes were also given away amid the prize drawings and
fun games.The Diana Inn and the Green Bottle started small with no
restrictions placed on the age of guests, and since then have grown in
leaps and bounds to encompass a full array of services and menus for
discerning diners and those who enjoy the odd libation or three.
