How many wines are there in your collection?
260
What's the most expensive bottle you've ever served?
A bottle of Solaia 1990 at £625.
What are the challenges you face when pairing wine with Modern Indian food?
The spice mixes with their dominant aroma, piquance (spiciness), cooking flavours and the level of protein are just a few of the elements to consider when pairing a wine with Indian cuisine. The challenge is to offer a wine that “ticks all the boxes”. The level of piquance of the dish is, in my opinion, one of the most important elements to consider. A high level of piquance will overpower any delicate wine.
The different types of acidity found in wines will react in different manners towards the heat from spices.
Wines that have a greater texture, or mouth feel, and a greater level of alcohol will tone down that heat whereas a sharp, quite harsh and acidic wine will tone it up.
A lot of our guests still think that beers and lassis are the appropriate drinks for our cuisine, so it is a big challenge for me to help educate them!
What makes the Cinnamon Club special or different in terms of wine?
Some of the wine pairings I have tried here together with Head Chef Hari Nagaraj were actually the most interesting I have ever tasted. I really enjoy converting people in that sense. I think it is one of the most prestigious venues I have ever worked at, the food is genius, the challenge mentioned above makes my job more interesting and guests come for an experience so they are curious and enthusiastic.
What can we expect on the wine side in the coming months...?
The Yalumba wine dinner on 8th of October is a great occasion if you want to live the true experience of spice and wine matching. get on the waitlist now by emailing events@cinnamonclub.com as spaces are limited to 40.
For those of us that don't know, what are the five steps to wine tasting?
The first step is looking at the appearance of the wine in the glass. Then smelling it firstly to assess its quality but also to pick up the different aromas and characteristics, it tells a lot on what to expect on the palate. Then tasting it by sipping a mouthful and letting some air through the lips in order to release the volatile flavours. The finish is how long the flavors remain on your palate. Above 5 seconds, the wine is considered of good quality.
How many wine bottles do you usually open a night?
Around 100 in total.
So, congratulations Matt. We will be in touch via email and get the voucher out to you in the next day or 2. Thanks to all of you who entered but