Vallonneé from Nasik

Our first "guinea pig" will be Vallonneé wine from Nasik, Maharashtra.

"Vallonneé" means "Hilly" in French, and, perhaps, the manufacturer wants to take benefit of (to monetize) France-great-wine association in our minds.

I would like to note here that I live in Mumbai (ex-Bombay) and for some reason 90% of the wine (or maybe even a higher number) available in city shops - is from Nasik. Somehow, other states that produce wine in India (I know at least two more - Goa and Karnataka, and both make nice products) either don't have access to Maharashtrian market or don't want to join it.

Anyway, back to the wine. It's quite costly - 750 Rs, even though the brand, as well as the vineyard, are new in the market. I guess, they are exploiting the ridiculously high customs duty on foreign wine. While the cheapest-cheapest European wine costs 1000 Rs in Mumbai, 750 Rs is still a smaller number.

That's the economical part.

The wine itself is quite good, even though has a little "rough" smell. Still, it's better than 80% of Nasik wine. It's incomparable to wine of "Sula" and many other brands, quality is much better.

Still, "Tiger Hill" from Nasik costs 600 Rs - cheaper, and it's a little bit, but better. The taste is more smooth, and there is no "rough" smell.

Verdict: If you have no other choice - this wine is a good option. However, if there is "Tiger Hill" in the same outlet - I say don't waste 150 rupees :)

Will go well with: meat, solid cheese like parmesan.

PS. This wine got beautiful, proper cork :)