A couple of unrelated articles in the Aug 7 Edition of Brunch, the Hindustan Times Sunday Magazine caught my attention. The fist, ‘Wine and women' described the personal wine preferences of three celebrity stars.

Celina Jaitley , a former Miss India loves French Rose` with food. One reason she likes it is because 'it has bubbles which makes it more enjoyable.' Pooja Batra has an occasional glass of red wine for its health benefits. Divya Dutta on the other hand, sips only white wine and that too at the social doos. Inadvertently or intentionally, the snippets have featured three beautiful young women, each with a different preference ranging from a rose`, to red to an occasional white. So who is more right and ‘with it' and drinking healthier beverage?

The second piece was a monologue penned by Dr. K.K.Birla , the well-known industrialist, former Member of Parliament and the Chairman of HT. He reminisces about the heart bypass surgery he underwent in a London hospital in 1999. After the successful operation he was coaxed by his doctor to ‘take an alcoholic drink after the discharge'. The teetotaler octogenarian, not in a mental frame to consent to the doctor's writ was told to, ‘suffer it courageously which is all I can advise you.'

The two seemingly unrelated articles had a common thread; wine, alcohol and health. But let us first look at the flavour and enjoyment angle in the first article.

Rose, blush or pink as it is sometimes called, this red grape wine does go well with Indian and Asian foods. It may not be a serious wine but it is a fun wine and is particularly refreshing in the hot Indian summers. Ask any sommelier in India or Asia and he will concur. The world-renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland loves Indian food and finds Rose` the best matched wine with Indian spicy food. It can be made from practically any red grapes especially the darker grapes like Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, Zinfandel, Grenache, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. A short maceration for a few hours to a couple of days releases the colour but keeps the tannins away and the wine fruity and refreshing.

The bubbles Celina likes due to the tingling sensation on the tongue are in fact nothing but the carbon. dioxide released during the fermentation. In most quality red or white wines they would be considered a flaw. The gas is left out of the bottle as it interferes with the taste. But knowing some people like these bubbles, a few producers leave them in the wine. Of course, Champagne (which evolved because of many wine drinkers loving the bubbles, Spanish pink Cava or an Italian frizzante or spumante might be even more enjoyable for such people.

It is interesting to note that in the ever changing world of wine there has been significant growth in the consumption of rose and pink bubblies in the past 3 years. Even some Bordeaux classified growths, sensing a good opportunity have started producing these wines.