Recently a lovely event came to Mumbai and Delhi. It was the Bollywood equivalent of a film with no less than 33 superstars, dashing action sequences, drama, dazzle and some silky sultriness thrown in for good measure.

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The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux may sound like ‘frufru’ things French people say to each other. Frufru, a word I only learnt recently, is used to refer to things highfalutin and full of snobbish jargon. Well, UGCB is nothing that complex. If anything, it is the exact opposite. It is a serious, non-profit body that tries to bring the message of Bordeaux to the world of wine lovers, minus all the snootiness that inevitably and unfortunately gets attached to it.Bordeaux, even as teetotalers may know, is that famed region of France where wine is more than just wine, land is not just land, and the winemakers are living encyclopedias of just how to make the most perfect wines. Here, even the most ardent of winelovers is scared of making a faux pas. The most passionate of enthusiasts will dream of tasting from any of the lovely Chateaux that dot the stretch of the region along the rivers of Dordogne and Garonne, and up the estuary of Gironde, where the two rivers meet and flow out into the Atlantic.

This is also a region where wines found patronage in the nobility of centuries — from kings to poets, lovers to conquerors, everyone loved Bordeaux. But fame has its inherent problems. Reverence is good and partaking of a pleasure, even better. Even today, Bordeaux claims that wines from their region aren’t intended to win competitions but to be enjoyed with food. Instead of agreeing, they find that the consumer likes to tut-tut such ‘humility’ and put them back on a lofty pedestal.

This is where the UGCB does a great job. They allow winemakers to travel and meet with the consumer, tête-à-tête, so that they can explain just how approachable Bordeaux (and the Bordelais) are. To further drive this point home, they pour out their wines from a given vintage to show their dedication to not just selling their wines but to share them, and learn about new cultures so that they can find the best possible fit for their wines.

UGCB, under the tutelage of Sylvie Cazes, who is also a Chateaux owner and winemaker (and who also has a fabulous restaurant in the village of their property), made an awesome presentation of their 2009 vintage — once a very coveted vintage, praised for its quality, purity and longevity.

I tasted my way around the room while maintaining a certain stoic attitude towards the whole exercise, to be able to walk out on my two feet later. Mumbai was fortunate to get a dinner in; we Delhi-ites may have to wait for it another year. This column is my way of thanking the region and a very special Indian, Rajiv Singhal, who, in the face of Indian taxation and hotel’s pricing idiosyncrasies, still takes upon such tasks.