Organised by the District Fellowship Committee, under the leadership of Rtn Yogesh Bhide of RC Narayangaon, the Wine and Cheese fellowship invoked a lot of interest and 22 people registered from RC Pune Central. Though it was decided to restrict the total registrations to 75, the organisers had to go beyod that tat number due to the overwhelming response. RC Pune Central was the lead Host club, with RCP NIBM Road, RC Poona Airport, and RCP Lokmanyanagar joining in as co-hosts. Rtn Manoj Bhate of RCP NIBM Road was the Convener for the event.

Held on the 10 th of March at the Poona Club, all those who had registered were given a ‘Sippers Nite’ T-Shirt and requested to change into it, so you would see that all of us were in a similar attire, of Jeans and White Tees.

Our wine expert was Ms Sujata Patil, who holds a Masters Degree in ‘International Trade of Wines & Spirits’, from the Burgundy Business School in Frane. The Wine tasting was to be paired with the appropriate cheese and berries. She first spoke about the process of wine-making and then explained the differences between various varieties of grapes that are used to make the wines.

We tasted four wines; starting with the sparkling white wine – Fantini Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, moving on to the white wine Gato Negro Sauvignon Blanc. This was followed by a Rose` called Villa Sandi II Fresco Prsecco, and finally a full-bodied Red Wine called Outbback Jack Cabernet Merlot. We were told how to twirl the wine and then sniff it before putting it into the mouth and swirling the tongue around it to taste the essence of the wine. It was an experience for all – hardened wine drinkers to hardened drinkers alike. The pairing of cheeses and berries with each of the wines was also explained. The wine tasting session ended on a ‘Happy’ note for all and the Bar was declared open after that. This was followed by a Stand-up comedy.

DG Rtn Manjoo Phadke and First Gentleman Rtn Vishwas Phadke were present and enjoyed the evening as much as all of us did. In fact, most of the photographs have been clicked by DG Manjoo herself.

The evening ended with a sumptuous dinner, that was in keeping with the theme of the evening. Since most of the wines were of Italian origin, Pizzas and Pastas were great complementary accompaniments.

Congratulations to The District Fellowship team, Rtn Yogesh Bide and Rtn Manoj Bhate fror a wonderful evening.