Oenophile’s notebook – Newsy snippets from the pages of SI

Recent honours for Sommelier India

Our normal way of life is low key. We like to fly below the radar and we rarely blow our own trumpet. But last month was unusual. First, we were thrilled to get the news that SI contributing writer, Sovna Puri is a Future 50 Awards Winner and the only Indian in the final list that has awardees from 14 countries. Sovna was selected from a global list of 600 professionals. The Future 50 Awards is an initiative by Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) to select 50 ‘Under 40’ future influencers of the global drinks industry to mark 50 years of their establishment. And second, no less gratifying, is the news that Reva K Singh, our founder and editor in chief, was admitted into the prestigious Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin of Burgundy. The same honour was conferred on Ravi Viswanathan, Sommelier India Advisory Council member and chairman of Grover Zampa Vineyards. The old tasting-cup used by tasters and wine producers, the tastevin (pictured below) is the historic emblem of Burgundy’s wine producing and gastronomic heritage.