The good thing about alcohol is that we humans always need it. When times are good it is time to drink to celebrate and when times are bad, it is of course time to drown our sorrows in alcohol in an effort to forget them and get on with life. Napoleon was a cunning devil with words you can say. In fact so bittersweet is the alcohol industry that even in recession it manages to race ahead of the rest, quite unabated. This is good for us alcoholics who wish to attach and survive off this tempting tipple at wine bars in Delhi.

Two recent wine events were proof (no pun intended) to the resilience that is wine. The first was the launch, the very successful launch if I may add, of a new Indian restaurant at an old property in Delhi. The Manor has always been an under-hyped hotel in my regards and I always wondered which visionary would take control and turn things around. They found themselves the right candidate in Rohit Khattar who has restaurants like Sitaaray and Tamarai to his credit (both in London) and Chor Bizarre (right here in Delhi).

Chef Manish Mehrotra took reigns at this restaurant, presenting Indian food like it hasn't been done before. Well, Varq at Taj has done it pretty well but at a lot higher a price point and even then needs a lot of tweaking. Fire at The Park is long history. Outside of these two, there is no Indian restaurant that even tries to redefine Indian food at Delhi Hotel The Manor.

Indian Accent then is an apt name. The food is Indian and every now and then when it seems to pull away from the shore (Blue cheese naan comes to my mind), it still retains its intrinsic accent. Charles Metcalfe, the famed English wine critique and writer was called upon to do the list and even suggest the pairings. Any other nationality couldn't have done it better, and I almost include Indians in that!