The weekend that just went by (January 18th, 19th and 20th) saw the first in-mall wine festival at Orion Mall. This was done in association with the Karnataka Wine Board. We have never been to Orion Mall considering that it is a small flight away from us in Jayanagar, but this sounded like a good enough reason. The event was a ticketed one, Rs 450 for a couple and Rs 250 for a single person. I was really skeptical - a mall is crowded on any given day and I had this image of long queues to get in and hordes of people all around. It did not help that the mall's parking was temporarily closed when we got there. Nevertheless we went on through, bought our tickets and approached what looked like a really crowded entrance. Once we got through with our purple bands and host of discount coupons, it was like stepping out of the melee into a nice open space that was not overflowing with humanity. 

The stalls were little white tents-of-sorts with each of the brands working really hard on their displays. There were quite a few stalls that offered free tastings of the wine, while a few others charged a nominal price for some great wines on offer. 

The entrance

We tasted the Rosé here and absolutely loved it. Yet we waited till we tasted a few others before winding our way back and buying us a bottle. 

Next we stopped at the Big Banyan Wine stall which had a great range on offer. Their cask out front resulted in me giving Anoushka a long-winded explanation on what it was. Big Banyan was offering a tasting of six wines for Rs 200 which we took. We tasted a Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé, Merlot, Shiraz. Of these, we liked the Chenin Blanc and the Merlot.

The Kinvah stall was really pretty though we didn't stop for tastings here.
Now am wondering why?

One of the settings off to one side of a stall

The Nine Hills stall had a tasting of 3 wines for Rs 100.
We had the Cabarnet Sauvignon, Shiraz and the Rosé

By now we (at least I) needed some sustenance to balance out the wine as well. So we headed to the cheese stall right next to Luca Rose wines. We had a Rosé here along with a cheese platter. Just the tacky paper plates seemed so out of place. I really don't think it would have that big a logistical issue to get little plates, but then who knows. 

This was the Vindiva stall next door and I really loved the table setting. Somehow, so appropriate.

And then off to our favorite brand as of now - Sula... 

Two of my favorite labels from this brand

Heritage wines was there as well, though we did not stop to try here too... 

Our last tasting was of Jacob's Creek Chardonnay - Rs 150 for a 150 ml glass. Totally worth the money. It was fabulous

Some of the decor at the stalls

The Vintage Cars on display