"Wine is a normal beverage, not something mystical or rare" وو

Matthieu Longuère, head of London's Le Cordon Bleu wine programme, paused briefly in the midst of his lightning tour around India to talk to Ruma Singh about wine and his impressions of the hospitality students he met

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It was a whistle-stop tour with a difference. Matthieu Longuère, wine development manager for Le Cordon Bleu London and Master Sommelier — one of only 282 in the world — undertook a five-city tour at breakneck pace in April. The purpose was to mark the 130th anniversary of Le Cordon Bleu, a venerable institution synonymous with culinary and hospitality education around the world and with 35 campuses across 20 countries.

The purpose was not to meet the movers and shakers of the wine industry, but rather to interact with groups of hospitality students across India’s leading hospitality schools: Christ University, Bangalore, Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal, VM Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education, Goa Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad, and the Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts, Pune.

And interact with them he did — around 445 students across Indian institutions attended his masterclasses and wine tastings and soaked in his words. As he toured, Matthieu was also very quick to understand the issues and circumstances facing students of wine in India. I spoke with him after one such session. It had been a busy, long day, but Matthieu seemed energized and invigorated by his classroom interactions.

We discussed his early impressions of India and its wine market, a talk peppered with laughs and anecdotes including how he had almost committed himself to the Master of Wine programme, but after a year in, decided to use the funds to buy a flat instead!

“Hospitality standards in general are very high in India, as is the level of teaching. The students I met were very keen on learning and asked a lot of questions. Nobody fell asleep or looked bored!” he said with a laugh. “I am firstly a teacher, not a lecturer, so I want my students to interact, ask questions.”