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The roses that decorate the ends of vine rows were not originally planted for aesthetic reasons believe it or not. Rose plants are highly susceptible to vine diseases and are usually affected earlier than the vineyard. Thus, roses were originally used to help winegrowers take quick action to protect their vines. They'd serve as an important early warning system for the winegrowers.

The Indian wine industry seems to have been getting a lot of press recently. First appeared a cover story in Lounge, the Sunday magazine of Delhi's Mint, then there was an article in the Toronto Globe and Mail, and finally, the Financial Times of London published a report on Sunday which we have already shared with you. Here are the other two stories.

The Istituto Regionale della Vite e del Vino (IRVV) organized a master class titled "Sicily - Soil, Terroir and Wines" at the Hyatt Regency Pune on January 14, 2012 reports Brinda Gill who was at the tasting. Pictured left: Michèle Shah, wine consultant and Sommelier India's correspondent for Italy

At a small, Italian-style restaurant on the fringes of south Delhi, a wine tasting is under way. Within earshot is the drone of traffic on a four-lane highway and the noisy building site of an overland metro - reminders of India's growing economy. Led by Kulbir Singh, president of the Indian Wine Society, the group of professionals and executives from the beverages industry are sipping from long-stemmed glasses of Piper-Heidsieck champagne.

This piece by James Lamont originally appeared in the Financial Times of London on January 22nd, 2012.

You are at an upmarket restaurant and have ordered an expensive wine. As you taste the wine, both you and your companion are disappointed with the way it tastes, to the point that you suspect that it is not sound. The sommelier, hovering within earshot, has overheard you, or has read your body language, because he comes up to you and himself has tasted it.

Kings of old had people taste their food before they ate, but Raghu Bahadur wonders if it's a good idea for a sommelier to taste the wine before its drunk?