Shamita Singha: India’s Hottest Sommelier

For us at FHM, wine was always something that made us sleepy, something we had between drinks. Until we ran into the ex-FHM Angel Shamita Singha and asked her if she wanted a glass of red wine.

“There have been times when my date is going on and on about the liquor thinking that I am this naïve chick who knows nothing. And sometimes while in a group, my friends have actually stopped my date asking ‘you know she is a wine trainer?” She says. So yeah we feel mighty stupid right about now.

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But we shrug it off, wink and ask her if she minds giving us a private lesson. She doesn’t. “Know the basics - that is something I always stress on in my wine sessions.” She starts telling us about the wide variety of grapes and about how it’s important to know them, but even we know that. But we let her continue (refer to the picture on the left, slap self for asking).

“The best way to go about is by being adventurous. Every time you go try a new kind and indulge your palate. Taste wines from different regions, different countries you know… and eventually over time and with practice you will be able to differentiate and know which your kind of wine is,” Shamita says.

We have some ideas of our own about getting adventurous but we smile, she’s talking about going away to a vineyard: “That’s what I do when I feel adventurous and that is quite often,” she says.

But then suddenly she says something that hits home even more. According to her it’s a misconception that wine can be made from anything other than grapes and we snap back from that hypothetical vineyard we were stomping grapes in. We completely agree. Take that Sutter house. We told you there is no such thing known as Peach, Cherry, Strawberry wine…leave alone a mix-fruit one that tastes like four day old water.

We rant. But since this is that issue about dating and all that jazz, we decided to ask her what her idea is. Thankfully she doesn’t disagree with our rules, but adds some of her own to muddle matters.

Erase that memory of eating with your hands. Licking that one day old Butter Chicken gravy off your fingers (it’s gustatorily proven to taste better the next day). Sorry bud tough luck (you know who you are) – for her the Neanderthal instincts don’t work.

“The biggest put off on a date is if the guy doesn’t know how to use the cutlery and gets all shitty and messy on the table,” says Shamita. So read up about them spoons and forks and about their designs before you try wooing this one. Personally we still like eating with our hands.

Plus she’s a little old fashioned. The three words she wants you to use over and over and over again are good old, “Please”, “Sorry” and “Thank You”.

Humm. So what about Bollywood? “Bollywood is something that I have consciously stayed away from. I have nothing against it but I only do things I am passionate about and acting is just not it. I love fashion, I love lifestyle, I like travel. I have also started my own little company with my sister where we conceptualize and execute a lot of corporate events (her sister was also an FHM Angel) and I am quite busy with that apart from my wine teaching classes. But, Bollywood is not really my cup of tea,” she says.

“I know it is hard to believe but I am a really shy girl who’s not that comfortable with lables like sexy, hot, bombshell. It feels good to get compliments because I do work hard on my overall grooming but then there is much more to what you see,” Shamita say.

Ummm Hummm Ok, but she should know we are thinking about 3500 things but we’d rather not say.

From the November 2010 issue of FHM India.