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The new Indian wine story
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As more youngsters and women take to wine drinking, Indian manufacturers look for a share of the pie. Sangeetha Devi Dundootracks the trend
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Photo: Mahesh Harilal
Sparkling flavours New variants pitch wine as an accompaniment to Indian food
Wine-and-cheese dos in Hyderabad don’t occur once in a bluemoon as they used to a few years ago. Credit that mainly to well travelled Hyderabadis wanting a sip of fine wine and wine being pitched as a health drink. Imported wines still remain c
onfined to the higher price bracket but Indian brands are trying to get a foothold in the market with new ones.
Dia, a sparkling white wine from the stables of Sula Wines, targets young women and new drinkers. With eight per cent alcohol as against the regular ones with 11-14 per cent alcohol, is being pitched as the ideal drink for new entrants. “Dia has a sweetish taste and helps people handle their drink better,” says P. Kishan, regional sales manager-south, Sula. The brand claims 78 per cent market share in Andhra Pradesh.
Wine connoisseurs who vouch by international brands may take time to warm up to Indian wines, but that hasn’t stopped leading brands from introducing domestic variants. Seagrams, led by the French parent company Pernord Ricard, has introduced Nine Hills in 10 states across India. Pernord Ricard, synonymous with wine brands Jacob’s Creek (Australia), Montana (New Zealand) and Mumms Champagne, is keen on the Indian wine market. “Within the first year of launch our wines have been awarded at the India Wine Challenge,” says Rukn Luthra, Assistant Vice President – Wines, Pernod Ricard India.
Prohibitive taxes and licence fee is not a deterrent, Luthra adds. “The situation is improving with new channels opening up, specially with the opening of the retail trade sector. However, issues on state specific taxes remain which do make wines expensive for the common man.”
Nine Hills has four varieties. For instance, the fruity Chenin Blanc is popular with new wine drinkers and young women, whereas the award winning Cabernet Sauvignon is for the discerning wine consumer.
India is still a small market internationally. Picture this: What most European cities consume in a week or two is consumed in India throughout the year. “In the last five years, the wine industry has shown a growth of 30 to 40 per cent. This is expected to continue for the next decade,” says Abhay Kewadkar from the Kingfisher group. The main hurdle, he points out, “is the duties and taxes across states. The retail price depending on the state is at least two to three times the ex-winery price with high distributors and retail margins adding to the problem.”
Kingfisher’s USL wines is launching Zinzi, for new wine drinkers and Four Seasons with six variants. Four Seasons will arrive in six varieties — Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Zinfandel and Blush with the target of one million cases. Also on the cards are oak barrelled and sparkling wines.
The target consumer has moved from 40-plus bracket to 25 years, thanks to high disposable income. Wine-and-cheese dos aside, companies are trying to market wines as an accompaniment to Indian food. But, unlike global food that’s usually ‘washed down’ with a drink, traditional Indian food has never been in the want of an accompanying drink. “True, but things are changing. Local wines are being made to suit the Indian palate,” says Luthra. Kishan seconds that with, “Coastal dishes go well with certain wines.”
Abhay adds, “Tandoor foods are ideal for wines. Indian wines are exported to France and the main outlets being Indian restaurants and the consumer is French.”
Should we raise a toast to that?
A drink for health?
Can wine promote health? If so, is it red or white?
Dr. M. Rajiv puts things in perspective:
Red wines average 14 per cent alcohol, and 120 ml make for one drink. The safe limit for alcohol is two drinks per day for men, but is just one drink for women because they have lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme that processes alcohol.
Newer “lite” wines with eight per cent alcohol target women, theoretically allowing them to drink more wine safely. Like filter cigarettes and “light” cigarettes marketed for women, this approach is counterproductive. People simply have more to compensate for the diluteness.
Studies on the health benefits of alcohol are not perfect. They are mostly observation studies based on self-reported data and not double blind trials. Nevertheless, the American Heart Association (AHA) accepts that two drinks of alcohol a day (one drink in women) can help prevent heart attacks and strokes. Wine is the best drink because it also has resveratrol, a natural blood thinner, and plenty of flavonoids — currently the buzz topic in cancer and heart disease prevention.
Drinking wine is not as important for your heart as is taking a low-fat diet, exercising and avoiding tobacco. Those who use aspirin must avoid wine because aspirin and resveratrol, in combination, can dangerously increase the risk of bleeding.
Red or white?
Red, no doubt about it. White wine, made from deskinned grapes, lack the flavonoids present in red wine. Beer is third on the “healthful alcohol” chart.
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