A Wine Affair to Remember
Magandeep Singh, Financial Express

The other day I had the opportunity to attend a fairly well-organised wine evening. For once the discussion was focussed on wine and that is a big achievement for any wine gathering.
World-renowned wine enthusiast Adam Strum was in India to address a select gathering. The gathering comprised members of The Wine Society. They reminded me, it is The Wine Society and not to be confused with wine clubs et al.

Indage, Grovers, Sula, Vinsura and Renaissance....It was great to see the industry biggies sharing stage-space to present the best of India.

Adam continued about various wine-related opportunities — how a problem can be turned around into a business plan. He also spoke about how his little wine workshop grew into one of America’s most powerful and reputed wine authorities.

I would have loved to hear from him how American drinking patterns are changing, the new developments in the wine-making world and the spreading of all this eastwards.

One thing, Indian wines are still way off what could be called consistency of quality and value for money. They are over-priced and over-hyped! How can a tax-free industry still not be able to sell under the $5-mark!

Renaissance’s Chenin Blanc could give Sula a run for their money if they can advertise as well as Sula. Their red Zinfandel proved to me yet again that either Indian winemakers don’t know what a Zin should taste like.

Grover’s La Reserve was a show-stealer — ripe and luscious with just woody edge. Vinsura has been doing a decent Chenin, but again their red is not up to the mark. They are first among the farmers’ associations to be making wine in the Nashik region. Renaissance, which is a new entrant, seems like reinventing the wheel.

The event can still have a million more improvements, but it was definitely a very big change and a tough one to pull off for anybody. I have conducted a tasting of mixed Indian brands before (I did 24 wines in on seating), but to have all the companies together and present this was definitely a first of its kind.