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| February 2007 »
 | Chateau Indage is acquiring Tandou, an Australian wine company. Tandou was formed in 1972 and has a capacity of 3 million cases per annum. They market the Broken Earth and Wontanella wines and source from different vineyards. They are based in Riverland wine region at Monash, South Australia. |
Chateau Indage currently produces 1 million cases per year and is one of India's largest wine producers.
The government has announced that there will be five dry days at the end of this month. These are January 26, 30, 31 and February 1 and 2 - so that people remain sober on Republic Day, the Mahatma’s death anniversary and the three days before, during and after the civic elections (Maharashtra only). As the Times of India has reported, drinkers have been stocking up on their 'liquid ammo.'
Others like Sony Sachdev, an advisor to the All India Hotels & Restaurants Association (AHAR) emphasize that it will result in big losses for the industry. His organization is appealing to the government to change the laws.
| Bohemian Crystal Company (BCC) launched Schott Zweisel, through an innovative event "The Masala Wine Journey, a two city extravaganza that was co-sponsored by Schott ,Taj and Procurio (BCC as known in Dubai) along with wine producers viz: Buergerspital of Germany; Castello Banfi of Italy; Marques de Murrietta of Spain; Baron Phillipe and Laurent Perrier Champagne of France). |  |
The Financial Times recently ran an informative article on the state of the Indian wine industry. Most interesting was how they compared the wine business to the broader liquor market in India. Here are some of the numbers highlighted from it.
Indians consumed more than 220 million cases of beer and other spirits in 2006. The market grew by 10%. Indian made foreign liquor (whiskey, gin, rum and vodka) accounted for half the market. Beer dominated with 90% of the rest of the market.
You can now get blog updates in your email by just entering your email address in the "Blog Updates" box at the top right hand corner of the home page. These once a week emails will keep you updated with news, event listings and launches from the world of wine. Subscribe to the print magazine today for feature stories and lots more from some of the best wine writers in India and the world.
And expect coverage of IFOWS, India's largest food and wine show over the next week. The Sommelier India team was invited to Spain for Madrid Fusion: 2007 but couldn't go because the dates conflicted with IFOWS. Nevertheless, a contributor covered Madrid Fusion for the next issue.
 | Don't miss the 5th edition of IFOWS (Indian Food and Wine Show) which runs between January 18th and 20th, 2007 at Uppal Orchids in Delhi. It is not just an exhibition of products but a comprehensive show with wine tastings and more. This includes participation from wine producing countries such as Italy, France, South Africa, USA, Argentina, Spain and Portugal. |
This winter Indians celebrated with more local sparkling wine especially the local Sula Vineyards Brut and Champagne Indage Ltd.'s Ivy Brut which were both priced four times lower than the foreign brands Krug and Moet Chandon. In fact, Sula Brut had sales of about 3,000 cases in December which was nearly twice as many as the same month the previous year.
Now that the Maharashtra Government is allowing supermarkets to sell wine, wineries are planning to stock wine in boxes through them as well. Sula and Vinsura Vineyards plan to sell box wines with the wines being kept in aluminised PET film. Box wines save around 20-25% of the packaging cost compared to bottled wines. Conventional wine bottles cost Rs.30 while these go for Rs.20 only.
These box wines are especially popular in restaurants where wines are served by the glass. The film prevents the wine from getting oxidised immediately allowing the wine to last longer sometimes upto a few weeks even.
 | According to The Economic Times, the UB group, a leader in India’s spirit and beer market, has set up its first wine company in Maharashtra signalling hectic activity in the Rs 90-crore Indian wine industry which till now was cluttered with small and mid-sized players only. Industry experts estimate that wine sales in India are expected to reach 30-million bottles in the next five years, although there is no proper record of such figures. |
It is also widely believed that rising incomes and an exposure to international fashion trends are popularising wine drinking in India. On a separate note, Maratha leader Sharad Pawar’s family could take up to 49% stake in UB chairman Vijay Mallya’s Four Seasons winery in Baramati, touted as the biggest wine project in India till date. Read the complete article.
Wine thieves are all the rage in California. Recently, a collector's home was broken into and wine worth $500,000 was stolen. This included a 1959 Petrus worth as much as $6,000 and a difficult-to-assemble set of Bordeaux wines representing an unbroken line of more than 20 years of French harvests. Interestingly, the thieves left most of the cheap bottles. Not surprisingly, Bordeaux wine is the most popular among thieves because they fetch the highest prices at auctions.
 | Hugh Johnson the renowned wine writer and columnist was awarded the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's New Years Honours list. His OBE was awarded for services to winemaking and horticulture. Johnson has been writing about wine since 1960. He has written for many magazines and published several books including an autobiography, A Life Uncorked (2006) and The World Atlas of Wine. |
This book was co-authored with Jancis Robinson who writes a column for Sommelier India and is a much renowned wine writer in her own right. She was made an OBE in 2003.
Did you know that 41% of the wine consumed in India is drunk in west India followed by the north at 29%. Or that the wine market is expected to grow to 8.3 million litres by 2010? Nearly 80 per cent of wine sales are accounted for by the major cities, especially New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Bangalore. And even more interesting, 63% of the volume sales takes place through five-star hotels, pubs, bars and restaurants.
| Legendary film director, Ram Gopal Varma recently said that God's two greatest creations were - wine and women and interestingly in that order. Would you agree? Varma's most successful films include Shiva, Rangeela, Satya, Company and Sarkar. He is popular for his slick, grisly films and his penchant for horror and gangster films. |  |
Did you know that when you give people Sommelier India gift subscriptions they receive a special card in your name stating that the gift subscription has come from you? And remember, when you give someone a gift subscription, you're remembered all year round and sometimes even longer - if you happen to be their introduction to the exciting world of wine.
The Sommelier India wine magazine is preferred reading for every Indian with a wine interest - from connoisseurs to wine newbies they maybe in the world. The publication includes some of the best wine writers in the world so don't miss this opportunity to subscribe either for yourself or as a gift to a friend.
 | Here at Sommelier India, we wish all our readers, friends and supporters a Happy New Year. We celebrated the new year with a delightful home made mulled wine which makes a perfect, warm winter drink. How did you celebrate new years? Was it with champagne, mulled wine or something else? Share with us your new year stories and tell us what specific wines you drank! |
Vittal Mallya was among the first wine makers of this country. He was part of the team that set up a winery with Appasaheb Pawar in Baramati in 1971 to make Italian Cinzano wines. But those wine dreams were not to be. Son Vijay Mallya is all set to re-write history in Sharad Pawar’s Baramati where he is setting up the country’s largest winery. He could uncork the bubbly spirits in September 2007, adding scale, style and sparkle to the Rs 150 crore Indian wine market.
Read the rest of this article at The Financial Express
 | Vinitaly India will be held in Mumbai on January 15th at the ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Mumbai. In Delhi it will be held on the 17th and 18th of January at Hyatt Regency (17th) and then on the 18th at Mayfair Gardens adjacent to the Qutub Minar in partnership with IFOWS. |
Vinitaly will include wine tastings and an exhibition space for importers, distributors and hoteliers. The presentation of the wines of the Veneto region will be done in collaboration with U.VI.VE (Unione Consorzi Vini Veneti D.O.C.) by an U.Vi.Ve expert.
According to the Harvard Gazette, Researchers at Harvard University have found that a molecule that is an active ingredient in red wine can slow the aging of human cells. Called resveratrol, the wonder substance seems to work in the same way as does drastic calorie cutting.
Physicians recommend a glass or two of red wine a day as part of a heart-healthy diet. Remember it is still important to drink wine in moderation and sensibly.
The CII is organizing a "Mahawine" conference and exposition on grapes and wine between January 12th and 13th, 2007. The conference will be held at the Taj residency in Nashik.
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