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 | On April 21st, 2007 Sommelier India, The Wine Magazine celebrated its anniversary and the growth of the wine lifestyle in India with 200 wine lovers. The celebration was held at the Longchamp hall with its splendid views of New Delhi at the top of The Taj Mahal Hotel. With ministers and industrialists, socialites and ambassadors, wine enthusiasts and trade professionals, the celebration was an elegant affair.
A special thank you goes to Yannick Poupon and The Taj Mahal Hotel who co-hosted the event. Excellent wines from Torres and Bouvet-Ladubay were served at the exclusive celebration and greatly enjoyed by all. If you want to know who attended view a selection of photographs of the celebration. You'll find lots more in the next print issue so subscribe now! |
 | Newsweek magazine recently covered the Indian wine industry. According to them there are some 200 million Indian whisky drinkers and only 700,000 regular wine drinkers. It is hard to believe that there are only 700,000 regular wine drinkers however we do know that the numbers are growing. The article also cited retail sales of $100 million and growth of 35% annually with 1.3 million cass being turned out a year. |
Most interesting though was the author's list of favorite Indian wines. He chose 12 wines from 4 vineyards. Among those included were Sula's Sauvignon Blanc (a favorite among many Indians), Chateau Indage's Chantilli Chardonnay, Mountain View Winery's Cabernet Shiraz blend and Blue Star Winery's Bluefolds Syrah. Pictured above is the Mountain View Winery in Nasik, Maharashtra.
Did you know that wine was discovered by a woman? According to Persian mythology, she drank the fermented juice from grapes stored in a jar, went to sleep, and surprisingly woke up cured of a headache, instead of suffering from the world's first hangover as one might have expected!
Wine became the drink of the gods, whether they were Egyptian, Sumerian, or Greek, and the early deities of wine were also often women, since they were also associated with fertility. The symbolism of wine, as well as its effect, became potent as it was adopted into religious ritual. Now that's something you can't say about beer or whisky!
| Good Earth Stores with its comprehensive wine accessory section is now selling Sommelier India magazines too. With retail presences in Mumbai and Delhi, Good Earth is today recognized as a trend setting design house, with a unique aesthetic reflecting contemporary Indian Style. So the next time you're in Khan Market in Delhi or Lower Parel in Mumbai, stop by the Good Earth store to purchase a copy of Sommelier India. |  |
Also check out their wine section, you'll find glasses, decanters and other accessories for wine lovers.
Just as the Indian retail sector is opening up for the wine industry with the availability of wine in supermarkets like Hypercity and Food Bazaar, the French are facing new challenges. Decanter magazine is reporting that French wine activists torched supermarkets in the early hours of April 20th in the Herault region. This appears to be the work of CRAV (comite regional d'action viticole), a group of wine sector protestors who want greater protection for the French wine industry including restrictive tariffs on imports, subsides and other measures to protect France's share of the global wine market.
Ironically, Indian wine importers and consumers alike are pushing the central government to reduce tariffs here.
This year's VinItaly had a "Focus on India" special section at which the Indian wine market was discussed. Titled "The Luxury of Wine: A glimpse into India’s emerging wine market" India's growth potential was highlighted with Magandeep Singh and Rajiv Malhotra giving presentations. Read "VinItaly: a “picklock” for the Indian market" to learn more about the event.
NDTV Profit is reporting that General Billimoria is planning to re-enter the Indian wine market but this time in partnerhsip with Ranjit Chowgule. Billimoria's Cobra Beer is finalizing a sourcing cum contract manufacturing arrangement with Champagne Indage Ltd.
As per the deal, Indage will source grapes and even bottle the wines in their units to Cobra's specifications. Initial volumes will be of 15,000 cases but this maybe scaled upto at least 50,000 cases in 2008-09. The bottles will be priced between Rs. 200 and Rs. 450. Sommelier India Publisher & Editor, Reva K. Singh was interviewed on NDTV Profit about this.
Global drinks giant, Diageo is looking to establish a strong wine business in India according to The Economic Times. This could include making local wines as well as importing others. Rumor has it that Diageo is trying to form joint ventures with local wineries. Adrian Pinto, who earlier led marketing operations for Sula will be leading this effort for Diageo.
 | Setting Bordeaux wine prices is a tricky business as Sandrine Bégaud of Chateau Rauzan-Segla explained to me over lunch at Chateau Kirwan during the En Primeur week. As business people, wine producers and merchants always want to set higher prices but are mindful of what the market will accept. But in a world where prices determine a Chateau's reputation, producers want their wines to be priced at least on par with other similar wines. |
The Sommelier India publishers were the only Indian journalists participating in the En Primeur tastings in Bordeaux last week. This is the second in a series of posts discussing the week.
Over the last few decades, Bordeaux wine makers have faced significant competition from New World wines. In fact, Australian, Californian and South African wines have forced some Bordeaux wine makers to even throw away unsold stock.
The Union was established in 1973 to combat this trend by better marketing the best of the Bordeaux wines. As Patrick Maroteaux, President of the Union des Grands Cru de Bordeaux explained during the launch dinner of En Primeur at Domaine de Chevalier, it has 132 member estates from the leading Bordeaux appellations: Medoc, Graves and Pessac-Leognan, Sauternes and Barsac, Saint-Emilion, and Pomerol.
| Pune recently witnessed an eager gathering appreciating Argentinean wines in the city's latest Italian restaurant Toscana. Jagdeep Chowgule of Tittarelli wines along with Cookie Singh and Kirhan Chavan from Toscana made sure guests had a wonderful time sampling Argentinean wines with some great Italian food. The guest list was made up of an interesting mix of people from various nationalities including Belgians, Germans, French, Argentineans, Scandinavians and of course our very own Indian wine lovers. |  |
 | Sula Vineyards is organizing a Big Chill in Goa on April 14th and 15th. It's a two day family festival combining music, art, dancing and relaxation on the shores of the Arabian Sea. Some of the performers include Coldcut, Norman Jay, Jose Padilla, The Bays, Hexstatic, Tom Middleton, Sheila Chandra, Mad Professor and Chilled by Nature.
Tickets which cost Rs. 3,000 per person are available online at TicketPro. |
Mouton Cadet, the world's leading Bordeaux AOC wine has been named the official wine sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Taking place April 25 through May 6 in Lower Manhattan, the Tribeca Film Festival has quickly become the fastest growing film festival in North America, featuring over 250 films from more than 40 countries and attracting nearly half a million attendees in 2006.
Founded in 1930 by the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Mouton Cadet is essentially the world’s first wine “brand.” Rothschild’s goal was to market high-quality wine made from declassified (those not used by his Chateau) grapes, to a world of burgeoning quality-conscious, wine consumers. While some members of the Rothschild family felt that Mouton Cadet was hurting the premium image of the Rothschild, the late Baron went ahead with the creation of Mouton Cadet.
The Sommelier India publishers were the only Indian journalists participating in the En Primeur tastings in Bordeaux last week. This is the first in a series of posts discussing the week.
| 'En Primeur' is a French term for wine sold on a 'futures' basis before being bottled. It is a method for purchasing the wine early. Buyers hand over their cash in advance in the hope that by the time the wines are released into the market, their value would have increased dramatically. At that point the buyers can either pay tax and take possession of the wines or have them stored in a bonded warehouse until delivery or reselling. |  |
 | The 2006 En Primeur season certainly did not provide the same excitement as the 2005 one did. Unlike last year, critics aren't declaring this to be the best vintage of the decade let alone the century. Wine makers and négociants alike while being positive are more muted in their praise. The weather has a lot to do with this response. The weather patterns in Bordeaux during the latter part of harvesting set the tone for the vintage. |
Sharp contrasts in the weather alternating between very high temperatures in July and September with low ones in August heavily influenced the vintage. The stormy weather during mid September forced wine growers to pick more quickly as they were worried about rot.
If you're looking for advice on matching food and wine, there's no better web resource than Fiona Beckett’s Matching Food & Wine website. Fiona has written 15 books on subjects as diverse as champagne, cheese, steak, sausages and student food. She's also a contributor to Australian Gourmet Traveller, Bon Appetit and Decanter magazine.
| It seems that Bordeaux is very worried about its image. According to Decanter magazine, Paris Hilton will be the new face of Bordeaux wines. She will be featured in a TV, poster and print campaign that will run in Europe and the US starting this summer. She is going to launch the campaign on the first day of Vinexpo which will be held between June 17th-21st, 2007. So if you weren't sure about visiting Vinexpo this year, now you have another reason to do so! |  |
The St Emilion 2006 re-classification was suspended recently by an administrative tribunal in Bordeaux as a few wine producers namely, Chateau La Tour du Pin Figeac, Chateau Cadet Bon and Chateau de la Marzelle complained about the changes. Not surprisingly, these producers were demoted during the 2006 exercise. The St Emilion classification was established in 1954.
What does this mean for wine drinkers? It becomes a little harder to know a good St Emilion wine from a not so good one when you're shopping. The classification system served as a guide and gave lesser known vineyards with good wine more attention.
Tulleeho Wine Trails Tulleeho are pioneers of wine tourism in India and organise
trips to leading vineyards in India on a regular basis. Log on to www.tulleeho.com/winetrail and register for our next trip. Company trips also undertaken. “Don’t go to France for that vineyard tour. Follow the heady Tulleeho wine trail here in India.” – Outlook Magazine.
Email Sommelier India if you want your ad to appear under Classifieds in the print publication and on the website for a nominal fee.
Consultancy for wine making in India available from a French expert who has been rated as The Best Wine Maker in the World in 2006. Consultancy available from growing of grapes to bottling of wine. Enquires: K.P. Nukala, kpnukala23@yahoo.com. Mobile: 9347531366
Email Sommelier India if you want your ad to appear under Classifieds in the print publication and on the website for a nominal fee.
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