Reva Singh's Sip of the Day
The news on the ground is that the adverse events of the past year have caused wine sales to drop drastically in Delhi and other metros, but the sale of spirits is higher than ever before! Now, what could account for this turn of affairs? Is wine, bottle for bottle, more costly to drink? At which end of the market is whisky selling better than wine?
The household that spends on single malts and fine wine is unlikely to have given up on their favourite tipple whatever it is. At the mid-level, however, which accounts for the vast majority, my guess is that people are trading down as they tighten their belts, but not (atleast, I hope not) giving up on wine altogether! The rush for whisky over wine is probably at the level where alcohol is something you knock down to get knocked out!
Last night I was introduced to Spanish wines from Murcia and the Monastrell grape. Contributor Harshal Shah was already working on an article on this varietal in his ongoing series, and by a happy coincidence, we had six wine producers introducing their wines to us in person, paired with Indian food at The Lalit. The wines from Murcia were not restricted to Monastrell, of course. In fact, I tasted a wonderful new sip from Casa de la Ermita that was 100% Petit Verdot, which I'd never had before, except in very small quantities in some Bordeaux blends.
Wine producers from the old world continue to visit us in India, even though many return disappointed at the difficult market and sluggish sales. They realise they have to be patient and not expect a quick return on their investment. To make money, they need to look to other export markets like the US, Australia and even China. And India will reward them later.
For us, on the other hand, they offer a wonderful opportunity to develop our palate with something new and different.
Comments
Dear Mrs. Singh - Is there a reason why you don't find too many California wines in India. -Sanjay
Given the size of our wine drinking population, I think we have a fair share of wines from around the New World including California. However, we are not such a lucrative export market for small wine producers wishing to come into the country as we are sometimes perceived to be. China imports far more wine than we do.
Hello Mrs Singh,
I am a student of Wine Business Managemnet in Niagara,Ontario. International trade is big, with the import and export duty so high isn't India restricting the wines from other countries. Wineries in Canada want to invest in India but due to the high import and export duty they are moving to China. I feel the government should be more cooperative towards this growing industry.