Sommelier India - The Wine Magazine, March/April 2009 - now on the news stands - celebrates four years in print with a feast of articles, with Jancis Robinson discussing some of the world's most admired producers, Raghu Bahadur casting a quizzical eye on the problems of wine storage in India and Harshal Shah educating us about indigeneous Spanish grapes as the Sommelier India Tasting Panel picks their favourite wines from Murcia. Devesh Agarwal describes what it takes to be a qualified sommelier and Sonal Holland tells readers which wine shops in Mumbai to frequent after a firsthand survey. This issue is definitely an inviting read.

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You are entertaining a colleague. It's a publisher's lunch. Or perhaps you belong to the Ladies Who Lunch set. There are many palates to please, but you don't fancy a buffet. What could be better than the Korean set menu at India Jones? They say it's vibrant, it's delicious, it's spicy. If you want a good lunch with time enough to talk, a fixed menu is the answer. There's no dithering over what to order.

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Over the last few years we've been reading about how wine sales in India are going great guns. India was supposed to be the fastest-growing wine market in the world. Despite all the problems and constraints faced by both domestic producers and importers, volumes were growing at 25% plus annually, and total volumes were forecast to increase from 1.2 million cases in 2007/08 to five million cases in five years and 50 m cases in 20. Poppycock, says Alok Chandra who contends that the current state of affairs is simply not acceptable.

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Boutique wine producer Mandala Winery has tied up with Nasik-based York Winery Pvt Ltd (YWPL) for the production of wines under its brand. "Presently, we produce about 10000 cases of wines per year and the aim is to increase this volume by 50 to 60 per cent year on year," says Ramesh Rao, Managing Director, Mandala Valley Vineyards.

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We haven't made it out to Connaught Place this week as yet but the word on the ground is that the DSIIDC wine shop in CP is sporting a new look. The newly renovated store is apparently carrying over 300 wine brands in an air-conditioned fancy space. Check it out and let us know whether it's worth a visit. Click for their foreign and domestic wine prices. Keep in mind the wine price lists also include other liquor.

Who's to say that Indian winemakers don't have a place in the world of wine. The Mushal Merlot 2006 won a bronze Medal in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The 2008 competition featured an astounding 4,235 entries of American wine and is the largest competition of its kind in America. Mushal Winery Vineyards is owned and managed by Avtar Singh Sandhu. Pictured above in his vineyard. Mushal Vineyards is named after Sandhu's village in the Punjab. In India the wine is available at the Hotel Imperial, several of the Taj Hotels and in some wine shops in Delhi too.

"It's an honour to be awarded this title of recognition," said Ranjit S. Chougule, Managing Director of Indage Vintners Ltd., commenting on the Silver Medal awarded to Indage Vineyards' Reserve Merlot 2006 at the Mondial du Merlot Awards, 2008 in Switzerland. "It means a great deal to us both in terms of bringing recognition to Indage as a quality wine producer for our consistency in producing premium wines as well as for India to be known as a serious contender in the global wine business. It's also hugely encouraging!"

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The 16th International Grape and Wine Film Festival is taking place on May 8-10, 2009 in Nuit-Saint-Georges, Burgundy, France. Oenovideo is the world's oldest and only festival dedicated to the valorization of the image of grape and wine through documentary films and cinema.

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Four Seasons Wines Ltd. (FSWL) from the UB Group has started production and distribution of five varieties of wines from the Baramati Vineyard. The annual production target is 7 lakh cases. The company also produces Zinzi which was launched last year and has sold 10,000 cases to date. The wine will now enter Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala in the next few months.

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In a move to abide by the intellectual property rights of the Champagne region, Champagne Indage has changed its name to Indage Vintners.

Over 40 product brands fall under Indage Vintners with the two main brand cateogories being Indage Vineyards and Chateau Indage. “The new logo for Indage Vintners is synonymous with insignia of quality indicating our exclusivity, uniqueness and customisation,” Indage Vintners Managing Director, Ranjit S Chougule, said. Their wines can also be bought online.

It is a common perception that Indian wines have 'come a long way, baby' but they still have some way to go before they measure up to international winemaking. Rajeev Samant invited seven leading international winemakers and wine experts for the first and biggest-ever international tasting of Indian wines in early November at his Sula Vineyards.

He was seeking an international perspective on what Indian wines are really like. Alok Chandra joined them for the tastings. Read more...

Sommelier India - The Wine Magazine, January/February 2009, has just hit the news stands. With a special winemaker section for those with a more serious interest in wine including articles such as the Closure debate on corks and screwcaps by Jamie Goode, Indian Wines - the Road Ahead where Alok Chandra reports on a wine tasting in Nasik organised by Sula, and Where Viticulture is a Labour of Love by Michele Shah, this issue reflects the level of wine information that our readers now expect. Elsewhere in the issue, Jancis Robinson explains why it's not all doom and gloom for wine lovers during this economic meltdown and Steven Spurrier discusses the role of wine competitions.

And there's still more, Harshal Shah encourages us to look at fortified wines and Ruma Singh discovers Burgundy. Don't miss the issue! Subscribe now if you aren't a subscriber already.

With a Hindu priest chanting prayers and a Muslim cleric reading from the Quran, the Trident Hotel at the Oberoi complex reopened amid tight security on Sunday three weeks after it was targeted by the militants. Share your thoughts at the end of the article and view reader responses to our earlier coverage here and here. Also contribute to the Oberoi Care Fund.

Shiv Singh reports. Read more...

Mark the dates - June 21 to 25, 2009
The next Vinexpo will take place in Bordeaux 
from 21 to 25 June 2009 where all the major industry players will be there. Details about the exhibition are available at www.vinexpo.com 
and market information on the Vinexpo Blog.

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The Government of India has not acceded to the request of private broadcasters to withdraw its notification prohibiting surrogate advertising on television. The driving reason behind the government's refusal to change the law is the widespread violations of the advertising code. The government also believes that these advertisements have a negative impression on minors.

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