UB Group is all set to step into the wine market by the end this calendar year. The first one to hit the shelves would be the sparkling wines from the stables of Bouvet Ladubay, a French wine company it recently bought says DNA in a recent article on the UB Group. Sommelier India contributor, Alok Chandra is quoted in the article.

According to the article, the Kingfisher wine will be an extension of the Kingfisher beer brand and will target youth (between 21 and 26 years) who inhabit the pubs. Can you imagine drinking Kingfisher wine? Will it seems strange or will you gravitate towards it? Tell us what you think.

India's wine market is all set to uncork the bubby and raise a toast to some sparkling growth. According to industry estimates, the wine market is all set to hit Rs 2,000-6,000 crore by '10-'15. For a segment that's currently clocking just short of Rs 400 crore, that's something to say cheers to says the Economics Newspaper

Sula wines has entered the Hungary market home to the famous and historic Tokaj wine region located in northeastern parts of the country. Sula will begin selling its wines in Budapet first. Congratulations! Each time an Indian winemaker enters a new foreign market it benefits all the other winemakers and of course all the nostalgic Indian wine drinkers in that country.

To learn more about Tokaji wines visit the Tokaj Renaissance website.

Rumor has it that Diageo India could acquire a 26% stake in Sula wines. The world's largest drinks company is in talks with a few domestic wine companies, including the Nasik-based Sula Vineyards, to buy a strategic stake. Sula Vineyards is projected to sell 1.25 lakh cases of wine in 2007 fiscal year. They sold 90,000 cases in 2006 for a topline of Rs.25-30 crore.

Tamil Nadu is apparently not a very oenophile friendly state. The state's liquor policies coupled with the surprise checks by the Enforcement Wing of the Excise & Prohibition department trouble the hospitality industry to no end.

For starters independent restaurants are simply not allowed to serve beer or wine. A hotel must have a minimum of 20 rooms and 40 beds, with an attached restaurant and a well built bar with a good number of covers. The alcohol is strictly meant for guests staying at the hotel only. And all bars have to down their shutters by 12 am in Chennai.

There is hope though as the South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) is petitioning the government to change the laws. In the meantime, don't expect to do too much wine drinking if you find yourself in Tamil Nadu

Kyndal India, the fully owned Indian subsidiary of UK-based Whyte & Mackay said it plans to export Indian wine to the global market. Kyndal India has been holding talks with the major wine producers. Three India-made wine brands 30 Latt, Flemingo and Trinity will be distributed by the company starting next month. Their prices would be Rs 450 to Rs 550 a bottle. Kyndal also plans to distribute foreign wines domestically.

Grover Vineyards is today the only domestic wine major not to own a production facility in Maharashtra and that's about to change. By February 2007, Grover Vineyards plans to crush and bottle wine at a hired bottling plant in Maharasthra and will put up its own winery there later in the year.

Why bother doing this? Quite simply because Maharashtra's excise duties are aimed at protecting local producers and push up the prices of wines not produced there. By the end of September, Grover's second line of wines, christened Sante, will be on retail shelves across the country except in Maharasthra. These wines will be 60% cheaper than Grover's existing wines.

But they cannot be sold in Maharashtra at the same price because of the excise duties. This will change once the wines are produced within the state as well. Read more at Business Standard.

Diageo is planning to bring its global wine brands to India as well and is in the market for acquisitions too. They would add to Diageo's wine portfolio, which includes B&G, Blossom Hill and Sterling Vineyards. Diageo is a billion dollar wine business worldwide and would like to add Indian wines to the portfolio to sell abroad.

According to the Times of India, the Maharashtra government has given the go-ahead to retailers to sell wine, a move that is expected to provide a major boost to the fledgling retail industry. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been pushing this initiative. The state government now allows supermarkets and modern format retailers to sell wine.

This is exceptionally good news for wine drinkers in Maharashtra and hopefully it will encourage other states to enact similar laws.

First it was the Times of London and Business 2.0 who covered the Indian wine scene and now its the Associated Press's turn. In an article that discusses the wine industry and the growth potential, the author covers the growth statistics and how Indians are just beginning to move away from whiskey. And as Sourish Bhattacharyya, (a Sommelier India contributor) aptly points out in the article, India needs to develop its own lexicon for describing wine.

With awareness of the Indian wine scene growing and government laws easening things are certainly starting to look up for wine drinking in India. If you want to keep pace with the world of wine and become an informed drinker, subscribe to Sommelier India today.

The UB Group has appointed Abhay Khewadkar as a senior vice president and chief winemaker. Prior to this, Khewadkar was with India's Grover Vineyards. UB is looking to make further investments in wine after picking up Bouvet-Ladubay in July. Rumor has it that they are looking at buying a South African winery.

All this bodes well for the Indian wine scene. The more cross pollination there is the faster the industry will grow and the more competitive it will become. This will hopefully translate into better quality wines, cheaper prices and more innovative marketing. All positive trends for wine drinkers.

Champagne Indage hopes to open 1,000 retail outlets across India in the next one year. They hope to sell 30% of their wines via their own retail outlets. They are currently the largest wine producer in India and 60% of their production are red wines. They currently have the capacity to make 6.5 million litres and plan to increase it to 14 million litres. They are also planning to distribute their wines in California using a label called "Tiger Hill."

The editors at the Financial Express are also supporting the movement pushing to introduce new, more reasonable liquor laws and tax policies across India. They righly point out that the current tax regime hurts consumers and makes life difficult for producers, importers and distributors as well. Read Revamp liquor regulation and tax policy for the full story.

Italian wine exports to India increased by 115% during the first five months of the year. This compared to data from the first half of 2005. Indians are drinking a lot more wine, there is no doubt about that. Nevertheless, a 115% increase is huge. The question is who is drinking the most Italian wine. Is it happening in the independent restaurants, the hotels or the homes? Tell us what you drink and why.

The three major Indian winemakers continue to score in the world scene. This time it was Chateau Indage's turn who won three bronze awards at the Indy International Wine Competition 2006 at the Indiana state fair. The award winning wines were the Chantilli Cabernet sauvignon 2005, Chantilli Merlot 2004, and the Marquise De Pompadour.

The setting could be the Hunter Valley or Napa. The drinkers sit on leather seats on a balcony overlooking rows of vines as they sip their sauvignon blanc and nibble on olives and goat’s cheese.....says Ashling O’Connor in a Times London article on the Indian wine industry. Also read the complementary article titled, "Growers seek a change in licensing laws and attitudes" which discusses the licensing laws. Ashling was in touch with us last week as she researched her article.