Rumor has it that the UB Group is in talks to pick up a South Africa based wine company. This would be on the heels of the company's recent acquisition of France based Bouvet Ladubay. The UB Group currently has two local wine brands, Golconda and Bosca which sell for around Rs. 200. Let us know what you think of these wines.

The UB Group is also considering creating their own winery in Nashik. This means more wine in the market and more choices for consumers like you!

Sanjay Menon, one India's most famous and successful importers of fine wines is now planning to make his own wine. His firm, Sansula has been importing wines for eight years however the exorbitant import duties and state levies have always limited the growth.

Menon plans to experiment with lesser known variatels Grenache, Primitivo and Negroamaro. He is busying looking for land in Maharashtra and hopes to setup his own vineyard soon. In the meantime, he is also launching a new wine called Bahula from another grape grower in the area. Sansula's job will be to brand and market the wine. Read the full article at Business Standard.

The Indian World Trade Centre along with Siddhi Management Consultants, Nasik organised a meet on “Export Potential of Indian Wine Industry” on 12th August at Emerald Park in Nasik. The objective of this meet was to present the findings of an Intensive Research study to understand the competitiveness and scope of Indian wine internationally.

On 6th July 2006, during a special ceremony at the Embassy of Italy in New Delhi, Rajiv Malhotra was conferred with the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity. Rajiv has been decorated with the title of Knight of the Order by Hon. Gianni Vernetti, Vice Minister of Productive Activities of the Italian government.

This award was in recognition of his work in promoting Indo-Italian trade and cultural relations. Rajiv is the promoter of IFOWS - Indian Food and Wine Show. Congratulations!

Barely weeks after having to rescind its bid for Taittinger Champagne, India's UB Group has acquired Bouvet-Ladubay from U.S hotel group Starwood Capital. The price was apparently more than the $15 million that has been quoted in the press.

Bouvet-Ladubay produces sparkling wine brands such as Saphir and Trésor and is based in the Saumur region of the Loire. UB Chairman Vijay Mallya said that he plans to use the acquisition to import high-quality premium wines into the Indian market and to gain access to state of the art winemaking technology. It looks like the Indian consumer is going to have even more top quality wine in the near future.

Liebherr, the German conglomerate, and world's leading producer of construction machinery has launched its sophisticated line of wine cabinets in India.

Liebherr's extensive wine storage and multi-temperature wine storage cabinets are an alternative to a wine cellar as they offer optimum conditions for wines to mature and to develop their full flavours. One can store up to 231 bottles in these cabinets.

Italian newspapers are reporting that India plans to set up a wine-making center with the help of Italian expertise to train farmers and vintners. The deal was signed on Friday for the Italian wine makers to help imporve the standard of wines across the country.

Vikram Doctor wrote a well researched piece on rosé for the Economic Times in which he discussed the five rosés that he was able to sample. These were Sula's Madera Rosé (Rs. 195), Chateau Indage's Ivy White Zinfandel (Rs 425), Grover's Shiraz Rosé (Rs. 360), Flamingo (Rs. 355) and Sula's Blush Zinfandel. His favorite? The Sula which was pleasant, crisp and smooth followed by the Flamingo which was crisp too.

According to the Indian Express, Rahul Mahajan claims that he passed out drinking sparkling wine. Rahul Mahajan who is the son of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was booked on Monday for possession and consumption of drugs. We appreciate what he's doing to promote wine in India, but wine in excess is harmful too. And of course, we're not sure whether it was drugs or wine that made him pass out in the first place.

Grover Vineyards has started manufacturing Stelvin capped bottles for customers of its wines. This is the first time this innovation is being introduced into the country. Grover made this announcement just before the Grape Escapade festival in Goa.

The Stelvin cap (screw cap) maintains the quality and integrity of wines without running the risk of the wines getting "corked." It is a metal screw-cap originally developed by the Alcan Packaging company to replace wine corks to reduce the occurrence of cork tainting. It also incorporates a small ventilation system to allow tiny amounts of air into the wine bottle to aid the wine maturation.

Sula Vineyards has set a target of producing 15 lakh bottles in 2006-07. Last year 11 lakh bottles were produced. According to the Sula Vineyards CEO Rajiv Samant, consumption of wine as an alternative to liquor has grown from 25 percent to 30 percent in the country. The company was setup in the year 2000 and California wine consultant Kerry Damskey advises it.

Wine production has increased to 94 lakh litres in Maharashtra alone according to the Times of India. This is half of all wine produced across India. Chateau Indage (Pune) continues to be the largest wine producer followed by Sula which is also in Maharashtra. A key ingredient for this exponential growth has been the consistnet investment by the state government over the last five years.

Sommelier India contributor and wine consultant Alok Chandra who was quoted in the article emphasized that wine faces the same 20% sales tax as hard liquor which limits the overall size of the market.