Chennai is one city that really suffers from strict local laws governing the sale of liquor. For example, hotels can only serve liquor to residents and that too until midnight. The license for serving liquor in the state is priced at Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh for different categories of star hotels. In short it is a tough market to function in and the hotels are now protesting.

Responding to queries we have been receiving regarding the supply of wine to be tasted for the India Wine Challenge, Robert Joseph noted in an email to Sommelier India, "Almost all wine competitions rely on samples submitted by producers. Financially, it would be very hard to run a competition in which everything was purchased – and we would in any case run the problem in India, in particular, of producers claiming that the samples we had bought had been spoiled by bad shipping/storage.

The Sommelier India publishers were invited to judge the Rick's Annual Bartender of the Year Competition a few weeks ago in Delhi. Each major hotel could nominate one participant for the competition. This head to head performance had the bartenders being evaluated on style, technique, tastings and presentation. The participants were required to make two entirely new cocktails and could bring their own CDs to be played during the process.

Nitin Tewari of The Taj Mahal Hotel was recognized as Rick's bartender of the year as well as the most stylish bartender. Dikshit Khanna of the Taj Palace was the runner up. The Best Cocktail creator was Manjeet of the Claridges. Congratulations!

Red or white, the wine industry in India is sparkling, with a rising growth rate of nearly 30 per cent says Express India. As more and more Indians raise their glasses to the finest in Indian and foreign vintage, new vistas have opened in the relatively uncharted world of wine making. From wine tourism to wine tasting and even wine journalism, the options are plenty for anyone with a passion and expertise in vintage. Find the complete article at Express India.

According to an Indian Express article, Mumbai appears to be really suffering from the changes in the taxation structure for wine. The 150-200 percent tax is pushing up the prices of the big brands while the government officials say that it is leveling the playing field. Under the new rules, the hotels must pay 150 percent of the bottle's assessed value which can translate into duty of as much as Rs. 7,000 per bottle. The net result - hotels and restaurants aren't carrying as much wine as they used to and the wine enthusiast is left with fewer choices. In fact, rumor has it that hotels have slashed their wine lists down to 50 bottles from the normal 200 bottles on their menus.

The mainstream news outlets are reporting that the major wine producers in India are busy tying up with the retail chains like Hypercity that are entering the Indian market. The logic is simple. Traditional liquor shops only devote 5-10% of their shelf space to wine and there are no guarantees whether the wine will be properly stored. In contrast to this, the retail chains can offer more space and better storage conditions.

Reliance Retail has entered into agreements with Diageo, Champagne Indage and the UB group. Grover Vineyards is also talking to Reliance, Spencer's and Metro Cash and Carry. This will represent a win for Indian consumers who shudder at the thought of purchasing wines from the existing liquor shops many of which are dark and seedy affairs.

Domestic wine consumption is expected to touch around nine million litres by 2010 growing at a CAGR of around 22 percent per annum according to a new study. It is currently estimated at five million a year with Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Bangaluru drinking the most. Currently India's wine market is at the equivalent of 200 people sharing one bottle per year. 63 percent of volume sales are still through off-trade channels in the five star hotels, pubs and bar restaurants says the study.

For more information, read the DNA Mumbai story which discussed the study in detail.

Decanter Magazine, which rarely covers Indian wine, is reporting that Howling Wolves has set up a joint venture to produce wine in India with distiller and distributor Brihans. The Howling Wolves CEO, Damian Knowles, is quoted as saying that ninety-five percent of locally- produced wine is average or below average because the Indian growers are conditioned to growing quantity not quality. Do you agree?

The vineyard is at Sreepur about 300km south of Mumbai. Knowles says the climate is half way between Western Australia's Margaret River and the Swan Valley near Perth. He argues that producing wine locally is a way to reach the lucrative Indian market and avoid some of the duties.

IFE-India is organizing the India Wine Challenge in association with Robert Joseph, editor-at-large of Wine-Business International. He also launched the International Wine Challenge in 1984 in partnership with Charles Metcalfe and ran it until 2005. Billed as “India’s only major, independent and truly influential wine competition”, it attempts to determine the best wines available in India through blind tastings. But what really is the India Wine Challenge, how does it compare with other wine competitions, should you participate and is India ready for it?

Diageo has tied up with Reliance Fresh to retail its international wine portfolio in the country. Diageo will launch domestic wines at Reliance Retail outlets in addition to regular liquor shops in September. Initially, the wines will be available at 15 Reliance Fresh outlets in Mumbai and Pune.

Diageo will begin by introducing their Blossom Hill Red wine and White wine in the range of Rs.700-800. Other Blossom Hill varieties like Chardonnay, Colombard Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Shiraz are priced in the range of Rs 900 -1,000.

The World Health Organization's Global Status Report on Alcohol reported that the Indian wine market is growing steadily. The share of red wine is 29%, white wine is 37%, sparkling wine 7% and fortified wine 17%. Not surprisingly, Mumbai accounts for approximately 40% of the country's wine sales. The Times of India has featured the report and highlights some interesting statistics on alcohol consumption in each state.

As a follow on to the reduction of tariffs on wine being imported into India, the EU has halted its WTO complaint about Indian wine. The EU praised the Indian government for lifting barriers to wine and whisky imports. However, Brussels said that it regretted that India was raising its basic duties on wines to 150 percent from 100 percent even though these remain within the WTO limits.

The United States declined to say if it was continuing with a separate WTO probe over the same issue. For more on this issue, read the Associated Press coverage. Sommelier India contributor, Alok Chandra also discusses the issue in a Business Standard article. Also read the previous winetariffs posts published on the Sommelier India blog and comment on the subject.

Himachel Pradesh has gotten the wine bug too. Fruit winemakers are blossoming everywhere and are breeding the market with apples, peaches, plums, rhododendrons and watermelons. It may not be just grapes, but its certainly a type of wine according to The Economic Times.

In fact, Chateau Indage, which is India's largest wine maker, is planning to invest Rs. 30 crore for a winery in Pragati Nagar, 55km east of Shimla. Indage will produce both grape and non-grape wine varieties at this facility.