Founder and winemaker of Good Drop Wine Cellars, based in Nashik, Ashwin Rodrigues, who is also the secretary of Wine Growers Association of India (WineGAI), Mumbai, says “WineGAI is a catalyst for the growth of the Indian wine industry. The first year has laid the foundations of the organization on four solid pillars. And we have introduced and accomplished a range of programmes and activities.”
Brinda Gill reports.
WineGAI was formed in April 2023 to support the Indian wine industry and active wine brands in the Indian market. It was felt that wineries producing branded wines with a label — as opposed to wines produced in bulk for sale to other companies — needed to work together to promote the category
As a result, seven major wineries got together to found WineGAI including Fratelli Vineyards, Good Drop Cellars, Grover Zampa Vineyards, KLC (Virgin Hills), Moonshine Winery (Mead producer), Sula Vineyards and Vintage Wines (Reveilo). Membership of the association is open to wine producers from across the country, including small-scale and large producers, and grape wine or fruit wine producers.
“Small wine producers are an important part of the wine industry in countries around the world. Small producers bring vibrancy to the industry. We aim to extend support to grape wine and fruit wine producers in India to grow and market their wines and brands,” says Ashwin.
The four objectives of WineGAI or ‘founding pillars’ as Ashwin calls them, are promoting Policy Advocacy, Technical (Viticulture and Winemaking), Marketing, and Social Responsibility. “As each state in India has its own excise policy, our endeavour is to work through the complexity of regulations related to wines. We want to create awareness of wines being farmer-friendly,” says Ashwin.
Of utmost importance at the start was getting in touch with the Excise departments of various state and union territories to smoothen the sale of wines across the country. The WineGAI team met officials in the excise departments of Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Odisha, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa.
“One of our main achievements,” says Ashwin, “was the success of the appeal made by WineGAI to get the additional duty on wine waived in Rajasthan. Another achievement was getting UP to
permit the sale of wine by FL2B (beer wholesale) license. Further, canned wine is now permitted for sale in UP, and trade mark registration requirement has been removed.”
WineGAI interactions with Maharashtra state excise were instrumental in the drafting and creation of three important licenses. One was obtaining the FL2 license that permits the holder to sell only wine, domestic or imported, in retail for Rs 9,300 a year. The second was the E2 license that allows for on and off premise sale of wine. For example, this license allows a wine bar to retail wine. The third was the temporary one-day license for wine festivals at a cost of Rs. 3,500.
The WineGAI team also met with officials and members of many other ministries and authorities such as the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, New Delhi; National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune; the Karnataka Wine Board in Bangalore; and The Australian Wine Research Institute, to name just a few.
Among its successful initiatives were signing an MOU with the National Research Centre for Grapes (NRGC) to undertake research, development and testing of wine grapes and wines; organizing a workshop on wine standards and labelling requirements in collaboration with FSSAI Mumbai in February 2024; and initiating a mentorship program, which started with Nipha winery being mentored by Good Drop with the aim of improving their wine quality.
WineGAI met representatives of different international organizations such as the European Union Wine industry body, French wine export federation, Wines of Chile, and several organisations
from Australia, to discuss the development of the Indian wine industry. At the India-Australia Wine Regulatory Forum held in 2023 discussions about promoting the growth of the wine sector in India were an outcome of the Australia-India Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). In a follow-up to this, an Australian wine delegation visited India in May 2024.
“The visit was dedicated to exploring how the Australian side could help the Indian wine industry in the field of technical competency, while also addressing regulatory issues that affect both countries. Being a mature wine industry, the Australians have much to offer to the Indian wine industry, which is an upcoming one,” says Ashwin.
The Australian delegation included Damien Griffante, Director, Strategy and International Affairs, Australian Grape & Wine; Lee McLean, CEO, Australian Grape & Wine; and Eric Wilkes, General Manager Commercial and Regulatory Affairs, Australian Wine Research Institute. On the Indian side, WineGAI was represented by Ashwin Rodrigues, Secretary, Wine Growers Association of India; Hansraj Ahuja – former CEO, Wine Growers Association of India; Neil Fernandes, Winemaker, Sula Vineyards; and Gorakh Gaikwad, Chief Winemaker, Sula Vineyards.
Foremost among the offices visited was the Maharashtra State Excise office in Mumbai to build rapport and address any issues that importers of Australian wines may face. The members also visited the Gargi Technical and Educational Institute in Nashik and interacted with undergraduate students on career opportunities in the wine industry locally and in Australia.
Lastly, the members of the delegation visited a few wineries in Nashik, including Nipha Wines, Sula Vineyards, KLC Wines and Good Drop Wine Cellars to get a first-hand experience of Indian winemaking and wineries. The National Horticultural Research & Development Foundation Nashik was among the institutions visited related to the development of wine to explore high-end wine laboratory and sample analysis services for the Indian industry.
In conclusion, Ashwin hopes these initiatives and interactions will provide guidance to wineries, help establish an institute for wine research, and increase indigenous wine production.
“Our aim is to grow the industry in a spirit of sharing and learning, and we are looking forward to the future. There is huge potential for the Indian wine industry to grow and Indian wines to enjoy an exclusive image. We want to see India become a major player in wine production and consumption.”
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