Inviting and comfortable, yet retaining an air of sophistication, Bandra’s first exclusive Wine Bar and restaurant, The Den, creates the ideal atmosphere in which one can relax and enjoy a superb selection of domestic and imported wines and signature wine cocktails complimented by European cuisine.

Upon arriving at The Den, clientele are greeted with a complimentary sample of port wine and introduced to a European style bar, with an open patio adorned by a stylish canopy, natural wood fence, and large, oak wine barrels serving as tables.

The wine bar further achieves the feel of a European wine pub as one walks inside and observes the intimate and casually elegant surroundings. Modern wine racks are stylistically placed throughout the premises, displaying some of the many varieties of wine available, while cubby holes in the wall feature some of the world’s most famous vintages. Intricate detailing can further be noticed in the bar’s interiors, created with natural wood and old fashioned sandstone brick.

Visitors to The Den are presented with an extensive collection of premium and super premium local and imported wines, including red and white varieties from France, California, Argentina, Australia, and various other foreign vineyards. Hosting the entire collection of renowned local producer Sula Vineyards, the wine bar’s respectable assortment of premium and super premium wines are guaranteed to delight both amateurs and connoisseurs’ palates. The signature wine cocktails can be chosen from a list of 30 unique flavours. A host of these would be ultimate indulgence for the sweetened taste buds.

Friendly servers will be trained by some of the most esteemed local sommeliers, to provide clientele with informed advice on what variety of wine will best complement their chosen meal, and mood, to ensure an enjoyable evening.

With the European cuisine and wine flowing throughout the day and night, The Den is the ideal location for hosting special events. With room indoors and outdoors, two-seater loungers and bar stools spread across the interiors, a secluded dining area, and a designated DJs corner - or alternatively room for live music - the premises are especially well suited for brunches, buffets, private parties and essentially, everyday lunches and dinners.

The den-like environment is perfect for unwinding and engaging in conversation amidst expressive jazz and blues acoustics to complement the dishes and drinks consumed. Whether with friends or colleagues, single, a couple, or on a first date, The Den provides good ambience in which to meet, greet and mingle over a glass of wine.

The Indian wine industry has recognised the importance of developing wine culture in the country. Wine festivals not only serve as the best place to convert non-wine drinkers to wine drinkers but also help boost the culture as well as wine sales in the long run.

Wine festivals are an integral aspect of any wine growing region. However, it’s just recently that India has woken up to the need of such events. Sula Wines and Chateau Indage being one of the pioneers in organising its popular Sula Festand Narayangaon wine festival every yearhas inspired many more this year.

Renowned as India’s first wine festival, Narayangaon Wine Festival follows traditional routes of the French Wine festival. Celebrations are conducted in a more formal way, but with pomp, splash and splendour. A wide range of ceremonies, starting from a walk through the vineyards to planting of individual vines is in offer. A tour of the winery is an integral part of the festivities.

Thrilling and exhilarating, with an array of celebrity guests, this wine festival is hosted by Chougule, the owner of Chateau Indage. Narayangaon Wine Festival is an exhibition of finest quality of wines that offers a rare chance to taste all the vines on display. The actual spirit behind this unique celebration is to promote a wine culture with tourism. Zampa wines had recently organized a

Zampa Crush Festival in Nashik. The event attracted around 450 guests having a day full of fun and frolic. Zampa Wines promoters Ravi Jain, Deepak Roy and Neeraj Deorah played gracious hosts and regaled their guests with loads of amusing activities which included zany grape crushing, a soothing foot spa at the top of the hill, live performance by JUNKT and a scintillating tour of the stunning vineyard. Grape stomping uplifted the spirits of wine enthusiasts Ashwin Deo, Kishen Mulchandani, Naaz and Remu Zhaveri and Shamita Singha as they were seen reveling in the wines and immersing themselves in an afternoon of sheer pleasure.

There was private wine tasting at their cellar where guests pleased their palette with some unique wine straight from the barrel by Zampa’s South African winemaker Nic Van Arde. Grape stomping was followed by a tour of the breathtaking winery which had everyone rushing to know more about the exquisite Zampa wines and all present breathed in the fabulous tour of the spectacular vineyards. Also seen having a gala time were Tejasvini Kolhapure, Manasi Scott, Mashoom Singha and Sanea Sheikh.

Corporate honchos Kishore Chhabria, Jaydev Mody, Mukul Kasliwal, Aditya Puri, Javed Tapia and Pradeep Shah added distinct charisma to the beautiful afternoon. According to Deepak Roy, Wine Festivals like this are important marketing fields to showcase the winery and brand. It also helps to cause wine making in a very pleasant and picnicking manner to bring consumers closer to wine and also build brand.

The whole effort of organising such an event in a very consumer-friendly way brings the concept of wine and wine making closer to consumers. Obviously the strategic intent at the back of mind is always to promote sales. Wine festivals are not done for sheer joy. As wine business expands in India, Harvest festivals will definitely become part of marketing calendar of every major wine maker. This will be in conjunction to wine tourism which is another way to promote wine culture in India, adds Roy.

Apart from the major wine producers, there are also clubs who have started organising festivals for its members and wine lovers. The Club, Mumbai, a leading private club in Mumbai suburbs had a wine festival showcasing few Indian as well as imported wine companies. This was organised by The Anada Wine Club, the only wine club in Mumbai that provides the opportunity to appreciate and promote both Indian and International wines, wine producers and wine lovers. Fresh grapes from the vineyards was trampled and stomped upon with a live band in attendance and celebrity guests. Undoubtedly, it was a visual delight to see the stomping brigade enter the vat, joyfully, crushes them and watch pure grape juice flow.

With a sumptuous spread of food by The Club and number of wines to go with, the event was a delightful one. Few of the participants were, Reveilo, Chateau Indage, Good Earth winery, FineWinesnmore etc. Fun and excitement being the key purpose behind these festivals, the SULAFEST this year roped in major bands like Jalebee Cartel, Shkabang, Something Relevant and Teddy Boy Kill to perform in its day long event in Nashik vineyard. From noon till midnight on

February 20th, Sulafest partygoers enjoyed a carnival atmosphere of music, food, wine and fleamarket shopping in the chilled environs of the winery’s beautiful open-air, Greek-style amphitheater. Spicing up this great musical line-up were eclectic food stalls that included kebabs, pastas & pizzas freshly made at Sula’s very own vineyard restaurants, washed down with a wide array of local and imported wines.

The event offered a great day out with loads of fun for the wine lovers as well as the usual visitors. Kiran Patil, the owner of Vintage wines which produces Reveilo believes in direct consumer contacts. “With the given market situation and issues with the stockists, these kind of events gives us the opportunities to do direct marketing with the consumer.” Wine festivals / events do contribute in creating and building awareness of a particular brand. The end consumer also gets a first hand experience by way of sampling the product, and to some extent, gains an insight into some more information about the product, the company, and the people behind it. These festivals also provide a platform to view all the brands absolutely, as well as, relatively, and can tell one from the other. However, she feels that wine festivals, per se, do not boost sales directly, but they do spread awareness about the category and the brand, per se, which, in turn, could enhance the sales of a particular brand, if evoked a good response from the consumer on a long term basis. A B2B event, in turn, could give good leads to the beginners.

If the events are well organized and based on a good format, for eg. B to C format combined with a plethora of allied activities in the side, coupled with adequate publicity and in a good location, it is bound to do well. Sharing his views on this new trend, Magandeep Singh, the internationally acclaimed sommelier says, “Wine Fests help promote the ultimate bond: that between winemaker and wine-drinker. Consumers can meet the producers and this is a very healthy interaction for both parties. This helps to gain knowledge as also improve or tweak wine styles.”

Do you think this is a new strategy to boost sales? To that he says, branding and brand marketing as also building brand equity have many facets and this is a good interactive version.

The future of such events seems bright at present. The quality may not always be top notch but as the consumer gets more discerning and the organisers less casual, things will improve.

— Rojita Tiwari

The Indian wine industry may have been caught off-guard by the huge gap in production and consumption. But, these challenging times are bound to bring change - some bad , but some definitely for the better. Last year's wine is still lying in wineries' cellars. Where is the space to harvest this year's grapes? Fortunately, grape production wasn't too good this year, yet, poor demand resulting in unpicked vineyards is making farmers think about switching to growing table grapes. Banks want their loan installments paid, and some wineries may simply close down!

The upside

1. Permission to distill grape spirit, brandy and cognac
The upside to this otherwise difficult situation is that Wine Producers' Association (Sangli) has approached the government for permission to distill grape spirit, brandy and cognac. Provided the permission is granted, this would mark India's entry into this premium sector. 'Europe distills the excess wine stock...' says Sula's Rajeev Samant, and India could well make a start now.

2. Demand for Agro-based industry classification
"Indian wines find it tough to survive due to high taxes and duties," said Abhay Kewadkar, director of Four Seasons Ltd, United Spirits Ltd. "They can survive if the industry is classified as agro-based, not alcohol." With the Industry facing its all time low, the Government is likely to take stock of suggestions from the industry.

3. Interest free loans and subsidy for farmerss
Wine producers have also asked for interest free loans and subsidies for farmers, in order to support the grassroot level of stakeholder in the Indian wine industry.

4. Training programmes for the industry
When the going is slow it is best to take the opportunity and upgrade one's skills. Frédéric Dezauzier, president, International Center of Spirits, laments the lack of quantifiable data on the Indian wine industry and is collaborating with VSI, CEIDV/ISL's Indian counterpart to provide technical, marketing and packaging training programmes for the wine industry in India. 'These programmes are aimed at professionals who want to adopt their core business on the 'ground' of a future heavyweight partner in the world of wine based spirits, while learning to understand it 'simply complex' world,' he elaborates.

Frédéric explains the current situation in India: 'In India much information or data is not available simply because it has never been collected. Either this information is not known or it is unusable as it is not quantifiable. The problem with focussing on quantifiable data is that often one forgets the qualitative information which could be evaluated, without the consequences can sometimes be disastrous.

-2007: bold predictions suggested an annual increase of 20% wine consumption.
-2010: 20,000,000 liters of wine are sleeping in Indian cellars, thousands of tonnes of grapes are left on the vines, banks are calling their money in from wineries bled dry, and winemakers are agonizing over their future.

Has Indian viticulture put the cart before the horse?'
He continues, 'India has fallen far short of expectations and predictions of certain European experts, and professionals who with their short term view, did not bother to take the time to understand the 'simple complexity' of the Indian situation.' This does seem the right time to identify gaps in the Indian wine industry and address them for achieving better leverage in the near future.


for indianwine.com
Frederic DEZAUZIER

Another young lady picks up the ropes in the still young Indian wine industry: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Karishma Grover...

Indianwine.com brings to you an exclusive chat with Grover Wines' Karishma Grover

Grover Wines is 21 years into the wine business, and ready to absorb its third generation into the fold. Kapil Grover's eldest daughter Karishma Grover is all upbeat as she carves a place for herself in the prestigious winery. This young graduate in Viticulture and Enology from University of California, Davis has just introduced art collections with designer labels for Grover Wines.

After an internship at Napa Valley, she is excited about being at Bangalore's Grover winery and working with world renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland.

Good to be home?
What does it feel like to be in India's wine industry, we ask her, and she answers with bubbling enthusiasm. `The Indian wine industry is new and challenging,' says Karishma and explains the challenge, `There is an untapped market here, and there is a lot of potential.' A lot of scope for young blood, that is. And why not when India's wine drinkers are by and large young, and most of the wineries are promoting their wines to the young in particular.

Is India in pace with wine culture?
Traditionally wine has been a ladies drink in India, and hard liquor was more the thing for men. A progressive wine culture is on the move, thanks to wine tasting clubs and wine promotion events by wineries. The availability of wine at upmarket stores, and a pinch of wine tourism - well every bit is adding to the Indian wine industry's profits as more and more people get a taste of wine. But in view of the production, sales must improve for the industry to keep going well. So, there lies the challenge.

The challenges
Karishma enjoys the challenge and is actively involved in Grovers' marketing and public relation departments. She shares that 60% of sales are in red wine. `Since India is new to wine culture compared to centuries of wine-drinking in other countries, it is neccessary to invest in educating Indians in the wine culture,' says Karishma, highlighting one aspect of the challenge that the Indian wine industry faces. Secondly, it is a challenge to maintain high quality in winemaking in India. Grover Wines is working towards meeting both challenges.

Venki
www.indianwine.com

Venki Venkatraman, owner of Indianwine.com, the first exclusive website about the Indian Wine Industry,  Venki shares his observations of the gaps and how to fill them to help Indian wines achieve greater success abroad.

Think glocal
What should India do to take its wines higher in the global market?
Integrate, collaborate, play to your strengths…
An independent body, Indian Wine Export Council is necessary to handle the growing Indian wine industry. Its responsibilities being huge, ranging from the micro to macro concerns. The first job should still be to create Brand India Wines.

In creating Brand India Wines, an organized, sustainable strategy will augment the individual wineries’ efforts to make a place for themselves in foreign stores.

The making of Brand India Wines
To nurture the face of Indian wines, the Indian Wine Export Council should collaborate with importers and foreign governments. At the same time, they should share the fruit of networking and collaboration with the people engaged in the industry back home in vineyards, wineries, sales and marketing, state government departments, et al. The license and label approval procedures need to be reviewed in favour of simplicity and progress. It is important to understand the culture.

The Indian wine industry has come of age and it is time to have local Appellations. India’s wine tourism also needs to be highlighted on global platforms.

Learning lessons from Australia’s branding efforts
Currently, the global scene is that wine production is outpacing its consumption.
Australia, US and Some European countries are producing surplus wines. Because of that the US, Germany and UK have witnessed heavy discounts in pricing. This is giving pressure to all the wineries to produce quality wines at reduced prices.

Euromonitor says that the new world wineries' success is not by an accident. It is achieved by aggressive marketing and brand building. For example, in the year 2000 Australia achieved wine sales worth $1 billion by coming up with premium wine varieties with $5 or little higher per bottle. With help of Wine Export Council the wineries in Australia are committed to building a brand awareness for Austrailian wines by aggressive export and promotion.

Novelty and price considerations
Global consumers always want to try new wines. Brand India has an opportunity to get it right with them.
An independent body such as an ‘Indian Export Council’ needs to be formed whose sole purpose should be to create ‘Brand India Wines’. Currently the general perception of Indian wine abroad is that it is ‘novel but very weak in quality.’ This is the experience of consumers who on visiting India have tasted domestic wines, and also those who have tasted Indian wines that have been exported. The quality of Indian wines has been varied, ranging from strong to very very weak.

Educating the industry, defining brand values…
The first step in creating ‘Brand India Wines’ is to define the values that define its Indianess – history, culture, organic agriculture practices, spirituality, honesty, etc. The defining denominators should be communicated to all wineries and grape growers, so that every person involved in the Indian wine industry has a common understanding of the goal.

Joining hands: Collaborative marketing overseas
The industry itself must commit to collaborative marketing abroad. Without this commitment there will be no major penetration into foreign markets by Indian Wine. (Remember, internationally, there is already an oversupply of quality wine.)

Goal-setting
Targets must be set over a ten year period as to what ‘Brand India Wines ’ wish to achieve in terms of export volume and revenues, country profile for targeted exports, wine category targets for premium and low cost wines, etc.

Import and Sell Indian Wines in the American market

Prepare for the Market
Where do you want to go? This question answered in detail is the blueprint for where you will reach.

Know your market
The market in the US can be roughly categorized as the mass market and the niche market. The mass market includes all type of hotels, department stores, chain stores, retailers and wine clubs. The niche market includes high end hotels, specialty stores, restaurants and high end consumers.

Know your competition
The world is a big place and the market competition is global. We have lots of wine regions, wine companies and products. We have same varieties produced in every region.
 
Work your way up
Because of the globalized market, selling part of the wine is very important. Make sure to think ahead in advance and work from bottom to top. First thing, focus on your target market segment and identify customers’ requirement.

Focus on one segment of the market at a time
Find the market that fits your product, style, image and price. Plan to focus on one market segment first. Exporting to the US means investing in more resources, and it could take some time before the market can be penetrated. So you need to be proactive. Shipping to the US also takes a long time. So plan much in advance and familiarize yourself with local sales pattern, festivals and celebrations.

Are you passionate about your wine?
The answer to this question can make or mar your marketing efforts. If your product is a result of passion for creating quality wines, the market could give it a try. Nothing compensates for passion here.

Your passion will show itself in your marketing message, the PR materials… Well, bring out the stories that show your passion and pride for your product.
Share your unique message. Reach out to the media. Reach out to wine influencers.

How important is your marketing message?
Your marketing message is very important. Most of the serious wine consumers will be interested in the message that goes with your product and even before the product itself is introduced to them. They would definitely like to know who you are? How much passion you have about wine? Who is backing your product? Who is the wine maker? Where are your vineyards? Who is your distributor? Where is your wine available in retail? Food pairings? The entire gamut!

Get noticed!
Be noticeable. Reach out to the media. Mostly, the media is covering only big companies. If yours is a small or medium sized company, then you could invite wine influencers - ask them to stay in your vineyards. There are many consumers around the world who buy as per their recommendation. Inviting wine influencers is a common practice in Argentina and Chile.

Are you a wine connoisseur or an expert ?
Once you have the attention of the media, the wine-influencers or consumers through tasting events, show them that you are producing world class wines and your expertise, specialties, etc.

If you have the product that speaks for you, well great! Your product’s quality is your best bet.

Succeed locally, first
While looking into overseas markets, it is important to succeed locally first. Build a local reputation that will add to your export profile. Work with one or two products to begin with. Build wine-lovers’ awareness for your product. Be unique. Remember that quality products are the first consideration. Create goodwill, trust and appreciation for your product. A good name sells automatically.

Build your product’s quality
Spend time and effort in investing your product with quality control. Gifts and discount schemes are no match for a great product. The product speaks for itself. We have plenty of Indian wine companies trying to sell globally. See the local market response before venturing overseas. Take the local market’s feedback seriously. Try to sell locally and succeed. If locally it is not selling then it will be very difficult sell it on the global platform, which has a larger competition.

Quality control measures must be on your priority list
By and large, India’s climate is not suitable for storage or transportation of wines without controlled temperature conditions. Take measures to address every aspect of the winemaking and selling to ensure quality control.

Test the waters
I strongly recommend planning of introducing your product range with one or two good wines. Don’t try to introduce everything from your portfolio. Because, most of the consumers will begin with buying or trying one or two products only. Everyone knows that any one restaurant does not keep all the wines from all the regions of the world. They have a one or two varieties from each select company. Only few restaurants have more than 50 wines on their menu. Retailers may cover a little wider range, but only for fast selling items.

One more reason for testing waters
If you sell one bad product, it will be difficult to sell other good product later on. Market reputation holds an important place. Sometimes a single bad product damages the image of the other wines from the same region.

How do you name your wine?
Wine names are very important in the global market. Names represents the Geographic region, the culture, the spirit of your wine. For instance, Sula and Grover’s Mist of Sahyadri . Foreign sounding names may not be suitable for the overseas market. Keep the name easy to pronounce. Research says that wines named after birds and animals are selling twice as much as others.

Marketing wines: The advent of a new era
The number of brands competing for consumer interest is increasing steadily. Distribution is becoming less of a differentiator. Consumers are more aware of wine options. Information on the Internet is influencing consumers’ tastes. Social networks in particular are influencing consumption choice. But on premises consumption remains the key factor in influencing consumer tastes

Find a good importer/distributor
As wholesale consolidation continues, gaining share of mind with distributors is becoming insanely difficult. Wineries are investing time and money just to get representatives to show their wines, and at the same time, the on- and off-sale trade is pressuring wineries to drop prices. Often, there is no corresponding increase in sales to justify that expenditure.

How to choose a distributor
Find distributors who are passionate about your wine, and presumable knows your target market. Never get excited about the distributors, and send large consignments in the very beginning. Always calculate the risk involved in going to a new market for the first time.

My strong recommendation is try to find the end consumer before finding the importer or distributor. Your target market will lead you to shortlist your distributor.
Find the distributor/importer who is already selling a limited variety of Indian wines. This distributor/importer will understand the Indian wine market. A new wine distributor/importer may not understand the Indian wine market.

Your distributor being big or small is not an important factor. What matters is how much effort he puts to market your product. Some distributors keep Indian Wines for strategic reasons and are not interested in marketing them.

So, you must focus on distributors who add value. Find distributors who can grow with your brand. If you cannot devote time then appoint a broker.

Tasting events are important
Wineries understand the payoff of taking their wines to consumers through tasting events instead of waiting for consumers to find them. Tasting rooms are important to capture mindshare. Wine clubs and public relations are vital promotion tools, no doubt. It helps to have a distributor who is willing to organize a number of tasting events for your product. Take on consultants for food pairing. Once you have a database of direct consumers through tasting events, attract and retain loyal consumers.

Know your consumer
Target your consumers, segment by segment. Develop premium and medium ranged products and marketing message with the target consumer in mind. Consumer database goes a long way in finding consumer likes and retaining them by sending them messages by email. Engage target consumers through events and emails, wine clubs, etc. Commit resources to building brand awareness in the consumers’ mind.

Be a Pro: Give end to end solutions
If you are a wine promoter, be sure to be abreast of the market news, new wines, marketing materials, marketing solutions, and post-sales support.
Present your wines with a thud factor. Use presentations, wine tasting event platforms, and your imagination. Pay attention to customer feedback. Visit your customers. Provide them alternatives. Make sure to inform the wine makers about the consumer feedback.
And now for a very special thank you for everyone who has contributed to the steady rise of the Indian wine industry.

You can always reach me at venki@indianwine.com 

India has become the 10th largest growth nation for wine consumption, in value and volume terms, for the period 2009-13, according to the Vinexpo/IWSR 2010 study. In 2008, wine consumption in India reached 1.449 million 9-litre cases, equivalent to 17.38 million bottles, an increase of 372% compared to 2004. A report.

The Vinexpo/IWSR study forecasts an increase of 1.475 million 9-litre cases in Indian wine drinking up to 2013.

The study, which was released in New Delhi in mid-March, also outlined the immense demand for red wines in the Indian market. “In 2009, 71.9% of the still light wines drunk in India were red”, said Mrs. Dominique Heriard Dubreuil, Chairman, Vinexpo Asia Pacific. She was in Delhi along with Mr. Robert Beynat, Chief Executive, Vinexpo Asia-Pacific, to promote the upcoming Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2010 in Hong Kong in May.

But surprisingly, despite the bright picture in which the Indian wine market finds itself, not a single Indian participant had registered for the Vinexpo event in Hong Kong when reports last came in around the closing date for entries.

The study indicated that the consumption of imported wines doubles every five years in the country. In 2008, imported wines accounted for 14.4% of the volume of wines drunk by Indians and 29.3% of the total sales turnover of all wines in India. “Consumption of imported wines, essentially concentrated in the country’s major cities, doubled between 2004 and 2008”, said Mrs. Dubreuil. The sector saw growth of 106.45% and reached 208,000 9-litre cases.

The forecasts of the Vinexpo/IWSR study estimate a further growth of 100.44% in the consumption of imported wines between 2009 and 2013, reaching more than 5 million bottles by the end of th period. Consumption of Indian wines, which grew by a massive 502.38% between 2004 and 2008, is expected to continue to increase by 84.12% in the period from 2009 to 2013. But a real point of note in the report was the increasing popularity and consumption of red wines in India. The red wine proportion is set to increase by 112.66% by 2013, when red wines will account for more than three quarters of all the wine consumed in the country. Between 2009 and 2013, consumption of white and rose wines will also grow, though to a lesser degree, by 53.23% and 30.77%, respectively.

This kind of growth will obviously depend a lot on government policies. Wine exporters, particularly the EU bloc, have cried foul of India’s ‘protectionist’ policies in heavily taxing imported wines but the matter is still a subject of debate.

In some measures, there has been a trade-friendly atmosphere developing. For example, the Delhi government has liberalized licensing laws to allow private stores selling fruit, vegetables and groceries to retail wine.

The decision is expected to significantly boost sales and increase the visibility of wine. And earlier last year, Karnataka took a significant step by issuing the country’s first ever ‘wine policy’ allowing the sale of liquor products in marts and malls.

According to some estimates, the sale of wine has increased to 2.5 million litres in the state. At the end of the day, wine is being promoted as a family drink, an entirely new concept in India, where drinking of any alcoholic product is still viewed with a significant amount of prejudice. But these new measures have also triggered a growth in areas under grape cultivation.

This somewhat minute picture comes against the backdrop of overall consumption in the world, where a billion more wine bottles will be drunk between 2009 and 2013. In 2008, world wine consumption reached 2.621 billion 9-litre cases, the equivalent of 31.452 billion bottles, a 5.64% increase compared to 2004. According to the forecasts in the Vinexpo /IWSR study, consumption should grow by a further 3.57% between 2009 and 2013 to reach 2.7 billion 9-litre cases.

Asia a Key Driver

Still light wines account for 92.6% of total world wine consumption in 2008. (See later in article for more world details) As expected, Asia will be a key driver to wine growth in the world, led by China.


In Asia, consumption of grape-based wine reached 111.63 million 9-litre cases in 2008, the equivalent of 1.34 billion bottles, an increase of 51.93% compared to 2004. Consumption is expected to increase between 2009 and 2013 with more than a further 30 million 9-litre cases being consumed, a forecast increase of more than 25%.

In 2008, Asian-Pacific countries accounted for 6.6% of all the wines drunk in the world.

Over the 10-year period from 2004 to 2013, Asian-Pacific wine consumption should grow by 86 million cases, which is more than the 85-million-case growth expected on the North American continent in the same period, the study said. China, including Hong Kong, was the 8th largest wine consumer in the world and the 10th largest producer in 2008; it is clearly the growth driver for wine consumption.

In 2008, China, including Hong Kong, posted the highest worldwide growth in volumes of wine consumed: 8.720 million more cases of still light wine drunk in one year. This trend recurred in 2009 with growth of 5.29 million 9-litre cases.

In 2008, China accounted for 68.9% of all still light wines consumed in Asia and 3% of the world total.

Japan is the second largest wine-consuming nation in the Asian region with moderate increases in the volumes consumed by Japanese drinkers from 2009: 0.03% between 2004 and 2008, then 3.65% from 2009 to 2013.

India, the 5th largest wine-drinking nation in Asia, posts the largest growth in consumption: 327% from 2004 to 2008, then 97% between 2009 and 2013.

Not Much Bubble for Asians
Although, the consumption of sparkling wines grew sharply between 2004 and 2008 by 55.96%, these wines only accounted for 3% of the total volumes of wine drunk in Asia in 2008, while they represented 7.3% of the total world volume.

The Vinexpo / The IWSR study forecasts that sparkling wine consumption in Asia will increase by 10.69% between 2009 and 2013. Furthermore, the value of wine sales in Asia had already grown by a substantial 62.97% between 2004 and 2008, reaching US$6.94 billion.

“Over the 10-year period from 2004 to 2013, the value of Asian wine sales will more than double with average annual growth of 11.5%”, said Mr. Beynat.

Imported Wines Boost Thirst
In Asia, one bottle out of four that is consumed is imported, or more precisely 27.8% of the volumes consumed. However, imported wines account for 59.8% of the total value of wines sold there.

In 2009, Japan remained the leading wine-importing nation in Asia, managing to still exceed the multiplication of wine imports into China by four between 2004 and 2008, triggered especially by the ban on import taxes in Hong Kong.

Finally, coming to the overall world scenario, there have been changes in the consumption patterns of the top 10 still light wineconsuming countries.

Having consumed 298.34 million 9-litre cases of wine in 2008, Italy strengthened its position as the leading still light wineconsuming nation in the world, which it won in 2007. In France, which is now in third place, consumption continued to fall by 8.31% between 2004 and 2008.

Apart from regulatory restrictions, health awareness, decreasing regular drinkers in France, the habits of consumption have changed in many ways. “We used to have long lunches, even in business settings-up to two hours or so. Now, it’s much like here in India, we have just about 45 minutes to an hour. So, less wine is consumedbut at the same time, since people are more discerning about what they drink, you see an increase in value terms in the wines they choose,” said Mrs. Dubreuil.

US & China Boom
The US maintained regular consumption growth of around 2% per year and became the second largest wine-drinking nation in the world in 2009. According to the forecasts already made in previous Vinexpo / IWSR studies, the US is expected to become the leading still light wine-consuming nation around 2011-2012. By 2013, American consumption is expected to reach around 310 million 9-litre cases.

China is the 8th largest wine-consuming country, having drunk more than 74.58 million 9-litre cases of still light wine in 2008. Between 2004 and 2008, the Chinese consumption of still light wines grew by 80% and should continue to increase to reach more than 100 million 9-litre cases by 2013. The Russian Federation also entered the top 10 wine-consuming countries in 2007.

Russian consumption is expected to continue to grow between 2009 and 2013, but at a slower pace of 6.41% compared to the 59% growth rate from 2004 to 2008. Total Russian consumption is expected to reach 74.91 million 9-litre cases by 2013.

Between 2009 and 2013, half the growth in worldwide wine consumption is expected to be located in just two countries: the US andChina . The Vinexpo Asia-Pacific / The IWSRstudy forecasts that the US and China should increase their still light and sparkling wineconsumption by 53.241 million 9-litre casesbetween 2009 and 2013, which represents57% of the total growth in consumptionworldwide over that period.

Canada, Russia and Brazil are also expected to increase their wine consumption substantially by 6.51%, 5.63% and 4.23% respectively.

The Vinexpo / The IWSR study forecasts that sparkling wine consumption in Asiawill increase by 10.69% between 2009 and 2013

In this table of countries with the fastest growth in volumes of wine consumed, India moves into 10th place with an expected increase of more than 1.47 million 9-litre cases between now and 2013.

Red Sun Rising
The majority of world wine consumption is red. In 2008, worldwide consumption of red wine accounted for 51.86% of the total. With growth expected to be 3.79% by 2013, this proportion should increase slightly to reach 52.27% in that year.

World consumption of white wine, however, should stabilise between 2008 and 2013, increasing by only 1.15% to reach 955.251 million 9-litre cases by the end of the period.

Although rosé wines are drunk significantly less throughout the world, the greatest increase is forecast to come in this category with growth estimated at 6.13% between 2008 and 2013.

Significantly, the rise in the value of wine sales is twice as fast as the increase in volumes consumed. World wine sales in 2008 reached US$151.817 billion, up 9.87% compared to 2004. Sales are expected to grow by a further 8.05% in value between 2009 and 2013.

Over the 10-year period from 2004 to 2013, the value of worldwide wine sales will have grown by 19.75%, while the volumes consumed will have increased by 8.82%.

The world wine trade also continues to develop, Spain has become the leading wine exporter in the world in terms of volume, having increased its exports by 13.66% between 2004 and 2008. Over the same period, Italy posted 8.97% growth in the volumes it exported, while French exports fell by 3.88%.

France remains the leading wine exporter in the world in terms of the value of its export sales, ahead of Italy and Spain, having delivered consignments abroad worth US$ 9.731 billion in 2008.

There was a last word in the Vinexpo/IWSR report on spirits consumption and it’s worth a mention. Worldwide spirits

consumption is slowing down, the study says. World spirits consumption grew by 10.7% between 2004 and 2008, topping the figure of 2.383 billion 9-litre cases. Between 2009 and 2013, the study forecasts slower growth of 2.9%. However, Tequila consumption should grow the most between now and 2013.

If locally produced liqueurs are excluded, vodka remains the spirit that is the most consumed in the world, representing 49.3% of total spirits consumption in 2009. Between 2009 and 2013, the fastest growing spirits will be tequila, up 7.18%, and rum, up 5.11%.

The consumption of cognac, brandy and scotch are expected to stabilise.

The Vinexpo / The IWSR study forecasts that sparkling wine consumption in Asia will increase by 10.69% between 2009 and 2013

For its 8th show outside France, Vinexpo international wine and spirits exhibition is again travelling to Hong Kong, as it did in 1998, 2006 and 2008. Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2010 will take place at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from 25 to 27 May 2010.

The exhibition will represent the largest showcase of wines and spirits ever exhibited under one roof in Asia. In order to accommodate a growing number of requests for stand space, Vinexpo took advantage of extension work at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre and decided to increase its overall exhibition area by adding an extra hall. This year, 750 exhibitors from around 30 countries will occupy 8,000 sq. m of floor space.

Companies from all over the world will exhibit individually or in national pavilions. The US, Spain, Chile and Germany will be significant participants. Sites have also been reserved for the Italian, Argentinean and Rumanian pavilions, as well as for companies and regions of China and South Africa.

Amongst the major international names, the following may be cited: Dynasty Fine Wines and Dra-gonet (China), Santa Rita and San Pedro (Chile), Henkell & Co (Germany), Cape Legends (South Africa), Marques de Riscal and Gonzalez- Byass (Spain), Sogrape (Portugal), Hayman Distillers (UK) and Banfi Distribuzione and Casa Vinicola Zonin (Italy).

Curtesy: http://www.ambrosiaindia.com

As Indian grape processing board under MFPI will be drafting the standards for regulating oenological practices and procedures for Indian wine industry this year, a series of legal complications can surface and to avoid a stalemate IGPB should advice ministry of commerce and industries to initiate a number of trade agreements including the membership of world wine trade group WWTG or else Indian wine importers will face a rough weather ahead advices - Rajiv Seth

To understand what implications lies ahead for Indian wine industry consider the following information. The European wine regime or EC regulations are published in the "L" series of the "official journal" as either "council or commission regulations. Council regulations result from the proposals by the European commission and are approved by the council of ministers or say agricultural ministers of members states, and give general instructions on particular subjects. On the other hand commission regulations are complied by the commission through the medium of the wine Management Committee and provide the detailed instructions required to support council regulations.

The out line of the control system of EU wine regime is laid in council regulation 1493/99, amended subsequently by council regulation (EC) 479/2008. In this regulation out lines for the rules for permitted oenological practices, market mechanisms, Trade with third countries and production potential etc. are provided with a regulatory frame work.

As discussing all the regulatory frame work is beyond the scope this particular article I will narrowed down my discussion on regulations pertaining only to" Trade with third countries". The general rules for this specific aspect of trade with third countries are laid down in detail in commission regulation (EC) No. 883/2001.

Chapter II Article 27, “oenological practices and restrictions” of council regulations (EC) No. 479/2008 clearly states "That products covered by this regulation, which have undergone unauthorised community oenological practices, or, where applicable unauthorised national oenological practices, shall not be marketed in the community.

Now read chapter V, article 20, "certificates and analysis report for wine on import" laid down in commission regulation No. 883/2001 which states that -

(a) The certificate part shall be made out by a body of third country in which the products originated.

(b) The analysis report part of which shall be made out by an official laboratory recognised by the third country in which the products originated.

Simply it means that if a wine is made by a process or by addition of an additive or processing aid which is not permitted in EU that wine can not be marketed in the community.

So when India will have its own standards for regulating oenological practices there is a great chance that these approved additives or processing aids or oenological practices may differ or varies with the community practices, as India falls in the Hot Tropical Range of wine making countries.

In the past EU have been creating this as a barrier to new world producers of wine who may be using wine making processes that are innovative and not proven to be unsafe on scientific grounds but are not yet recognised by the European Union.

For example prior to 2005, because US wine markets employ unauthorised wine making methods, US wines have not met EU import requirements. US wines are only allowed into European Union markets through a series of annual extensions to temporary exemptions (derogations) from European wine making regulations (Office of the US Trade Representative 2001). In 1999, agreement was reached between the European Union and the United States to extend those derogations until 2004. Finally the United States and European Union signed a bilateral Trade Agreement on wine in 2005 in order to tackle a number of wine related issues including agreement to accept each others oenological practices.

On the other hand there are a number of regulations under sanitary and phytosanitary requirements that relate to allowable levels of chemical residues, toxins and taints in wine that are implemented on health and safety grounds. For example, as with most agricultural products, a variety of chemicals are sprayed on vines to protect against disease and pests. However, imports of wine products can be restricted where the residues of these chemicals exceeds specified maximum residue levels. Another example is the Republic of Korea which has restricted imports of French wine in the past because French wine makers have used powdered beef blood for purifying wine.

The Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices is an agreement among the 'New World' producers that attempts to remove the barriers to world trade posed by wine making practices.

This group (WWTG world wine trade group) includes the wine producing countries of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States and Uruguay and is a direct response to organisations such as the Office International of Vine and Wine that seek to perpetuate the enforcement of standards that favor European wine producing countries. The group consists of government representatives from each country that meet twice a year with the objective of enhancing wine trade. In 2001, five of the countries signed the Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices that seeks to remove barriers to world wine trade arise through wine making practices.

Each of the five signatory countries that permit wine imports from other participating countries provided that wines are made in accordance with the producing country's domestic laws and technical wine making requirements and regulations. This agreement prevented differences in wine making practices from being used to erect barriers to wine trade between participating countries and allow for the acceptance of any new domestically sanctioned oenological practice that has no perceived health or safety issues involved.

Lately in 2007 in Canberra WWTG group negotiated an agreement on wine labelling. The agreement was done desiring to facilitate the international trade in wine through the adoption of common labelling requirements, keeping in mind that different regulatory requirements for wine labeling have contributed, to the complexity and cost of international trade in wine.

It is to be noted that the new world producer Australia is also a member of the Office International of Vine and Wine (OIV). The OIV is an intergovernmental organization of a scientific and technical nature working in the field of vine and vine based products. The OIV was established by agreement between founding members of France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia in 1927. There are presently 46 member countries including most of the major wine producing nations of the world, with the notable exception of the United States. Recently India has also started its proceedings to be a member of OIV, but this may take some time.

Indian wine exporters will agree with my point of view as they are aware that EU has a list of the official agencies and laboratories approved by the third countries for the purpose of drawing up documents, and certifying that the wine to be exported has met the requirement of EU guidelines on meeting its oenological practices. This list is provided in article 48 of the commission regulation (EU) No. 555/2009. Now in the light of this fact that India will be having its own standards for regulating oenological practices and procedure, How will these laboratories certify there consignments and the same is also applicable to the wine imports in to India from a foreign destination.

Having informed you about the implication of forming wine standards and regulations, it is evident that implementing regulations without having entered prevailing wine agreements will lead to complications.

One more thing that India might choose to play with the same stick as EU has been doing in the past. That is protecting its wine industry from imports, through a variety of relevant oenological measures and other non tariff barriers, thus ensuring a fair standard of living for its domestic producers.

- Rajiv Seth



Rajiv Seth became the first Indian in the year 1987 to receive a gold medal from wine and spirit education trust, London. Presently he is making continuous efforts in educating the lab assistants of a number of wineries on procedures of vinification through his manuals. He also writes for Delwine.