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May 2009 - Posts
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The status of India Wine Challenge 2009 is not clear. It may happen..." begins Robert Joseph, who introduced the International India Wine Challenge to India in December 2007. IndianWine.com gets sound bytes from him about the current happenings in the Indian wine industry...
Current market view
 "The world market is increasingly focusing on India, because market conditions are difficult in other countries and contracting due to the economy. Also the falling value of Euro...
"Australia is also finding it difficult to sell its wine in Australia itself, so the world is concentrating on the new market in India."
The Indian wine market has its own problems though. "The Indian market is very complicated, and most sellers are not doing their homework properly to address the problem. India is new to the wine culture and the high excise duties are not helpful either."
Moreover, broadly speaking, the wine market in India is concentrated in just three cities vis a vis the Chinese market which is spread over 20 cities. The Chinese wine market is growing very fast when compared with India. Beside the three main cities Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, the wine market is very light in other Indian cities.
Developing the Indian wine market by developing a wine culture...
All the focus in developing a wine culture in India is mainly from outside. But domestic labels are also focussing on develping a wine culture in India, which in the long run develops the wine market in India. It is seen that main those people who travel abroad pick up the wine culture. We find people like Sula's rajjev Samant and Chateau D'ori's Ranjit Dhuru playing majot roles in dveloping a wine culture in India.
Quality wise?
The existing wineries in India, well, some of them have given better quality wines in the previous years. Sula's new products are encouraging. Sula is putting in a lot of research and improving both their wines and wine tours. Given the Indian climate, transportation is a high risk zone for the quality of wines. It is not an easy fix for India. Also, India is still not in the forefront of development of wineries. More awareness is required.
Why only French, get more regional flavours into India...
Wine in India is overly influenced by French wines. It should also explore and include influences from other regions and countries to improve upon Indian wines and the Indian wine culture.
Mumbai, in particular is not very appreciative of imported wines from other regions. If you want an exposure to very good quality wines then doors should open for all regional wines.
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The youthward movement of the Indian wine market is evident, say experts. Subhash Arora, the president of the Delhi Wine Club, said he had observed that more and more youngsters are joining the club.“In the last five years, we have seen a paradigm shift in our
membership. Earlier our club saw members in the 40s but now more and
more youngsters are joining.
“Drinking wine has a lot to do with the culture and upbringing.
Youth is attracted to wine because it is fashionable and a smart thing
to pursue,” says Arora while adding that young women are also taking to wine. Linda Viviani, a winemaker from Napa Valley in the US, said:
“Youngsters have more disposable income - this has led to a drastic
change in the lifestyle quotient of the youth.” She wants to invest in
the Indian market and was here recently in this regard.
“The luxury market is expanding dramatically in India and the
consumption of wine has increased almost three times since 2004,” she
said. Indians drank 1.5 million nine-litre wine cases in 2008-09. These figures are likely to triple by 2015, said Viviani.
Most youngsters prefer red wine over white or rose. Wine makers in
India have been taking giant strides in recent years, and it’s now chic
to drink wine produced in this country. However, the import market is
still huge, led by the French, Australians and Italians. “Youth today are conscious of their image in society and wine is more acceptable,” reasons Nixon Dimello, the national marketing head of Grover Vineyards.
More: Thaindian News
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Indage Vintners Ltd has signed an MoU to form a joint venture (JV)
company with Cavit, an Italian wine company based in Trentino, Italy.
Indage and Cavit will form a business alliance through this joint
venture company (JVC). The JVC has plans to expand its businesses into the viticulture segment
to make wines in India. This will assist the new Italian varietals’
expansion in India for Indage’s backward integrated activities.
Financial
advisory firms, India-based Palladio Pransa and Italy-based DB
Sviluppo, were involved in initiating this JV between the two
companies. Cavit is engaged in wine production, sales and distribution
in Italy, with annual sales of more than €180 million. More: Reuters and Hospitality Biz India
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As the recession put the brakes
on the state’s thriving wine industry, the contract system of wineries to
source their raw material, wine quality grapes, has gone for a toss. The state
government has now decided to set up a committee which will work out details for
the enforcement of agricultural contracts in another three
months.
Wine sales, which had grown 44% in April 2008, went into
negative territory in January 2009. Grape growers in Nashik district, which is
home to 30 of the 58 wineries in the state, have been hit the most due to this.
Wine grapes are a long-life crop hence farmers cannot discontinue cultivation
when rates fall in one season.
“We have held a
few meetings with the farmers and other stake holders recently. Wine brewing is
a new industry and the modalities of grape procurement are yet not settled. The
recently launched Indian Grape Processing Board is also yet to take
shape,” said Nashik district collector, MP Velrasu.
Mr Velrasu said in the absence of
any official coordinating mechanism, the committee to be set up will recommend
future procurement arrangements, government intervention, the possibility of
creation of storage capacity among others. The state follows a command area
system for sugarcane, under which every cane grower has a tieup with a sugar
factory. The proposed committee will mull over the possibility of a similar
mechanism for wine grapes. More: Economic Times
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While presiding over a discussion on "Indo-Chile business
cooperation", organised on Monday by Bengal National Chamber of Commerce &
Industry (BNCCI), Chilean ambassador to India
Alfonso Silva Navarro indicated that Chile which favours free
trade agreements with as many countries as possible to boost its overall trade volume, does not see any problem if a similar kind of trade agreement is signed
with India.
Countries having FTA with Chile enjoy zero or the lowest customs duties for many of their products entering Chile. Plus, the trade pact has enabled them to access a 50-million strong Latin American market though Chile. On Contrary, Indian products are devoid of such advantages. At present, Indo-Chile trade is covered by the ‘Partial Trade Agreement’ (PTA).
In Chile, many companies in the private sector are eager to have an FTA with India. From the Indian side, business fora like CII and BNCCI can start exploring the advantages which can be enjoyed by Indian companies if an FTA with Chile is signed, suggested the ambassador.
India’s exports to Chile are restricted from growing because of tariff disadvantages vis-à-vis other FTA partners. Chile’s exports to India suffer from similar restrictions. If both countries lower tariff barriers, there are huge prospects for multiplying bilateral trade in copper, wine, acquaculture products, processed food and forestry products, hinted Mr Navarro.
According to latest statistics available, Indo-Chile two-way trade in 2007-08 was $2,093.35 million, constituting 0.50% of India’s total trade. While India’s exports to Chile amounted to $249.61 million, constituting 0.15% of India’s total exports. Imports from Chile was to the tune of $1,843.74 million, constituting 0.73% of India’s total import. More: Economic Times
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In an attempt to reduce costs, India’s biggest wine producer, Indage
Vintners (formerly Champagne Indage), has started closing its regional
offices, while centralising all sales and marketing activities at its
headquarters in Mumbai.
The Rs 300-crore company had already shut its regional office in
Kolkata and would be shutting down others also, it confirmed in an
e-mail reply. Currently, the company has 10 regional offices in India. The company spokesperson admitted that “...the recession has put
pressure on our margins as consumers look for value and we have been
spending more to give more value. People who earlier would purchase six
bottles at $5 are now looking at purchasing eight bottles for the same
price. India has wider margins and restructuring will give us cost
savings of Rs 35 crore in the next financial year.”
More: Business Standard
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IIWF 2009 – India’s most comprehensive international wine exhibition took place in Mumbai between 16th – 18th March 2009. Dedicated to India’s burgeoning wine industry, the event brought together major Indian and international buyers and wine sellers.
 MARCH 2009, MUMBAI: IIWF, in its first edition, succeeded in providing the wine industry with a platform to network, learn and share. With more than 150 wineries and exhibitors from France, Italy, South Africa, New Zealand, Portugal, Thailand, Australia, Chile, India and Romania among many others, IIWF showcased prestigious wines to India's expanding wine market. Endorsements for IIWF included UBI France - The French Ministry of Trading Affairs, The Chile - India Chamber of Commerce, The Romanian Trade Commission and The Indo-Italian Chambers of Commerce.
Also present at IIWF was 12 premium chateaux from Bordeaux, unveiling the exquisite 2004 Grands Crus vintage. This exclusive tasting was well attended and showcased the very best of Bordeaux, its finest terroirs and was hosted by the Chateaux owners. The 2004 Grands Crus Tasting was led by David Wrigley, Master of Wine, from the world’s finest wine education institute – Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), UK and was well received by the industry.
IIWF has become the single most important forum for international and Indian wine producers, exporters and marketers to firmly establish themselves in the booming Indian market - currently the fourth largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.
Speakers at the India International Wine and Gourmet Summit included industry leaders – Aman Dhall, Brindco, Sanjay Menon, Wine Society of India, Abhaey Kewadkar, UB Group and Rajeev Samant, Sula along with top sommeliers Craig Wedge, Sonal Holland and Magandeep Singh.
Visitors at IIWF 2009 included top wine importers, distributers, retailers and wholesalers; institutional buyers like hotels, airlines and restaurants; domestic wine producers including exporters and potential wine companies vying to make a foray into the Indian market. The networking evening hosted by Magandeep Singh and Angela Mount was extremely well received with attendance from all levels of the industry.
Informa India and Promeeting, given the long established track record in creating highly meaningful industry platforms that have facilitated information exchange and peer-to-peer contact all over the world, have successful made IIWF an important addition to the international wine industry calendar and will provide the best wine experiences to ever grape for IIWF 2010.
For more information about IIWF, log on to www.iiw-fair.com.
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Intervitis Interfructa (IVIF), the world's leading technology trade
fair for wine, fruit, fruit juice and spirits, will witness the launch
of Russian, South African and Indian editions in 2009. This will
provide European exhibitors with the chance to secure direct access to
these important markets of the future.
As the first of the international IVIF trade fair events, Intervitis Interfructa Russia
will be held in Krasnodar from April 21-23, 2009. The organiser
Krasnodarexpo is expecting more than 200 exhibitors and 7,500
specialist visitors from Russia and the neighbouring countries at IVIF Russia in Krasnodar.
Intervitis Interfructa Southern Africa will be held from July 28-30, 2009 at Cape Town International Convention Center. Under the label 'Made in Germany', export-oriented companies can make their first step into the South African market
in their own pavilion. In addition to the 'German Pavilion', there
will also be a French and an Italian pavilion at IVIF Southern Africa 2009.
Messe Stuttgart and the German Winegrowers' Association will organise a specialist congress, with accompanying technology exhibition, at Nashik (Maharashtra) from November 4-5, 2009. More: Alibaba
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In what can be seen as a possible truce between the two largest wine producing
states, the Maharashtra government has proposed to bring down excise duty being
charged for wine obtained from outside the state, if Karnataka agrees to
reciprocate.
In a letter to the excise department of Karnataka,
dated January 27, 2009, the Maharashtra excise department said a proposal for
reducing excise duty to Rs 100 per bulk litre is under consideration. According to industry players, from a 200% excise duty on the
manufacturing cost for out-of-state wine, the move would bring down the duty
from Rs 150-200 to Rs 75% per bottle.
It is understood that
Maharashtra government’s proposal was prompted by the willingness of
Karnataka to make changes in its excise duty and import fee structure. If competing duty issues are resolved,
the two markets can boost overall growth by at least 10% this fiscal. More: Economic Times
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Indage Vintners Ltd (Chateau Indage) has introduced a range of value-for-money wines for
the growing Indian wine drinker. Wines introduced
are Trio, Mojo, Silverton, Blue Elephant and South Bay, all priced
between Rs100-400. The company offers better quality combined with lower prices and attractive
packaging for these wines. According to Ranjit Chougule, Managing Director,
Indage Vintners Ltd, “We believe in offering more value to consumers,
especially during these recessionary times when the wine drinker wishes
to indulge in good quality at an affordable price. We are constantly in
the process of innovating the brand portfolio to broaden our offering
for both the retailer and the consumer”. Indage Vineyards features a portfolio of new world wines created as a
celebration of its 25 year journey of excellence in oenology and
viticulture in the tropics. More: Indiainfoline.com
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According to a recent study jointly conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Technopak Advisors (P) Ltd., beer and wine is an emerging sector in the Indian food industry. While the consumption of beer is growing at 7% per annum, wine consumption in India is witnessing high growth
of 30%. The total market size of the beer and wine industry was $2.3
billion in 2006-07 and is expected to grow up to $5 billion by 2015. More: FnB News
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The Maharashtra government is likely to remove
additional excise duty on wine soon. In a recent letter to the
Karnataka Excise Commissioner Yogesh Tripathi, the Commissioner of
Maharashtra, I Schahal, has expressed willingness to respond to the
request of reduction of form K registration and removal of the
additional excise duty being charged at present.
Informing this,
Subhash Arora, president, Indian Wine Academy, stated that the biggest
hurdle to out-of-state wines is the mandatory annual K-registration
which costs Rs 798,600 (almost $16,000). The Joint Commissioner of
Excise of Maharashtra has apparently confirmed that the department
would reduce this amount to Rs 250,000. Additionally, they are also
willing to reduce the current special excise duty from 200% to Rs100 a
bulk litre, expecting a similar treatment from the Karnataka
counterparts.
"We will all start going back to our in-born belief
that we are Indians first and Indians last and that all states are an
equal part of the Republic. The wine excise policy adopted by
Maharashtra has been very divisive, despite their otherwise progressive
attitude towards grapes and wine making," says Subhash Arora. More: FnB News
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Grover, a 25-year-old winery from
Bangalore, recently launched its Art Collection — a range of six wine
varieties for which the labels have been designed by artists like
Sanjay Bhattacharya, Jatin Das and Paresh Maity. Bhattacharya’s
untitled painting of a silhouette of a woman against a candle-stand and
empty wine bottles dons bottles of the 2007 Cabernet Shiraz. “It is
part of a series of paintings on ‘women and wine’ that I did in 2005,”
said Bhattacharya. Das’s abstract sketch, showing a woman and birds,
forms the labels for the 2007 Blanc De Blanc.
“There are regular art label auctions
by wine makers in France. After seeing the auction of Mouton Rothschild
art collection at Christie’s, I wanted to replicate the idea in India,”
said Karan Grover, 58, Director of Grover, while unveiling the
collection at Ricks, Taj Mahal hotel.
More: Indian Express
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