August 13th, 2008 simone
With an aim to boost the wine industry in the country, the Central government has set up a National Wine Board (NWB) and an ad hoc committee to govern its work.
The decision to this effect was taken at a recently-held meeting, with Rahul Sarin, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Commenting on this, Sarin said, “The wine industry in the country is growing at a rate of 25 to 30 per cent. However, per capita consumption of wine in India is low compared to other Asian and European nations.
The wine sector in India requires a platform for consolidation of efforts and to develop the sector in an integrated manner. The National Wine Board will accomplish this purpose.”
The Board will help tap domestic and export markets, interact with government, policymakers, lay down standards and norms for improving quality and competitiveness and value addition to growers.
The ad hoc committee, formed to govern the work of the NWB, will be headed by Shamrao Chougule, chairman, Chateau Indage.
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August 13th, 2008 Elizabeth
In a recent report in the Economic Times, Mr. Jaideep Kale, technical coordinator at the Maharashtra Wine Park, declares the increase in consumption of imported wines to about 45,000 cases in 6 years from 2001 to 2007. He has reportedly commented, ‘the consumption of foreign wines in the country for the last seven years has increased by a mere 400,000 litres compared to an astounding 6 million litres growth for domestic wine in the same period.’
This is quite incomprehensible. The growth of just one importer, Brindco who is the biggest in India, has been more than the figures quoted by Mr. Kale. According to Aman Dhall, owner of Brindco, he imported 4,200 cases in 2001 while last year he has imported 57,000 cases. Even if one takes a figure of 10% as the unsold inventory, in addition to previous year’s unsold wine, the sale may be presumed to be 51,000 cases.
This is an increase of 46,500 cases of 9 liters. Translated to 418,500 litres increase!
In 2001, the number of importers barely touches two figures. Today the number is raring to touch the three-digit mark. It is generally a consensus that the imports in the past year have touched 200,000 case mark.
Despite the importers claiming a poor environment for growth of foreign wines, a survey conducted by Indian Wine Academy last month indicates that the sale of imported wine has been more than 220,000 cases, excluding bulk wine imports, hand-carried wine by air travellers and the smuggled wine which is available in Mumbai and the south of India but for which no statistics are available.
In one year alone, the growth of imported wine has been to the tune of over 50,000 cases, at an annual growth of 30%; last year’s estimate was 160,000-170,000 cases.
Undoubtedly the growth of Indian wines has been faster-more than 30%; in fact around 40%. The big three- Indage, Sula and Grover have achieved an average of over 30% and with the new wineries springing up and having triple-figure jumps in revenues over the small base, 40% is perhaps a conservative estimate.
However, the report intrigues further when it says that the ‘domestic wine consumption touched more than 10 million litres in 2007, and may go up to 15 million litres for the current year, from a mere 1 million litres in 2001,’ and at the same time claiming only ‘an astounding 6 million litres growth for domestic wine in the same period.’ Either the sales were 3 million cases in 2001 or the 2007 figures would be 7 million liters, n’est pas?
The 2006 IWSR report which had estimated a total wine consumption in India at 17 million litres for 2011 and a similar study by Rabo Bank and indeed the 50-year Future Report by Berry Bros. & Rudd released a couple of weeks ago and reported by delWine only give a rough indication of the current market or the future estimates.
The market is so much government- controlled that their policies can change the direction at all times and governments as we know have no known or set direction. The recent example of the Delhi government chickening out of announcing the sale of wines in supermarkets, when nearby Gurgaon is very liberal is only an illustration.
What we do know for a fact is that the current alcohol market in India is huge. Including beer, wine and spirits, it is estimated at 500 million cases. This includes the undeclared and unaccounted - for sale where the numbers are always estimates and are disputable.
Incidentally, the article gloats over last year’s tax reduction and says ‘import duties on wines have plummeted’. The fact that the excise duty has been increased to 200% in Maharashtra, the biggest wine consuming state has been ignored. While the Additional Customs Duties of about 100% have been eliminated, they are still high at 150%. The basic duty has actually been increased from 100% to 150% (which in fact works out to 160% including the refundable 4% SAD, which is not easy to get back according to the importers).
With the low base at half a percent of total alcohol consumption, anything between 50-60% growth per year should be achievable and doable if the government policies are positively tuned to wine and its health benefits and it is considered a food product rather than spirits.
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May 14th, 2008 Elizabeth
In next 50 years, India’s growing wine industry is likely to challenge the supremacy of traditional wine-making countries, a report has said.
The Indian wine industry was currently in its infancy, but technology exchange in winemaking and viticulture from Europe and Australasia meant India was likely to challenge the supremacy of traditional wine-making countries, a report on the state of the industry in 50 years titled “The Future of Wine” said.
“India has the potential to embrace wine in a big way and the economic muscle to dictate to producers what style of wine they should be making,” Alun Griffiths, a contributor to the report, said.
In the report, an analysis of the state of the industry in 50 years, the leading wine merchants Berry Brothers and Rudd said that ambitious Indians turning to fine wine as a mark of social standing will drive India’s wine industry to new heights.
It said that the market for wine in India was growing at over 25 per cent per year. If the increasing number of vineyards planted in parts of western and southern India were any indication, India will soon be taken seriously as a fine wine-growing nation, the report said.
“By 2058 it will be quicker to count those countries that don’t make wine than to count those that do. India will have embraced the grape, foreign know-how having identified the best sites for both bulk and single estate wines,” Jonathan Ray, Wine Editor of the Daily Telegraph said.
France has led the way (in both performance and price) when it comes to high-end, premium vintages, but the report said that stiff competition from around the world could soon see the fine wine league table turned on its head.
The wine merchant believes that by 2058, global bidding wars will take place for the top wines and the most sought after wines will become prohibitively expensive and extremely difficult to obtain — leading to what it called “world wine wars”.
China, it said, was set to establish itself as a leading producer of volume wine, and added that it also had all the essential ingredients to make fine wine to rival the best of Bordeaux.
Jasper Morris, another contributor to the report said: “I absolutely think China will be a fine wine player rivalling the best wines from France. It is entirely conceivable that, in such a vast country, there will be pockets of land with a terroir and micro-climate well suited to the production of top quality wines.”
Already the world’s sixth largest wine producer and number four in terms of area under vine, China, the wine merchant predicted, will be the world’s leading producer of volume wine by 2058.
“50 years ago, it would have been unthinkable to take wine lessons ‘virtually’ or predict supermarket shelves would be stocked with wines from China, Brazil, India or New Mexico,” the report said.
In 1958, German, fortified and sweet wines were top-sellers; now, they do not even feature on the best-sellers list, the wine merchants said.
Berry Bros & Rudd has been selling wine for 310 years and expects to be doing so for at least another 310. It is Britain’s oldest independent wine merchant that has more Masters of Wine (four) than any other company.
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May 9th, 2008 Jhon D
New Delhi, April 21, 2008: The Indian wine market is on a high. With a growth rate of 25 per cent over the past three years, it seems that everybody wants their glass and have a sip too.
Earlier this month, one of the largest wine producers in the world, Diageo, announced introducing French wine Bordeaux in the country. Now, Spain’s leading wine company, Torres, is all set to increase its presence here. Read the rest of this entry »
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May 9th, 2008 Jhon D
April 23, 2008: As winemakers turn bartenders, here’s another opportunity for wine lovers to regale in fine spirits. Wine companies in the country are opting for the direct retail route by opening wine shops and bars across the country.
The aim is not only to draw the regular consumer but also convert the not-so-regular drinker into a connoisseur. Leading the pack is Champagne Indage Ltd (CIL). The company, which holds a 70% market share in the estimated Rs 600 crore wine market, is looking at setting up more than 5,000 outlets in the next 5 years. CIL’s outlets will be a mix of wine bars and wine shops. Wine bars will be smaller, around 500-1000 sq ft in size, while wine shops will have an area of 500-2000 sq ft. Read the rest of this entry »
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May 9th, 2008 Jhon D
New Delhi, May 03, 2008: Wine dinners have been part of the Delhi social scene for the past decade or so. Ever since India’s economy opened up to the finer things in life, winemakers and merchants have been coming back (I say ‘back’ of course since they used to come centuries ago, with much the same intent — tapping India’s wealth!) to create awareness about their produce.
France, Italy, Australia, the US, Chile and now even Argentina, South Africa, Hungary and what-have-you, have preferred the wine dinner route to ‘educate’ the Indian palate about their wares. I am happy now, though, that wine dinners have finally come of age. Time was when these dinners were chock-full of the ‘beautiful people’, those incorrigible partygoers who hop-skip-and-jump through umpteen dos in an evening. Read the rest of this entry »
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May 8th, 2008 Elizabeth
Mumbai, May 04, 2008: It’s time to raise a toast to Maharashtra’s wine industry. With the crushing season just over, the state has recorded a 60% growth in its wine production over last year. Maharashtra also continues to dominate the country’s wine industry, producing 94% of India’s grape wine.
Latest figures from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) department of wine production show that 2.11 crore litres of wine were produced across the state’s 57 wineries this year, as compared to the 1.32 crore litres produced last year. The figures show that the state’s wine production continues to grow at over 40% annually, with 94 lakh litres produced in 2006. Read the rest of this entry »
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April 23rd, 2008 Shell
April 17, 2008: The government has given an ultimatum to hotels and restaurants enjoying duty free wine and liquor purchase to bring down their prices on wine and liquor or face withdrawal of duty- free benefits. If the FHRAI directives are followed in the right spirit, it will be a move in the positive direction for the wine industry in India, feels Subhash Arora.
FHRAI has given a ‘directive’ to cap the gross margins on wines to 250% of the cost and liquor margins to four times the total costs including munchies. If it is self-imposed in the right spirit (pun intended), it could result in a price drop of 25-40 %, fuelling demand and spelling boom for importers, hoteliers and consumers alike. Read the rest of this entry »
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