A survey by France-based Vinexpo, the premier event organisers for those in the wine and spirits trade, presents a happy picture for India. Its assessment is that the enormous growth in India’s wine market will account for 150 million cases by 2010. This is triple the consumption level of wine in India today.
Lifestyle changes upward mobility and perceived health advantages are driving the preference for wine. Interestingly, while the wine market is growing by 30% a year, that for spirits is lagging behind at 25%.
With growth has come curiosity for the different sorts of wine and to satisfy this curiosity there are wine clubs mushrooming like never before.
In Mumbai, at the Oberoi’s, they have this Italian restaurant Vetro. You order the food and a surprise awaits you. The restaurant has started an extensive wine library and at any time you can indulge in a wine tasting session with up to five whites and five reds. What’s more, these are offered on the house! The purpose is simple. The hotel wants you not to be scared of ordering a wine. Just enjoy the sampling, relax, see what you like and the next time you will have a better idea perhaps of what you want to order.
Last month Banglore saw the launch of the Wine Society of India, with a bunch of software types trying to deconstruct subtleties of Chardonnay.
In Delhi too there are at least six wine clubs that invite people across professions to come for a sampling more then once a month. These are structured events with a lot of jargon. For those who want to be initiated though, it is almost like a tribal ritual. A lot of the members comprise lunching ladies who want to sound knowledgeable about wine. It probably works out as: knowing wine names means being sophisticated.
This buzz has also hit the embassy circles. They are pitching in with products from their countries, so a lot of the sampling is on the house. The Chilean, Australian and Italian ambassadors in Delhi are known to promote wine from their respective countries and periodically hold wine tasting events.
Now for the downer. Despite the buzz that wine is creating in India, let’s face it, the market is still tiny. It is worth only $50 million in value. And, the per capita consumption is what gives it away — Indians ‘consume’ only two teaspoons of wine per head per year. Wine makers have obviously figured out that the market from here can only grow.
Lifestyle changes upward mobility and perceived health advantages are driving the preference for wine. Interestingly, while the wine market is growing by 30% a year, that for spirits is lagging behind at 25%.
With growth has come curiosity for the different sorts of wine and to satisfy this curiosity there are wine clubs mushrooming like never before.
In Mumbai, at the Oberoi’s, they have this Italian restaurant Vetro. You order the food and a surprise awaits you. The restaurant has started an extensive wine library and at any time you can indulge in a wine tasting session with up to five whites and five reds. What’s more, these are offered on the house! The purpose is simple. The hotel wants you not to be scared of ordering a wine. Just enjoy the sampling, relax, see what you like and the next time you will have a better idea perhaps of what you want to order.
Last month Banglore saw the launch of the Wine Society of India, with a bunch of software types trying to deconstruct subtleties of Chardonnay.
In Delhi too there are at least six wine clubs that invite people across professions to come for a sampling more then once a month. These are structured events with a lot of jargon. For those who want to be initiated though, it is almost like a tribal ritual. A lot of the members comprise lunching ladies who want to sound knowledgeable about wine. It probably works out as: knowing wine names means being sophisticated.
This buzz has also hit the embassy circles. They are pitching in with products from their countries, so a lot of the sampling is on the house. The Chilean, Australian and Italian ambassadors in Delhi are known to promote wine from their respective countries and periodically hold wine tasting events.
Now for the downer. Despite the buzz that wine is creating in India, let’s face it, the market is still tiny. It is worth only $50 million in value. And, the per capita consumption is what gives it away — Indians ‘consume’ only two teaspoons of wine per head per year. Wine makers have obviously figured out that the market from here can only grow.
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