Boozers in India are turning to Grapes for Wine drinking

Large numbers of Indians have turned into wine-drinking in recent years, at a speed that makes their country the toast of the world’s emerging wine markets.

From 1 million liters in 2001, consumption of wine in India had grown to more than 34 million liters by 2021, a 3,300% rise over two decades.

Those numbers tell a story of transformation, not just of a wine-drinking culture taking root slowly but also of progress in wine-making and marketing in an industry not permitted to advertise.

Two trends are driving the boom in the Indian wine industry, according to Jayanth Bharathi from Fratelli Wines, which has made a splash with its premium wines and tourism offerings since 2011.

Wine has been growing consistently over six to eight years as more Indians traveled abroad, got exposed to European culture, came across good wines and wine culture, and as Indian wines got better and better, Bharathi said.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, when drinking at home became more common, people started demanding better wines, he added. Choices at home veered toward wine on account of its slimmer social taboo.

Premium wine is the way to go, in a nutshell and education and awareness are aiding this.

Among a handful of others, Fratelli is acknowledged as having led the finessing of wines produced in India.

The view that Indian wines are typically inexpensive and of questionable quality has evolved as consumers came across quality offerings, while simultaneously beginning to understand wines better.

A clear trend has emerged toward optimization, but simultaneously a large market has emerged for ‘wine-based beverages’ such as wine-in-cans, coolers and sparklers, says Kiran Patil of Reveilo Wines.

The label is part of Vintage Wines in Niphad, in the Nashik district of the western state of Maharashtra, home to India’s biggest wine-making hub.

Premium wines top-line the current boom in the Indian wine sector. These are wines that Patil described as comparable in price point, quality and taste with good imported ones.

At the lowest end of the spectrum, however, are large sales volumes from inexpensive and easy-to-drink wine-based beverages. These are blended, fortified, and with additives; and they are generally made from table grapes.

Almost every wine manufacturer in India now has a brand in this category, clearly a mass segment nobody wants to miss out on.

I wouldn’t even call them wines, who along with her husband Yatin gave up a corporate career to return to their ancestral farmland to develop vineyards nearly two decades ago.

Reveilo, a boutique winery with a fully estate-bottled operation, was set up in 2005, and now produces premium wines including Italian varieties from root-stocks imported from Italy that year.

In fact, the Indian wine market is large enough for the purists and those promoting mass market brands.

Less than 1% of alcohol consumed in India is wine, but Indians consume nearly 7 billion liters of alcohol annually, and 1%, or 70 million liters, is a sizable – and growing – market.

Growing dramatically since 2013-14, the quality of Indian wines has hit the sweet spot over the last two-three years, according to Ajit Balgi, a certified sommelier, wine and spirits educator and founder of The Happy High, a bartending academy.

The traditional view of Indian wines being inexpensive and of poor quality no longer holds true, he said, as consumers, professionals, wine-makers and supply chains evolve and demand grows for better wines.

While India produces limited qualities of wine varietals of grapes on account of the hot growing conditions, those who have pleasant experiences with good Indian wines are then persuaded to try Australian, French, Spanish, Italian and other wines, now available at competitive prices.

Unlike in some parts of the West, wine is categorized as an alcoholic beverage in India, posing specific challenges to imports and retail, through wide variations in inter-state retail and taxation policies.

While the Indian wine market is valued at approximately $200 million with a 30% share belonging to imported wines, import-friendly policies and the consequent narrowing of prices between domestic and foreign wines is not great news for local manufacturers, particularly in states where local taxes are high.

As prices of Indian wines rise with optimization, consumers suddenly find foreign wines well within reach, for a mere Rs 200-Rs 300 ($2.40-$3.60) more. Balgi said wines from Chile and Argentina offer good quality at that price.

Climate change, meanwhile, presents significant challenges for Indian winemakers. The Nashik harvest is now rarely uniform, for example, and wineries have to make the adjustments in choices this requires.

Industry experts believe the opportunity for rapid growth in India is huge, provided manufacturers can reach wider domestic markets.

Reflecting a trend witnessed in India and globally, at sales fairs, Reveilo’s more expensive offerings sell the most – evidence of maturing domestic buyers.

Even those not articulate in wine jargon who may not recognize a dry wine or oak flavors are enjoying the premium wines. The Indian wine consumer has most certainly evolved.

RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2024.