|
| New wine, new bottles |
| Alok Chandra / Bangalore Aug 21, 2010, 00:31 IST |
|
It’s not just Sula and Grover. There’s a whole lot more
New research shows that as of March 2010, there are 92 wineries in India. Maharashtra has 73, Goa nine, Karnataka seven, Himachal Pradesh two and Mizoram has one. Sixteen of these units (15 in Maharashtra) were not operational.
‘What!’, you may well exclaim, ‘apart from Sula and Grover and one or two others, I’ve never heard of any Indian wines.’ Indeed, it is sad that insane state rules and regulations and the distribution mafia have made it prohibitively expensive for most wineries to enter markets outside their home state. This hinders the small producers especially.
Domestic wines Total sales volumes of wines priced above Rs 200 a bottle were stagnant at about 500,000 cases, while sales of cheaper wines declined to about 450,000 cases — primarily due to overtrading in Maharashtra. One would expect low-cost wines to outsell the more expensive ones. But this is not so, which probably reflects both the relatively upmarket profile of most wine drinkers as well as the fact that in India, molasses-based Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) is very cheap. The drop in sales volume has led to unsold wine piling up in wineries in Maharashtra, whose stocks increased from 10 million litres in March 2008 to a record 28 million litres by March 2010.
The leaders
Sula has emerged the market leader, having sold 270,000 cases in 2009-10, while industry pioneer and former leader Indage has imploded, having lost Rs 65 crore in 2008-09 and a similar amount in 2009-10. Wines under the Sula brand, covering a range of styles and grapes from Sparkling Brut and sweet Late Harvest to the iconic Rasa priced at Rs1,080 per bottle, are available in almost every state and Union Territory. Together, they outsell all other labels.
While Indage & Grover are still the next major wine companies, the Four Seasons brand of wines from Vijay Mallya’s UB Group has emerged fourth-largest. Not surprising really, given the huge investments in their Baramati winery and the group's distribution muscle.
Imported wines
Brindco remains the largest wine importer in India with sales of about 45,000 cases last year, out of an industry volume of about 220,000 cases. Total sales of imported wines grew only about 10 per cent as hotels were still rationalising inventories due to the recession. Sales of imported wines continue to be constrained by high prices: most imported wines retail for between Rs 800 and Rs 1,500 a bottle, which is two to four times higher than in markets like the UK or Hong Kong (for the same labels).
Prospects for the future
In global terms, wine sales in India are miniscule: 11-12 ml per capita against 1.1 litres (158 million cases) in China and 3.7 litres per capita worldwide. I expect wines sales here to grow at more than 25 per cent for at least the next five years, which would double volumes. Thereafter, the next global recession will influence offtake of a range of goods and services.
Wines I’ve been drinking:
Luca Lychee wine, produced with French collaboration at a new winery near Delhi. I approached it with trepidation but it was surprisingly good, reminiscient of an imported Riesling or Gewurztraminer, with the aroma of figs and honey, balanced acidity, sweetness and a decent finish and aftertaste. Balle Balle!
[Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
