Fratelli Wines to launch four brands

Despite the lull in wine industry, a new entrant into the business—Fratelli Wines India from Solapur is about to hit the market this year. Fratelli Wines is an Indo-Italian joint venture between Italy’s Secci brothers, Alessio and Andrea, the New Delhi-based Sekhri brothers, Kapil and Gaurav, and Mohite-Patil Ranjitsinh and Arjunsinh from Solapur. The company has has invested Rs 20 crore with equal stakes among three partners.

The wine will hit the market in November 2010. Initially, the company plans to bring 40, 000 litres of wine in the market. Fratelli has a capacity of producing 6 lakh litres of wine per year.

Talking about the venture, Director of Fratelli Wines India, Arjunsinh Mohite-Patil said, " Our emphasis is mainly on quality of the wine rather than quantity. Initially we will come up with only 40,000 litres of wine in the market. The company has aimed three years to establish the brand. We have planted the grapes over 190 acres, cultivated land near Malshiras Taluka in Solapur District with all the new facilities and techniques.

Mohite-Patil is the nephew of former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil and cousin of parliamentarian Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil.

The wine precessing plant has been set up with the investment of Rs 10 crore and all the equipments are imported from Italy. It is already operational and will produce 6 lakh litres of wine every year. The company has imported 3.5 lakh grape saplings from France and cultivated in Malshiras.

When asked about the downturn in wine industry Patil said, " We are aware that wine industry is facing many problems from last two years. But at the same time, we are very confident about our product . The industry is in trouble because of lower quality of wine. Wine is not a brand loyalty drink and my opinion is that low quality wine has affected the market which later remained unsold. In our case, the latest irrigation and spraying techniques have been installed and the ‘VSP system’ adopted to ensure perfect growth of the wine saplings. Yields per acre are restricted to half the industry average, to ensure that only the best grapes are harvested and the quality of wine held sacrosanct."

Only in house grapes are used to make wine and Fratelli is not using other grapes from the market or from the farmers for the crushing. 

He added that compared to the other countries of the world, consumption of wine in India is minimal, however with increased awareness, exposure to the wine culture abroad and joint efforts by industry and corporates on wine education, consumption is growing at a healthy rate every year. This encouraged Fratelli Wines to look at India as an important wine market with long term investment goals and highest levels of commitment, prompting them to ensure that every stage of wine making in India is undertaken with the same zest and passion as that of an Italian wine maker.

 Fratelli will be available in two white brands Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc — and two red brands — Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and will cost between Rs 600 and Rs 1200 for a 750 ml bottle.

Fratelli will come up with 13 varieties of red and white grapes which will be used to produce basic varietals, blends, reserves, sparkling wines and select vintages in due course.